Most people are always commenting on the size of the Wienermobile: 27-feet long, 11-feet tall and 8-feet wide. It definitely dwarfs any normal vehicle. However, at the North Carolina Trucker Championships in Smithfield, NC, we found ourselves in one of the smallest vehicles there.

The championships are held every year where drivers can compete in eight different categories classified by vehicle. For example, you can compete in a step van or even a 5-axle sleeper. Lets put it this way, BIG trucks were present.

The way the competition works is that each driver goes through an obstacle course and is given a score. These obstacles include anything from backing up as closely as possible to a fence, to going around a tight curb.

Naturally, being registered with the Department of Transportation, Torey Toppings and I were taunted several times as to whether or not we would be able to navigate the course. We decided to rise up to the challenge and show these truckers that a Wienermobile shouldn’t be messed with, which is why Torey Toppings drove away with a perfect score!

Torey Toppings puts on her "concentrated" face to drive through the course.

Three more obstacles and we're through!

As Torey Toppings and I headed east towards Hickory, NC, I was thoroughly engrossed in our book on tape when she started yelling at the hop of her lungs. Through the haze and panic that quickly ensued, I was able to make out a word: “Wienermobile.” Sure enough, when I looked up, I spotted an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile making its way down I-40 in the opposite direction. Torey Toppings was right to freak out. We had NEVER seen another Wienermobile while randomly driving on the road. After gathering our composure, we immediately wracked our brains to think of which team it could be, all the while turning around so that we could stalk them to their next stop.

Turns out, the east team was headed to Gatlinburg, TN, for a BBQ Festival and just happened to be in the area as we were driving by. It was over lunch that we were able to “ketchup” and share the excitement of our past and future travels.

I’m also pretty sure the gas station didn’t know what to do with itself when two Wienermobile vehicles pulled into their parking lot.

The east and southeast teams reunited.

In 1953, Don Murphy organized the first pinewood derby in Manhattan Beach, CA, because his son was too young to participate in the traditional soap box derbies. Since then, thousands of children all over the country have been carving race cars out of blocks of pinewood in the hopes that their model would be faster than their neighbors’ when it cruised down the lane.

Collin, from Pittsboro, NC, wanted his pinewood derby car to stick out from the pack, so he carved a Wienermobile. Little did he know that a few days later, he would be able to catch a glimpse of the real thing. Torey Toppings and I were thrilled to be able to show off what inspired him to create what was sure to be a winning vehicle.

The Wienermobile with its smaller counterpart.

Torey Toppings and I were very lucky to be able to attend the annual Rivers and Spires Festival in Clarksville, TN. About 35,000 people attend the festival every year to eat great food and listen to great music. Seven stages are scattered around Historic Downtown Clarksville and music echos off the old walls for about three days straight.

Torey Toppings keeping the energy up on day three of the festival.

On day one, we set up next to the main stage and were able to dance the night away to one of our favorite tunes: the “Cupid Shuffle.” On day two, we got involved in a light saber sword fight with two kids that somehow managed to chase us around the Wienermobile. Day three was spent helping people send postcards to friends and family and watching the mascot dance-off.

Day four found us driving east towards Hickory, NC, tired from all the excitement and wishing we hadn’t let those two kids have the upper hand during our duel.

So, maybe Torey Toppings and I didn’t hop across the ocean to visit our European friends, but we did find ourselves in Nashville, TN, home of an exact replica of the Parthenon.

Nashville’s moniker being Athens of the South, the city decided that the Parthenon would be a perfect centerpiece for the 1897 fair. After having been rebuilt in concrete in 1920, the iconic building has been a travel destination for decades.

Naturally, the Wienermobile had to pay a visit and even though at first, when you drive up, the Parthenon doesn’t look that big, you quickly realize how the 64-foot tall building dwarfs this 11-foot hot dog.

That Parthenon has nothing on us!

