Like Father like daughter!

My dad, Steve Pickles, was just as excited as anybody to see the Wienermobile for the first time, when he visited in Louisiana.  He got VIP treatment from the moment of arrival and was picked up by the Wienermobile for his first ride.  People often tell me I look like him (but I don’t have a receding hairline). I don’t see it . . .

Baton Rouge, LA: If you’ve read some older entries you’ll know that its no secret how we clean our Wienermobiles.  My favorite method by far is to visit a local fire station, and if there are any firemen off duty, they always lend a hand in making the Wienermobile spotless.  On this particular day, there were some standout firemen, including a rookie who helped me scrub the buns of our Wienermobile, OH I WISH. 

Later on in the day, Johnny Salami and I picked up Mr. Tumey, a reporter who was a pleasure to drive around! He gives a franktastic tour of the inside, and captured great footage of the firemen singing the jingle. Here’s the link to see the clip yourself!

Tumey’s Travels with the Wienermobile!

Though the specifics on this picture’s location are uncertain (the best I can guess is that it is West of the Mississippi), the contents are a classic.  Everyone that drives past the Wienermobile on the street or a freeway reacts somehow.  Many get out their cameras, bunches wave, we get honks and we get looks of confusion.  Can you see who is looking on in this photo? This wiener dog is demonstrating the “confused” look . . .

Or maybe he’s giving us the evil eye because he didn’t win at the Wiener dog races, and we’re bringing back a difficult memory. 

Baton Rouge, LA- Going to work to meet strangers anxiously awaiting your arrival is a huge perk of being a Hotdogger.  Johnny Salami and I pulled into the parking lot of this store to meet these ladies, who had never seen the Wienermobile before. To celebrate the visit to their grocery store, these two women had “I wish I was . . .” painted onto the back of their uniforms. 

The manager had no qualms with the addition to their Winn Dixie shirts and seemed jealous he didn’t have one to match.  Even though it was around 93°F that day, the ladies worked with us outside all day grilling some All Beef Premium Franks!

Wichita, KS- Meet John Masters.  He’s the master of collections. With my completely objective, unprejudiced opinion I’d have to say that his Wienermobile collection is the best of all of them.

John approached Johnny Salami and I at Dillon’s grocery store.  Amidst a crew of Wiener Jingle singers, he humbly mentioned that he had a Wienermobile collection.  We were used to this; a lot of people have old Wienermobile Hot Wheels cars, or maybe even a whistle from the 1950’s (all items I am jealous of). But as he began to describe his collection, I knew we had to visit!

We had an hour between our two events that day, but John lived close to where we were. He biked home, but we met him via Wienermobile a few minutes later. John and I couldn’t believe what was sitting in the driveway:

in front of Ol' Yeller

The Wienermobile is ours, but look closely at his truck! His yellow truck, named “Old Yeller,” has a picture of the Wienermobile on top. He then led us through his living room to his full Wienermobile collection.

just a small piece of John's collection

Even though John has no connection with Oscar Mayer, he has more Wienermobilia than I have ever seen! I had no idea that some of these items were even made. A silver Wienermobile Hot Wheels? Mardi Gras Whistles? He even had a Wienermobile cookie jar. We were entirely blown away, and were so happy to give John a ride in the Wienermobile to our next event. To make sure we weren’t late, he brought his bike inside the Wienermobile so he could get himself back home. Meeting this Wienermobile enthusiast was such a pleasure. If you have any collections that can rival John’s, please show us!

John Master sitting "shot-bun"

We meet a lot of people on the road, but I never thought I’d meet my favorite pirate in Flagstaff, AZ!  Here’s Captain Slippery in front of the Galaxy Diner, entertaining all of the attendee’s of Oscar Mayer’s 125th Anniversary Celebration.

It turns out that Wienermobile drivers and the Cheeseasaurus Rex have an equal admiration for each other.  He walked over to the Wienermobile astounded that it actually exists! We were in awe of his enormous tail, friendliness and hugs. All we could say in reply was, “feelings mutual Mr. Rex.”    

Johnny Salami, Cheeseasaurus Rex and I

Baton Rouge–  Johnny Salami and I were lucky enough to participate in a Louisiana parade, where parades aren’t just events, but a certain way of life (eg. Mardi Gras).

Here’s a shot of OH I WISH all decked out ready to go, and another from the view of a bun-roof rider:

As the rain came through the bunroof and began to smear the “Kiss me, I’m an Irish Wienermobile” paint on OH I WISH’s hood, something marvelous happened.  Through shouts of “Give me a hotdog!” and, “I’ll take one with chili!” came a woman bearing 3 hotdogs. Oscar Mayer hotdogs to be exact, and they were as well decorated as we were.  Please note the green ketchup and mustard! Now its official; all Oscar Mayer Wieners love dressing up for the holidays!

Saylor Firemen washing OH I WISH

 Halfway through the year, we switch partners and regions.  Accustomed to the beautiful weather in the Southwest, I was glad to be heading South again, away from the snow and the issues it brings.  Yet to get to the South, we made several stops along the way from the Oscar Mayer Headquarters in Wisconsin. The first was Saylor, IA.

All was well and good, and I got used to maneuvering the Wienermobile in the snow.  When Johnny Salami and I found messages written in the exhaust, sleet, snow and salt — we knew we had to give OH I WISH a wash.  After searching for miles, we couldn’t find a car wash big enough for the Wienermobile; it was 7°F, none were open!

So later at an event we met a Saylor fireman who invited us to his fire station.  “The firemen will help you wash your Wienermobile,” Kevin assured.

That they did.  I’ll let you judge by the pictures, but I don’t think OH I WISH has been shinier since his creation in 2004. 

Des Moines, IA- On inauguration day, Johnny Salami and I got in a bit of a pickle.  We had to get from Des Moines to Wichita, KS. But right before we hit the hot-dog highway, we went to fill up with high octane mustard but couldn’t get the fuel door open.  

Everyone knows the Wienermobile can’t run without mustard! Unable to open the tiny door ourselves, we luckily had enough to get us to a locksmith.   So we found Midwest Lock, and Jerry and Rodney came to the rescue.

Rodney and Jerry saving our buns!

Though they quickly fixed our small door with a few expert squirts of ketchup, we hung around to watch the inauguration. Franks for helping us, and sharing your TV on an important day Jerry and Rodney!