Fest On!

Well folks, I've upgraded. My little green Patron box is no longer big enough to contain me and all of my accessories, so Liv customized a bigger little box for me. The accommodations were quite comfortable as I traveled to Bethlehem, PA for Musikfest.

I assure you that I'm standing perfectly straight. It's the sign that is leaning a little bit. One too many of those Musikfest beers perhaps?

The girls had smoothies with paper umbrellas in them. It was a good thing, because it was a hot day and a complexion like mine burns easily!


When they finished off their smoothies, they shared a funnel cake with me. What's a festival without funnel cake?


It wasn't all food and drink, though. We did listen to a lot of music. We also toured some of Bethlehem's historical points of interest.

I visited the water works, which was a very refreshing little break on a hot summer's day. I learned a lot about the rich Moravian history that is part of Bethlehem's story.


And the Sun Inn.


I tried to perch on the sign, but apparently there are rules against that sort of thing. The Sun Inn was visited by a lot of men of importance during the early years of this country's history, including: (click to embiggen)

After a week at Musikfest, we headed to the Jersey Shore. I had visited Wildwood before, this time I visited Atlantic City. Now THAT'S a town for a night owl!

Here are a few shots of me on the boardwalk. No pictures allowed in the casinos, you know!

I have a feeling my days of music festivals are not quite over. I hope not! I sure do like to shake a tail feather!

Martini Club - Stay Classy

Tammy has been a member of the Martini Club since last November. They meet once a month. FINALLY this month she decided to take me along. And Tom. She took Tom along, too. It was his first time, too.

They meet somewhere different each month. This month they met at Bar Louie.

I enjoyed meeting so many new people. I enjoyed being exposed to a couple new drinks.

The whole atmosphere was festive and light and fun.

One of the Martini Club's mottoes is: Stay Classy.

Tammy did not.

Honest to God, why I go anywhere with that woman anymore is beyond me.

I'll only be with this family until December - it may take her that long to be able to face these people again. So I guess it's good that I was able to go this time.

She's kind of a disgrace.

To her credit, as Tom was basically carrying her out, she did make sure he'd grabbed me.

He had.

At least someone in this family has some sense.

Mosquitoes as Big as Owls

After a quick visit with family, I was packed back into my green box. When I emerged, I was - Wait! I know this place! I was back in Goodland! I had such a good time last time I was here, so I was very excited.

I didn't get out as much this time, though, because June in Goodland is not quite as pleasant as January in Goodland. If you're not following, it was HOT. But that was only part of it. There were mosquitoes. And no-see-'ems. Now I'm a woodland creature, by nature. (Nurture took me down another path. No regrets.) I don't mind a few bugs. But this was ridiculous. My people were smacking me and each other and themselves constantly to try to keep the little buggers at bay. It was easier to stay in.

I did get to pose on the Goodland sign, though.

And I got to go to Stan's - which is a really happening place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

So it all went well, despite the tenacity of the smaller flying pests.

Where to next?

Family Visit

I am sorry. Truly. This party started almost a month ago. I had good intentions of live-blogging on vacation, but there was something wrong with the connection thingy between the camera and the computer. Sorry if my explanation was too technical.

Without further ado:

I came out of my green box this time in Bethlehem, PA. The family was there for a double graduation party, and it ain't a party if it ain't got Pink, "Hoot! Hoot!"

The party started, for my family at least, with Yuengling and cheesesteaks. Now east coast folks don't tend to be too impressed with Yuengling, but where I am now, you can't get 'em. Everyone knows, if you can't get it, it's better than everything you can get. Same goes double for a good Philly cheesesteak on an Amoroso roll.


Of course I had to work off all that beer and cheesesteak. There might have been a Tastycake Krimpet or two involved, too. Not sayin', just sayin'.

After my workout, I took a walk around the grounds.

Lions and owls on stairs - oh my!

Having a ball, so far!

Ask not for whom the bell tolls...

A little rock climbing while the waterfall is in disrepair...

Hanging out with Hiawatha, whose eyes aren't scary at all. Nope. Not at all.

Fishing wasn't so good, but it's always nice to make new friends!

Sitting in tree branches is my favorite! Hootie Hoo!

Time to head in for the night. I played a little Chinese Checkers with Liv before turning in.

The next morning, I was told there would be chores.

Nothing heavy - just laid a little pipe...

Cleaned the toilets.

A little privacy, please!

Walked the dog.

And did the laundry.

Finally, I was told it was time for a swim.

I headed for the pool house...

And emerged ready for the water!

Chillin' with my peeps - er - um - ducks at the end of a long, happy day.

I'm glad we're coming back here in a couple months! I have a feeling that there are places here I didn't get a chance to explore...

What Would Luke Skywalker Do?

