Each chance Picklin’ Pat and I get the opportunity to travel to a new state, we both feel the need to dig our boots into our surroundings. While in Phoenix, AZwe decided that rattle snakes, coyotes, and cacti are the things we wanted to remember from Arizona. A trip to the desert would do the trick! After some research, we found Mike and Jeff with AZ Hummer Tours. We started with Mike in his prized Hummer and went places RELSHME could never take us. We climbed inclines that Patrick and I couldn’t tackle even if I stood on his shoulders. Mike knew all about the ecosystem in this area too. He told us how Saguaro cacti can live for 200 years and it takes 60-70 years for them to get their first arms  FUN FACT: Although saguaro cacti are known for holding moisture, they are harmful for humans to eat.

Just when we thought we were getting accustomed to the agility of the Hummer, Jeff showed up and raised the stakes. He let us jump behind the wheel of his Polaris Razor. At first we thought it was because of our extensive experience on the Hot Dog Highways of America, but later learned that everyone that tours with Mike and Jeff gets to drive. With Jeff’s help, we got to see a Native American fort and learn about how these people, along with other western pioneers, lived. He also pointed out the cacti that are edible and helpful to thirsty humans.

In the end, we had buns of fun acting like Southwestern cowboys. Just like they do, we remained loyal to our trusty steed, RELSHME, after a photo opportunity, of course.

Once upon a black and white western movie, Picklin’ Pat and I, the new young calves of the Southwest region, were galloping from Los Angeles to Phoenix just like the two wild cowboys (Cowgirl, for me.) we are. When we thought we could see straight to Texas, we came across a favorite stop for wranglers of all sorts: Joshua Tree National Park. We decided to ride through to let RELSHME feel a different path upon her hooves. This is what we saw.

Joshua and Oscar

RELSHME and a Joshua Tree: New Friends

Oscar Mayer celebrated the launch of Carving Board meats with a live performance by Mathew Morrison at the Grove in Los Angeles. We cruised over to the Grove in the Wienermobile where all the action was happening to take part in the big event. Matthew Morrison, also known as Mr. Schuester on the hit TV series GLEE,  was there to launch his solo career with his first live performance.

The concert was streamed live on Facebook.com/OscarMayer. You can still check it out after you “like” Oscar Mayer. People that came to watch Mathew Morrison perform got a free Carving Board sandwich and found out how to share their good deeds with Oscar Mayer for a chance to win $100,000 dollars to help their community. It really doesn’t get better than this.

Especially This!

Super Dog Sam and I were bundled in coats and hats for the snowy weather in Altoona, PA (hometown of the one and only Tera Louise with Cheese) when Donald strolled up and warmed our day.

Without saying much of anything, he marched up to me, held out a picture, and smiled. After I looked closer, I realized why he didn’t need words. It was a photograph of the 1952 Wienermobile and its driver of the time in a line with four other ladies, one of whom is his late wife. The perfectly preserved black and white image preserved that moment in time.

Donald went on to tell Sam and I that the picture was taken in front of his own company WS Lee Distributors, one of two or three independent distributors in the United States at the time. He said when he heard we would be in Altoona, he knew he had to find the picture and bring it to show. As he could have expected, we were delighted to share this moment with him.

Being in the Northeast region has opened the opportunity for Super Dog Sam and I to “meat” up with several Hotdogger parents, including Super Dog Deb and Les (Super Dog Sam’s parents), so you can imagine my delight when I found out my own mother was coming to visit the East Team in Pittsburgh. I knew her visit would mark her first Wienermobile meating. Appropriately, I honored her with a Hotdogger name, “Momma Meeps!,” and invited her to sit shotbun for her tour of Pittsburgh, which she accepted without hesitation.

Momma Meeps! and Meep! Meep! Maria

Momma Meeps! fared well as an honorary front seat waver, smiler, and navigator. She even shared in some Wienermobile moments, listenedto stories and handed out Wiener Whistles. Her taste of the Hotdogger life wasn’t complete without the main event, meating Super Dog Sam. She relished the chance to ask Sam and I questions about our adventures and experiences.

Meep! Meep! Maria, Momma Meeps!, and Super Dog Sam

Many people think of hot dogs when they see the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. The same goes for how people think of witches when they visit Salem, Massachusetts. Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America’s great novelists and short story writers, was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem. The house where his family lived at this time stands just a hop and a “bun” away from the House of Seven Gables, the home that inspired one of Hawthorne’s most famous novels. Living up to my “lucky dog” status, I was able to tour both.

Hawthorne's Birthplace

The House of Seven Gables

Did you know that the House of Seven Gables didn’t have seven gables when Hawthorne wrote the novel? Did you also know that many parts of the house, such as the the small shop and secret staircase, were added after the book was published to reflect the story? If you answered “no,” then you’re with me. I felt a little jaded until I was allowed to walk up this said secret staircase!

If you’ve been wondering whether a life-size chocolate moose exists or not, YOU ARE IN LUCK, my friend! The world’s only successful execution of such a wonder resides in Portland, Maine. Weighing in at 1,700 pounds of fine grade milk chocolate, it is housed at Len Libby, a handmade candies shop. His name is Lenny. The ad on our Portland map teased us with such persuasive copy reading, “Come meet Lenny”. There’s nothing Hotdoggers love more than extravagantly large creations of America’s favorite foods and objects. It turned out that before his unveiling on July 1, 1997, Lenny was sculpted in four weeks on-site and stands in a pond of tinted white chocolate. After seeing Lenny, I couldn’t help picking out some of my favorite candy combinations (peanut butter, cashews, chocolate, carmel) from behind the glass of assorted treats at the shop.

The East Team "meats" Lenny, such a deliciously handsome moose.

Many may wonder what the use of this huge chocolate moose is. Is it because this glorious mammal has been Maine’s official state animal since 1979? Is it because moose are naturally brown and so is chocolate? The Hemond Family’s motivation for creating the chocolate moose was for their customer’s enjoyment. While Lenny can’t move like the Wienermobile, I bet he gets several smiles per visit just like the Wienermobile.

“The most magical time of the year” is quickly approaching and America is preparing, well, at least in Pittsburgh. Beginning 50 years ago, the city began a tradition called “Light Up Night.” Bundled with scarves and gloves, people filled the city to celebrate the first lighting of the Christmas trees downtown. At Point State Park, the park where the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers merge to form the Ohio River, a special event called Santa Spectacular is where the WNR MBLE, Super Dog Sam, and I “relished” that evening, greeting all kinds of chilly nosed, bright eyed, and rosy cheeked celebrators armed with glowing candy canes and hats. We enjoyed the live performances, the holidog music, and the fireworks show (there were even ketchup and mustard colored bursts).

WNR MBLE shining at Santa Spectacular

Pittsburgh enjoying Light Up Night 2010

The Wienermobile is always being photographed, so Super Dog Sam and I spend many mornings detailing our dog to make it sparkle. Let’s just say we know a little something about getting ready for a close-up shot. What we didn’t know was that our host for a radio interview with WFDU at Fairleigh Dickinson University would greet us looking just as great as the Wienermobile, in a tuxedo.

We taught James how to "present" the Wienermobile.

For this event, Sam and I just happened to be wearing the tuxedo for Hotdoggers, our flight suits. Hotdoggers have been wearing them for years but only get to break them out for special occasions. They’re more like warm-up suits that make Hotdoggers feel like super heros.

This is probably what it feels like at Fashion Week.

After we went inside to complete the interview with James (tuxedo man), we realized that he was really giving us all the toppings. Sure enough, he whipped out a hot dog costume.

A formal dog with ALL the toppings.