Hotdogger Blog

We took the Wienermobile to Richmond, Virginia to a walk to raise money for arthritis research. The DJ at the event had twenty-plus-inch rims on his Chevy Tahoe. It made me think… Shouldn’t we put some sweet rims on the Wienermobile?

Imagine riding shotbun in the Wienermobile for a day… What would you do?

Would you throw a neighborhood party? Have the ultimate tailgate? Surprise a friend? Do something altruistic and give back? Or would you cruise around town all day? There are an endless number of things you could do with the Wienermobile for a day.

We want you to tell us what you would do if you could ride shotbun in the Wienermobile for a day, and the four lucky winners will get to fulfill their wish! You can enter online or in person at Wienermobile events across the country. The grand prize winner will also receive $5,000!

I’m a lifelong sports fan and always will be. Since athletics were never a strong suit of mine I once dreamed of being a broadcaster. This dream stemmed from watching many hours of sports coverage on a variety of networks, especially ESPN. I scratched my broadcasting itch while working at KCOU 88.1FM, my college radio station, but I decided that I wouldn’t pursue a career in TV or radio. Being a fan was enough.

So, Mary Kate and I were in central Connecticut doing some goodwill events and showing off the Wienermobile at a few grocery stores, so contacting Bristol, CT based ESPN for a tour was a given. The network was extremely accommodating and gave us a tour to relish of their campus. We parked BOLOGNA next to the ESPN Cafe and checked out the studios.

Torey Toppings and I stopped by to say ‘franks’ to these young volunteers who spent their Saturday morning raking the lawns of elderly and disabled residents in Mankato and North Mankato, Minnesota. The volunteers got to tour the Wienermobile and enjoyed some delicious Oscar Mayer Franks.

Off days are one of the things that makes Hotdogging great. Mary Kate and I were fortunate enough to be in State College, PA for a huge snow storm one off day, so we purchased two ketchup colored sleds and flew down some hills adjacent to Beaver Stadium.

Pittsburgh, PA was one of the last cities Torey Toppings and I visited together. We took a ride to the top of Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington on the Monongahlea Incline, which happens to be the tallest and steepest incline in the United States.

Later that night we drove a fearless B0L0GNA to the top Mount Washington to get the same view at night. Look at how bunderful the Pittsburgh skyline looks from this vantage point!

Hey Pittsburgh! Be sure to ketchup with the Wienermobile at the Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday, March 13th.

As a member of the Midwest and East teams I’ve been lucky enough to visit seven of the eleven Big 10 universities (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, and Wisconsin), and have driven through the same cities as Purdue, Minnesota and Iowa. Here are some photos I’ve collected:

Chicago, IL is well known for their hot dogs and their skyscrapers. We saw the two of the tallest buildings in the windy city through BOLOGNA’s bunroof.

We were visited by the owners of two miniature ponies in Brandford, CT. The owner came to check out the Wienermobile, but her ponies were more interested in Torey Toppings’ giant bag of apples!

Torey Toppings and I hauled buns to Indianapolis, IN for the Future Farmers of American National Convention to join the Kraft Foods booth at the Agriculture Career Show. For three days we gave tours of the Wienermobile and spoke about what it was like to be a Hotdogger. Some of the students we met definitely have Hotdogger potential!

Navigating through the Indiana Convention Center was challenging, but Torey Toppings made it through without scratching our buns.

Students travel to the FFA's national convention from all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands to compete in a variety of events and to learn about careers in agriculture. The blue corduroy jackets you see in the photo were addopted as the official jacket of the FFA in 1933.

Cheesasaurus Rex swung by to say hello. Have you ever had Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs mixed in? It’s one of my all-time favorite meals!