I got to go camping two weekends in a row, am I a lucky owl or what?

This time I was hootin' it up with the Bad Moms Club.

I was reunited with my valentine, the gnome.

I got to wear my own club shirt.

The Captain joined The Don for party time. The little gnome is cute, I guess, but he's not my gnomie...


I met some new friends - camping friends that live in Wendy's camper. There's little gnome again, and the hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil monkeys. You might recognize the guy right next to me.

One of our fellow campers, however, did not.

She said, upon discovering all of Wendy's little camping friends, "I see a little gnome, and some monkeys, but who's the Star Wars guy?"

Um? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross to save us from our sins? That Star Wars guy?

The funniest part was that the woman who said it is arguably the most religious of them and inarguably the most church-going of them. Didn't recognize him out of context, I guess.

That could pretty easily lead me into a whole diatribe about the huge gap between spirituality and church, but I'm gonna let it drop. 'Cause there's probably a huge gap between spirituality and Jesus action figures, too. And I need to rest up for my next vacation.

Back to the Woods

This weekend I was packed up again and unpacked in a place where owls like me feel most at home (Well, owls, anyway. There aren't many owls like me...) - the forest.

Yep, this weekend they took me camping.


The family were like different people out in the woods. They were super-mellow and I liked that a lot! Of course Tammy and I got up early every morning to read and write and commune with nature. There are a lot of birds making noise early in the morning, who knew? (I'm nocturnal by nature, remember?) It was no hootie hoo, but their songs were pretty. For morning birds.

Check it out! I even had my own door to the tent!


I admired Shelby's boots so much that she let me try them on. I thought they looked great, but no-one saw fit to let me keep them - or even wear them for the rest of the day. Boots are for people, blah blah blah...


Of course I liked the nights the best, when I could sit around the campfire with my gnomie.

All the coolest folks come out at night.


Lea let me sing while she played her guitar: Whooooooo are you? Whooo whoooo? Whooo whooo?

I had forgotten how much better everything tastes outside!

What a great weekend, I hope I get to go camping again real soon! Do you think next weekend is too much to hope for?

How do You Say "Hootie Hoo" in Spanish?

The family celebrated Cinco de Mayo like many in the United States do: We went out for Mexican food and big ole margaritas. Apparently this is a holiday that is not extensively celebrated in Mexico, but in the United States it's been pretty much appropriated as a good excuse for a cocktail. I am not adverse to this, and actually think there should be more ethnic/cocktail oriented holidays. One owls opinion. Ahem.

The kids had virgin daiquiris that they said were super-yummy.


The grown ups had margaritas on the rocks. Me? I indulged in a little bit of everything.

The kids were tickled, because, as you can see in the picture, the table at which we were seated had an owl on it. I told them if you look hard enough, there are owls everywhere. Their association with me has just heightened their awareness.

I liked this restaurant - I fit in very well with their color scheme. In an era when even some fast food places are taking a stab at understated, it's refreshing to go somewhere that isn't afraid to be big and bold and out there. What's that you say? My digestion? Didn't affect it a bit.

Hootie Hoo, and Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Nothing Matters in the Whole Wide World, When You're in Love With a Jersey Owl

Well folks, I was packed up in my little green box again, and this time I was unpacked in Wildwood, New Jersey.


We went to Wildwood to watch a friends daughter perform in a dance competition. When we arrived in the room, there were flowers and candy waiting there for her. She shared a few of the special M&M's with me. I thought that was kind of cool.

You can't tell from the picture, but the purple ones say: Fusion XI (her dance team) and the yellow ones say: Go For The Gold

After a quick shower we headed to the convention center to watch her preliminary competition. the weather was cold and gray and rainy, but that didn't squelch my enthusiasm one bit as we headed for the boardwalk. Even through the ugly weather, that first glimpse of the ocean made me smile.

There I am in the shower! How embarrassing!

Sitting on the boardwalk, watching the people go by.

The girls ultimately won the gold in their competition. I enjoyed watching all of the teams perform. It was so graceful and beautiful. Grace isn't something I've had a lot of exposure to this year, no offense intended to my host family.

Gillian let me pose with her medal. Her gold medal, thank you very much!

I learned pretty quickly that one of the best things about the Jersey Shore is the food.

There was good east coast pizza...

Philly Cheesesteaks

And fudge and saltwater taffy.

I made some friends on the boardwalk, as I tend to do.

Some pirate eye candy for any sexual preference

I rode the trams on the boardwalk. The quality of this picture is rather poor, because that ride was BUMPY!

I ended my day at the beach back at the Wildwood sign.

What a fun adventure! It was so much fun making new friends and spending time on another beach, even if it was a cold rainy time. It was a nice reminder that summer is just 'round the corner!