Hotdogger Blog

Throughout our journey across the hot dog highways of America, Hotdoggers get to see some beautiful scenery. One of the things that I relish the most is a great sunset photo (or bunset photo, as I like to say) with the Wienermobile. Here are some of my favorites from my first 6 months of driving through the South region:

Filling up the tank in Bethany, MO and en route to Kansas City.

Photo while riding shotbun to Texas.

Taking the scenic-kraut through Oklahoma.

Fog settling in at night in Cotter, AR.

Beautiful bunset over the bay in South Padre Island, TX.

I had the joy of touring Arkansausage during my first six months of driving the Wienermobile, and I managed to see a good portion of the Natural State. Here are some photos from our stops:

Stopping at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, AR.

Fishing at Lobo Landing in Heber Springs, AR.  What a catch!

Trying to single-handedly take on this giant Arkansas Razorback football player!

Schnitzel Itzel posing next to the River Market in Little Rock, AR.

Dijon know? The origin of the saying “Polly want a cracker?” dates back to 1849, and for years people have been teaching parrots this saying.  Well, what does a loyal Oscar Mayer fan teach his/her parrot? Watch a video of Sandy and her Yellow-naped Amazon parrot in Milton, FL to find out!

Lots of Wienermobile fans ask us what it takes to cut the mustardand become a Hotdogger.  Well, you have to be an enthusiast college graduate excited to travel the country in the Wienermobile for one year.  My c0-Hotdogger Schnitzel Itzel graduated last year from the University of Texas-Pan American (Go Broncs!), and I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!).  While traveling through West Texas, we stopped at the South Plains Career Fair to encourage college attendance.

We had quite the crowd of students taking their picture with LTL LINK, and some of the other professionals stopped by as well, including a group of nurses from Covenant Hospital and a group from South Plains Technical College.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile stops in all sorts of cities, and some places really relish a visit so much that it becomes a full town gathering. In Caldwell, KS, we had people of all ages come meat up at the Wienermobile.

Also, when Caldwell found out that we were going to visit, the chamber of commerce decided to set up a local “Sing the Jingle” competition, so there was plenty of Wiener Jingle caroling going on!

Some members of the local school band even arranged a version of the Oscar Mayer Bologna Song and the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle.

Click on the video below and listen to a few students from Caldwell, KS High School play the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle!

While cruising through the great state of Texas, we had a chance to meat up with the Lubbock chapter of the Solitos Car Club. This car club gets together to show off their rides and help out the community at the same time.

We teamed up with the Solitos members to collect toys for Pancho Claus to give out for the holidays. Having grown up in Wisconsin, I didn’t know who Pancho Claus was myself, but after talking to some of the Solitos members, I found out that he is actually Santa Claus’ cousin from the South Pole, and he gives out just as many toys as Santa.  Sounds like a bunderful character!

We turned some heads with these classic low riders and our own hot dog hot rod.  Thanks to the Lubbock chapter of the Solitos Car Club for linking up with us to support a good cause!

Whenever I show someone the inside of the Wienermobile, I always point to the blue sky on the ceiling. I say, “there is never a rainy day in the Wienermobile”. However, now that winter is here, you may find some snowflakes in WEENR! In true holidog spirit, we added some snowflake lights to the blue sky, and now it looks like a winter bunderland.

Having the snowflake lights definitely brightens up the Wienermobile, and we even added some lights on the outside for a holiday parade in Altoona, AL.

Schnitzel Itzel and I made a stop in Jonesboro, AR for the Country Mart Car Show.  The show featured many cars ranging from the old classics to new hot rods (and one hot dog, of course).  To determine the best car in the show, each vehicle has a cardboard box next to it, and the public could vote by placing a food item in each box.

To make this show franktastic, Country Mart was grilling hot dogs for all.  It looks like even this bug wanted a bite of an Oscar Mayer wiener!

What goes with a jumbo frank at a forest festival?  Well, a giant Paul Bunyan will do!

The Texas State Forest Festival was a time to relish in Nacogdoches, TX.  A few of the popular activities include the swine races, baby derby, lumberjack show, and the 40th Annual Brookshire Brothers Southern Hushpuppy Championships.  

As a Hotdogger, we spend a full year traveling the hot dog highways of America.  So as one might guess, we really relish a visit from our friends and family.  My parents made the cross country trek from Wisconsin to visit me in South Padre Island, Texas.

As most do when they visit South Padre, we spent plenty of time on the beach.  At the end of the day we walked over to the bay side of the island and caught a glimpse of the beautiful bunset.