Travelog for: Amie

My host was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is where Cyphacon was held. It was really nice seeing my hosts home town. It was a beautiful place! The food was fantastic! I ate some cracklin, some red beans and rice, sausage and chicken gumbo, and a crawfish boil! The convention was also a lot of fun. It was a small convention with very friendly people.

Potato wedges covered in pepper jack cheese and jalapenos. It's called a "Hot Mess" at Jack In The Box!

We went on a brief visit to see our hosts friend Joey. He lives out in the country in Tulsa!

We ate at a place called Popeyes. They made cajun fast food and it's pretty good if you don't leave far enough south to have real cajun food.

We stopped to have some truck tacos last night!

I wanted to let you know that me and host are safe a well! We had a devastating tornado that has killed many people today (it's all over the news). Thankfully my host and I are safe and with power. Please keep our friends in your thoughts!

WARNING! This post is about the devastation we've experienced in Oklahoma recently.

On May 20th, there was a devastating tornado that destroyed schools and homes in Moore, Oklahoma. That tornado kill 24 people, which included 9 children, and many more where injured. Teachers put themselves on top of children to save their lives. My hosts co-worker Jeff was the first person to get to Briarwood Elementary, which was completely destroyed by the tornado. He saved several children and teachers and his daughter was thankfully among the rescued! Jeff broke both his arms saving lives that day. It was a horrible experience for a a lot of people... it was devastating. Thankfully, myself and my host and her loved are alive and well! My host and I cried a lot that day, as it was a very emotional experience.

Jeff on the news!

Interactive images that shows the amount of damage the tornado caused.

On May 23rd, the first funerals were held where parents buried their children. If this wasn't enough, the Westboro Baptist Church tried to protest the funeral. They are a radical religious group that is pretty awful. They said that God hates us and killed the children in the storm because we are all sinners. It was a very hateful thing to do and they were arrested - it's illegal to protest funerals in Oklahoma.

And then there was yesterday - May 31st. We were in the middle of a tornado. It was a powerful storm and it was very scarey given what had just happened a week ago. The tornado was a lot bigger than the one last week. We were in the middle of the circulation, but we all came out alive and well! When the storm first hit, it was a lot of rain and high winds. Then the hail started to beat at the walls. The sirens were sounding outside for about an hour. It seemed like the hail and rain wouldn't stop. We were huddled in the bathroom (the bathtub is the safest place in the house) and we listened to the news telling us about the tornados that were coming for us. When the power went out and the internet dropped, and the cell reception died... we could no longer know where the tornadoes were. It was like being blind and hunted. It was frightening.

100,000 people, including us, were without power. We lost power around 6pm and then didn't get it back until today around 1:30pm. Cell phone reception is still down. Luckily, the fridge and freezer kept cold and our food didn't spoil. This afternoon, we learned that 5 people died and more than 70 people are in the hospital. Luckily, the tornado that was coming right at us, decided to "hop" over our apartment complex and went south of us!

Out here in the states, we have Storm Chasers, which are people who make a living chasing storms and tornados. They provide valuable information during the storms that helps to saves lives. One of the crews got too close to a multi-vortex tornado and the vehicle was destroyed. The ones in the car survived, but two other storm chasers died in this tornado. And they got some amazing video of the tornado that passed through El Reno, OK - yes there were several tornadoes yesterday.

Here's the video!

Here's a photo of the destroyed vehicle.

Aside from the tornados and hail, there was lots of flooding. We braved the rain and hail around midnight and ate at a diner called IHOP where they had power. We spent some time in comfort with a friend, and it was a nice way to relax after an intense evening.

I did take a few moments to record a video for you!

And now for the pictures!! Look closely, because there are photos of downed power lines that are live. We had to be very careful there taking photos. I couldn't be in every photo, but I thought you might like to see the photos anyway!

UPDATE: Sadly, Talia passed away on July 16th. She was a great inspiration and full of smiles and energy. She will be missed.


Today, I ate some "rice and gravy" and watched an episode of Doctor Who <3

Then, I started helping my host make a big soft squid for a little 13 year old girl with two forms of cancer. She's fighting hard and things aren't going very well recently. So, we're going to send her a big buddly surprise! It's gonna be about 4ft tall, very soft, and BLUE! Talia's favorite color.

We laid down a towel on the ground to collect of a lot of the fuzz because the fabric is very messy to work with. We also had a lent roller to help clean up a bit. It's a big pattern so we used up ALL the sewing pins to hold all the pieces together. The squid is going to be so cute when it's done!

We went out to Crabtown to eat. I tried the fried calamari and it was spicy and yummy! I also had their gumbo. I had fun!

Hi Mom,

I've been out touring the American wide open spaces, vast plains, mountain chains, deserts and rivers with my ToyVoyager pals, Kalea, Jelle and
Buddy.

We hitched a ride to an old-fashioned stagecoach depot.  It was a long dusty ride and we were jostled around but is was a lot of fun.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/history/stagecoach/overland

I'm way out West now.  My brother, Suomi-boy, was here! and I'm getting to know his TV friends.  Small world!

Love and hugs from,

Your Amie

I helped our good friend Jelle into her cushy travel quarters and we took her to the post office. Kalea filled out the customs form. We (and Oscar Wilde) have nothing to declare but our genius. Her flying envelop is on its way home. Bye bye, dear Jelle.

Party time!!  Two TVs have returned from their wayward travels, Nicky and BarryO.

Ye gods, C.T. Mouse, Detective, is gossiping again.  He says Nicky used to be a guy and BarryO was a lot taller. 

Let's not let science get in the way of fun.  Mmm, that punch was good.

The heat wave is over here so we plan to get out sight-seeing soon.

Hugs from your Amie

it’s windy out here today, Mom.

Noodles flew high up into the Marin Headlands, found the baby mouse called DeeDee, wrapped her in the stork cloth, circled around the city and delivered her to her parents, DuDu and DuDette.

While the site was down I flew home.  Mom, did you check my travelop?  DeeDee tried to jump in and start her travels.