I’ve had a bunderful time visiting the Midwestern states with the Wienermobile. To commemorate the past six months I could not resist buying this “no coast” t-shirt when we saw it at a shop in Des Moines, Iowa. If you look carefully at the photo, you can even see the gold dome of the Iowa capitol building in the background!

I know the burning question on everyone’s mind is: What is the difference between an alpaca and a llama? Well, Joey and I are here to solve life’s mysteries and we decided to find out. After extensive (not really) research we can allow these conclusions:

Although they look very much alike, alpacas are the smaller of the two domesticated grazers. Alpacas are not equipped to carry weight like llamas are, but are more for raised for their warm hair. Here’s a picture of Joey with an alpaca at this year’s FFA convention in Indianapolis, IN.

Llamas and alpacas are in the camel family (genus Camelus), and the ears of a llama are larger and banana-shaped. One llama expert in Gatlinburg, TN told me her llamas eat just about anything. This statement begged me to ask the question, “do they like chocolate-covered ritz crackers?”

What?

This is how I share my food with all of my friends.

Traveling around in a 27-foot-long hot dog truly garners an appreciation for all things of extraordinary size. That’s why when Joey and I visited the Chicago Toy and Game Fair I was almost overwhelmed by the sights of giant Lego models, humongous block towers, gargantuan board games, and more. Here I am rocking out on a super-sized rocking horse!

And I will admit I felt a bit of nostalgia with this tremendous Etch-A-Sketch.

While sometimes twice the size can equal twice the entertainment, we realized toys of all varieties are buns of fun.

While traveling the scenic krauts of the Midwest I’ve encountered many “firsts.” I went to my first drive-in movie, my first strawberry patch, and I’ve seen many states for the first time. While Joey and I were in Peoria, IL I got to cross something else off my list – my first time donating blood!

Since only 5% of eligible people donate blood, we relished the opportunity to invite locals to give with us. We’d like to extend a warm-hearted franks to everyone who came out! One blood donation can help as many as three people – hot DOG!

EVERYONE loves the Wienermobile! This time we learned the curiosity for our vehicle extends beyond the human species. Joey and I were the lucky dogs to have a unique visitor – a macaw parrot named Redmond. We were a little nervous at first, but the owner insisted there would be no fowl play. We were tweeted very nicely.

Coming from Florida I did not understand the need for indoor entertainment, but being a part of the Midwest team has made me much wiser. Now that it’s getting chillier we have to get creative with our off-days. Fortunately, Joey and I are the lucky dogs who get to spend a lot of time in Madison, Wisconsin, where we found an indoor miniature golf range.

We played 18 indoor and outdoor holes at the George Vitense Golf Academy. The inside course is Madison themed and as you can guess, our favorite hole had a replica of our very own unique mode of transportation.

Meat Anida – a woman with a love for all things orange and the one-and-only Wienermobile. She was so excited to see our ride she had to go home and drive back her own personal orange car, one she calls “the pumpkin.” She owned this car when it was only months old in the late 70s. She sold the car for something more practical, but never forgot it. About fifteen years later her husband found and restored the very same car and surprised Anida for her birthday. I never sausage a thing!

Every Hotdogger has heard the legend – something we are all instinctively drawn to at the Henry Ford Museum in Deerborn, Michigan. Amongst historic cars, bicycles, and airplanes, Joey and I finally found what we had been searching for. In fact, this particular exhibit was something I have been waiting to see since I learned of its existence. Meat the 1952 Wienermobile – the oldest Wienermobile around today!

You can’t deny the family resemblance… although YUMMY may be larger, the two vehicles share the same basic shape and iconic yellow band.

And as an added bonus, Joey and I were able to experience what it feels like to be nestled in a warm toasty bun covered in our favorite toppings. Well, something like that.

Ever since we’ve hit the road Joey and I have been ecstatic to see dogs at events; we both have pups we miss at home. You can imagine our excitement when we found out we were headed for an all-out dog fest at Dog Days in Homewood, Illinois. An event dedicated entirely to our canine friends? I never sausage a thing! Here I am with a Great Dane bigger than me!

And Joey couldn’t help but snuggle up with some of our favorites – wiener dogs!

We had a bunderful time introducing hundreds of dogs to YUMMY who even made a friend for herself!

This summer we cruised the hot dog highways of America asking people what they’d do if they had the Wienermobile as their ride for the day. Four lucky wieners were chosen to live out their dreams. Carlos Hubbard wanted to have a cookout to encourage kids in the neighborhood he grew up in to stay in school. Here he is riding shotbun!

We spent the day with the Hubbard’s family and friends, and of course, we took a ride around the neighborhood to encourage the neighbors to come out, enjoy some hot dogs, and stay in school!

Here is a great shot of us at the end of the day. Say, “cheesy wenie!”