Travelog for: Vanilla

Hello everyone!  Vanilla here! 

I am a new toyvoyager, rescued from a charity shop and all starry-eyed!  I am so looking forward to exploring North America!  And star-gazing!

Would you like to host me? 

Well, I know someone who would ... a lovely lady from up north ... I am so happy. 

So now it's time to start getting ready, and someone packed some delicious looking vanilla cookies for me.  Thanks, Mom! 

And now that my travelope is ready to be sealed, it's off to Michigan with me!  Whoohooo!



Vanilla

Well Mom, it wasn't all that long a trip, but I was running low on cookies by the end.  It wasn't as dark as I expected at least, since by the time I arrived there was a hole in my travelope!  It let some light in, but I could hear thunder and hoped that I wouldn't get rained on!  Also, the lint from the envelope kept getting on my cookies.


Then I heard voices.  "What is it?" one asked.
"I'm not sure.  Someone poke it and see if it moves."

I'd had enough poking and bouncing and getting jostled around, so I tried to turn myself around to see out of the hole in my bag.  I heard the voices cry out that it was moving.  Well of course I'm moving!  If you'd been stuffed in an envelope for days, you would want to stretch too!

Then my hole opened wider.  "Hello!  What are you?  I'm not afraid of you!"


So I peeked my head out of the hole and saw Buzz Bluejay.  I remembered seeing pictures of him before I left, and knew that he was staying with Mel, so I knew at least that I had arrived where I was supposed to be!  That was a big relief!
 
I think I scared Buzz though, because he flew off with a squawk.

But those other voices were still there.
"Ahhh!  It's a polar bear!  Raven, you go get it!"
"What? Why me?"
"You're from Alaska, haven't you fought polar bears before?"
"No!  George, are you crazy?"


I did not want a fight, who were these crazy people?!?  I called out to them that I was Vanilla, and I was a ToyVoyager and that Mel was expecting me!


Luckily I wasn't the only one who thought that the voices were crazy.  A lovely lady told them so, and then crawled up to see me.  I recognized her too, it was Amanda!  She welcomed me and gave me a hug, then coughed and tried to brush some of the lint out of my fur.  She promised me a good brushing soon.


I offered Amanda one of my cookies for her help.  It was nice to see a friendly face.  She like my postcard for Mel, too.  I thought she might, since she likes flowers so much.
"Cookies?  You have cookies?"  Those silly voices again!
"Yes I do, come up and share with me if you want," I said, because I wanted to make friends, not start fights, unlike some people!

So George and Raven came up and sat with me and said that my cookies were yummy.  They apologized, and Amanda reminded me that I am the first ToyVoyager ever to visit Mel, so they weren't sure what to expect either.  George said I would probably get spoiled because Mel was so excited to start hosting.  That would be fine with me!


So here I am Mom, with an adventure already!  Mel promised to show me around more once she gets her tea and wakes up!  Until then, I have new friends to make. 

Hello again, Mom!  I saw that Wavy Gravy and Clyde had just updated, so I thought I would make it three for you in a row! 

Yesterday was pretty exciting, meeting everyone.  then Buzz took me for a walk to see some flowering trees.  He wanted to ask me about being a voyager, because he will start his travels soon.  He was nervous!  It's funny to think I am the expert here, when I have only traveled one time! 


Last night after a nap, I went with Mel to her work, but she had warned me that if it was a busy night, I would have to stay out of the way and she would show me around later.  It was busy, but at least I got to sit on her desk and keep her company and remind her to drink water once in a while and not panic!  She promised that for being a good helper, she'd take me again when there is time for me to take photos. 

And today, Mel is off work!  So she took Buzz Bluejay and I to see Grand Haven!  Or at least a quick tour of it.  It was fun! 

We started with being able to see almost the whole thing at once, atop Five-Mile Hill.  The story told is that it got it's name because a light placed there could be seen 5 miles out into the lake.  The hill is actually a giant sand dune that had trees grow on it and thus stopped moving.  This is the downtown part of the city!  The Grand River winds through it. 


This is the same spot, just looking a different direction.  The big hill behind me is actually a ski hill in the winter.  Mel says her nephew Tyler is there all the time with his snowboard.  But you can see better that I am on a dune here!


Then we went back down the hill to the beach.  It was really windy and the sand was blowing, so we just stayed in the parking lot for now.  Mel says we can go to the beach and pier later, yippee!  You can see the pier and lighthouses tiny in the background.


Buzz decided that he wanted a better view, and the tallest spot around was ME!  Get off of my head, you silly bird! 


This is looking down the beach.  In the summer, this will be all covered with people, Mel says!  A lot of this is State Park, but there is city free beach beyond it, and past that, a dog beach for animals!


Buzz and I did find some driftwood and play in the sand for a little bit.  The wind made it hard to stay for long, though.