It would take about six Wienermobile vehicles stacked on top of each other to reach the top.

I’ll give you one chance to guess where the world’s longest congo line took place. Stumped? The answer is Little Havana in Miami, Fl., back in 1988 during the annual Calle Ocho celebration.

In 1977, Miami was looking for a way to unite the different ethnic communities of the city. The solution was to create a block party that would showcase hundreds of street vendors and dozens of live bands. Calle Ocho was born.

Twenty-three years later, Torey Toppings and I find ourselves thrown in the middle of a celebration that attracts over one million people every year. We couldn’t wait!

Tradition has it that Calle Ocho attendees wear clothing and flags that represent their heritage.

After having parked the Wienermobile next to the Kraft booth that would be handing out free samples of Kool Aid and Ritz crackers, to name a few, we decided to hit the street and explore this cultural quilt. What we found was a mouth-watering display of foods like arepas, which consists of a melted slab of mozzerella nestled between two corn cakes, and tamales, a traditional Latin American dish.

I’m pretty sure our eyes were bigger than our stomachs but it didn’t prevent us from spreading smiles atop the Wienermobile and passing out a few Wiener Whistles.

Torey Toppings spreading the Wienermobile love at the Kraft booth.

While in Atlanta, Torey Toppings and I decided we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit Martin Luther King Jr.’s childhood home as well as the museum dedicated to his impact on our country’s history.

MLK Jr.'s neighborhood gets a visit from the Wienermobile.

Walking through the streets of Atlanta, you could just imagine the kids out on the road, throwing a baseball back and forth and running into the house when their mothers called them in for dinner.

One house in particular caught our attention with an unassuming plaque on the ground touting that it was the birth home of one of the most important men in our history.

I think we're ready to move in.

Not only were we allowed to tour inside and catch a glimpse of MLK Jr.’s original possessions, we were able to listen to a first account of the Freedom Walk. Sure enough, our tour guide marched on that very day many years ago. Now that’s a “link” to the past.

Without a doubt, the south is known for its food, which is why Torey Toppings and I were more than willing to dive into this ocean of culinary discovery.

After a little research, we found out you couldn’t go to Atlanta without stopping at Thelma’s Rib Shack.

We found it!

Now, don’t be discouraged by the “hole-in-the-wall” look of the place. It’s hiding a treasure inside that takes on the form of fried chicken, sweet potato casserole and jalapeno cornbread.

After succumbing to the appealing smells wafting from inside, we ventured in, only to figure out that we wouldn’t be leaving until we had tried everything inside. If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, you need to check it out.

The source of my demise.

You never fully know just how “coast to coast” you’re going to go when you start on your year-long journey until you have the pictures to prove it.

Finally united in Los Angeles, the new southeast team, comprised of Torey Toppings and myself, took the opportunity to embrace our new-found partnership with a Pacific Ocean backdrop.

A new team ready to take on a new region.

Two weeks later, we found ourselves on the edge of the Atlantic in Miami, enjoying the warm weather and contemplating just how far we had come.

A HOT dog chilling on a Miami beach.

You might have seen us in Los Angeles, but it’s actually in the southeast that you’ll be able to “ketchup” with us.

As you might already know, half-way through your commitment as a Hotdogger, you switch regions and, therefore, Wienermobile vehicles.

Torey Toppings said goodbye to BOLOGNA in the northeast and I bid farewell to RELSHME in the southwest. We were both thrilled to meet our new friend YUMMY in the southeast.

However, the old southeast team, Lil Links Laura and Doggone Dave, left us a surprise and a list of requirements.

This is what greeted us when we opened the door.

Our first task was to dawn the Tinker-bell and samurai costumes for our first ride around town.

A pirate and a fairy ready to take the wheel.

From that point on, we weren’t sure people were taking pictures of the Wienermobile or the crazy looking drivers at the helm. Either way, we were spreading miles of smiles and enjoying every second of it.