Hotdogger Blog

Des Moines, Iowa — It was only supposed to take 4 hours to get from Madison to Des Moines. Due to the flooding in the Midwest it took 8 hours.
But these detours were for good reason. And if families at gas stations throughout Iowa didn’t offer their help it would have taken even longer. So, thanks Iowa for your help!
Once we reached Des Moines, through the window of the Wienermobile, I saw a bridge that had water only a foot below it. The bridge acted as a skimmer, trapping at least 15 huge trees that were uprooted by the floods and were stuck there, floating on the murky, mucky flood waters. A little league park was flooded with over two feet of water and so were many of our nation’s farms. It was devastating. To see it first hand gave me goose bumps—and keep in mind I saw these sights a week after the flooding occurred, even after the clean-up.
(more…)

Mount Airy, NC — In one of our first brushes with “fame” Big Bun, Tara, and I took a short day trip on one of our off days when we were in southwestern Virginia. Being lovers of classic television, Tara and I were very excited to see the inspiration and birthplace of Andy Griffith. However, once we got there, we had no idea how that sentiment would be reciprocated by the great people of the small community.

As with all things with the Wienermobile, there was an event that came about even on one of our off days. We were able to sneak into town via the Andy Griffith Parkway and into a back parking lot without much attention drawn to us except for a couple of teenagers that were questioning what we would ever be doing in Mount Airy and if we needed directions. We explained that this was a planned stop for us and were excited to see the attractions. Once inside, we were able to take in all things Mayberry as Andy’s hometown had completely embraced their #1 son and his accomplishments to show off many of the locations Andy had borrowed in the show or to go as far as re-create many of them to make

Big Bun and Andy’s Car

Mayberry come to life. The result is the perfect example of intimate small town, USA where everyone knows everyone else and it being a positive thing.

Our incognito status did not last too long, actually only until lunchtime. We were eating at a small diner dedicated to Deputy Barney Fife. It came out that we were responsible for the 27-foot hotdog down the street when I needed to get some cash from the lone ATM found in the chamber of commerce. When I walked in the door a woman jumped out of her chair and then sat right back down when I turned to the ATM and away from her line of sight. “I thought he was the hotdog man for a moment,” I heard her over my shoulder to another woman sitting at a desk adjacent to her. When I confessed to her, the smiles on their faces were indescribable. She told me that the local paper has been looking all over for us and that everyone around town has been talking about it.
(more…)