St. Petersburg- We were lucky dogs and got to lead the pack of pace cars around the St. Petersburg Grand Prix during race weekend there. Thanks to the Andretti Green Team and the Team 7-11 for the honor of representing them.

Check out the Wienermobile on the big screen!

Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico -

I love this picture, it looks like a beautiful painting. I had to climb 140ft on wooden ladders to have the privlege of looking inside a Kiva. A Kiva is a place where the Native Americans hold religious ceremonies. Kivas are very sacred to Native Americans and people are generally not allowed to go inside of them.  This visit was approved and the climb was worth it!

Whoa! Wouldn't want to miss this!

Troutdale, OR- As All-Beef Allison and I cruised down I-5 in WEENR, we were rewarded by beautiful sights like the Columbia River Gorge and bountiful green mountains.  But wait!  A glimmering stream of water caught our attention.  Tumbling more than six hundred feet, it is a good thing we headed back to see Multnomah Falls, the second largest waterfall in North America.  You never know what will come into view in the windshield of your Wienermobile!

In Amarillo, TX, off I-40, keep an eye out for what is known as the “Cadillac Ranch.”  Alana Pickles and I had to stop when we saw the uniquely placed Cadillacs, ranging from 1949-1963, and take some pictures with this roadside art.  In the 1970’s, a group of artists called Ant Farm decided to place these cars here and after one slight shift in location in 1997 you can visit them today.  Be sure to bring some spray paint though so you can leave your mark on the Cadillacs!

Trunk chillin

Recently, Alana Pickles and Johnny Salami blogged about their love for Cheeseasaurus Rex. It’s no secret that all of the Hotdoggers are big fans of Cheeseasaurus and, OH YEAH!, Kool-Aid Man, too!

But did you know they are fans of each other? Here’s proof.

 Talk about two lucky dogs, Tara and I got to attend the LPGA tournament in Palm Springs!

 We started the tournament off right by teaming up with The First Tee to create this terrific Oscar Mayer putting green! The First Tee is a youth golfing program in Coachella, CA that teaches life skills and lessons through the game of golf; our partnership was a natural fit!  The First Tee directors were able to use our Wienermobile plush toys to create this course.

Grace Pedersen-Wilson showed us how it was done! She weaved her way in and out of the Wienermobile toys and made it right to the hole-nicely done! Now only if Grace could teach Tara and I her skills…

Grace is on her way to the hole!

It's good!

She's on her way to the LPGA!

One recipe for a great hotdogging day: Line up for the downtown Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade; bring along a writer who introduces himself as Meathead; smile, wave, and repeat.

Meathead – a self-professed meat aficionado and the mastermind behind amazingribs.com, a site devoted to rib history, recipes and culture – is actually Craig Goldwyn, a freelance writer and photographer for several publications, including the Huffington Post and the Chicago Tribune.

We invited him to strut down Columbus with us in the downtown Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade – an annual fete that brings out thousands of the city’s Irish (and everyone else who wishes they were).

 He didn’t hesitate to accept the invite, and he spent most of the ride grinning like a five-year-old.  We don’t blame him.  The parade-goers waved, cheered and sang the jingle – almost loudly enough to drown out nearby bagpipers. For a few minutes, we all felt like celebrities.  

In Wichita, KS, Miss Pickles and I met a woman with beautiful singing abilities.  However, this was no ordinary singer, she sang us the Wiener Jingle in sign language!  Hearing the Wiener Jingle is always a fun time, but SEEING someone perform it was a first for us.

See if you can learn it too!

WEENR has brought me to Spokane, Washington: 2,005 miles and a 29 hour drive away from East Lansing, Michigan, where I went to school.  They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder and during March Madness, I have definitely been thinking about East Lansing a lot!  The Spartans are in the Finals and I am cheering them on all along the way!

After all, nothing goes better with sports than hot dogs!  Go MSU!