So our next stop as farther inland out of the breeze.  Mel had to go to the post office, and right across the street was the city's Central Park.  Mel told us the story of this old fountain, which is still closed up for winter.  It used to sit in the grounds of a famous resort hotel that was near here, and people came all over to take baths in Grand Haven's natural mineral springs!  Mel says no one is using the springs now and the fancy hotel burned down long long before she was born.  But the fountain got saved and it just finishing being restored.


Buzz said he had seen enough tulips, but I hadn't.  So of all the beds in the park, I liked these best. 


This one was weird, it doubled!  Mel was going to try and explain mutations to us but I think she recognized by our blank stare that we would rather go play in the grass. 


Now we are back home having lunch.  When Meema gets home we are going out to dinner!  So his may have a part 2 later....  Until then, Mom, I'm being good an having fun! 

Mom!  I wasn't going to write again tonight, but some cool stuff happened!

We went out for dinner, and it was yummy burgers and fries.  Then we went back home and Mel was excited because it was almost time for Mythusters.  I'm starting to notice that Mel is a bit of a nerd?  But in a good way. 

So Buzz and I got a good seat, But then Mel moved us.  Why?  Well, during the reruns that they show first, she was working on a sewing project!  She says it's part of our surprise for Memorial Day Weekend.  She said she'd teach me! 


I even got to cut, carefully. 


We had everything done and neatly stacked for sewing later!


The others wandered in and get settled down for the show.
Dan and Amanda snuggled in the corner of the couch.


George and his friends, Justin and Has, took over Mel's favorite chair, since she wasn't using it.


Mel says Alex is the bigger geek of the dolls, with Justin a close second.  He made his own seat with Raven and Amie who.. look like they are distracted a bit with each other!


Drew wanted to sit with Meema, even when Mel tried to get him to sit elsewhere.  He won in the end.


Buzz and I had a good seat together.


Then as the show started, Mel brought us all a surprise!  Look mom!
VANILLA ICE CREAM!  Just for me! 


The Mythbusters didn't blow anything up much, just a car, but it was still fun to watch. 
Now there is a thunderstorm, but I am not scared.  Mel will play online for a bit, and then we'll be off to bed.  Back to work for Mel tomorrow!

Hi Mom!  Mel had the day off again, but she was busy running all over!  She started the day with a funeral, which she said we probably shouldn't go to, though the lady it was for was known for making toys and dolls.  But after she came home and changed into more comfy clothes, because she had a doctor appointment.  Then she took us along!

I explored just a little bit before the doctor came in.


Mel, I can see you are sick!  You should stay home from work and play with us all day! 


I thought this was a swing, but Mel told me no.  I don't think they have my size cuff, to use it right.


Then the afternoon was so much chaos!  Mel's niece came over and ended up staying and making all the plans for the whole night change!  So Mel ended the night kind of cranky, but the dolls will cheer her up, and I will try to help. 

Mel says only 5 more days until we leave for her trip!  I can't wait! 

Hello Mom!  We made some new friends today, their names are Riin and Eri!  They are tiny traveler from Latvia.  They don't have a ToyVoyager account yet but they are staying with us for Mel's vacation. 

After they got settled in a bit, we helped Mel put the garden in! 

Dan came to help with the heavy work.  We asked him why he cared about the garden, and he said that since he was a chef, of course he cared about growing good food!


Buzz bluejay helped pull weeds and sticks out of the garden box. 


This is Riin and Eri!  Aren't they tiny!  They helped with weeds too!


Then I was in charge of putting a big scoop of compost in the hole from the big ball.  Mel picked out the big bits and threw them back in for another season.  It smelled funny but Amanda says the plants will love it!


Amanda was big enough to handle the plants, but I helped! This is a tomato.  We had six tomatoes plants.


Buzz was in charge of putting in the tag so Mel knows what plants are what. 


We planted a lot of plants for such small toys, but Mel helped.  Here we are with our mostly done garden!


Then we all got cleaned up and went to work with Mel.  But she had a tereible busy night, so we toys just sat in a spare chair in her office and chatted.  Riin and Eri have just started travelling, like us, but none of us have seen their home, so they had a lot to teach us!    Maybe I will see Europe some day, too?

Hello Mom!  We are home from vacation and just now do I have time to sit and write you this letter!  We had so much fun! 

The first day, though, was mostly traveling.  The drive took up more than 8 hours, but we toys talked and kept Mel company on the long trip.

We got all packed up early in the morning.  We had a package to deliver, then we were on the expressway and headed east!


We stopped for a stretch at a rest area while still in Michigan.  We walked a bit and found this memorial.  We learned a lot reading it.


We got closer to Port Huron, MI and started seeing signs for Canada!  We were all so excited we climbed up on Mel's lap for a better view, but she said she couldn't drive that way and put us in the window.  All except Drew, who was too big, but he could stand on the passenger seat and see anyway.


We had wait behind big trucks to pay the toll for the bridge.  It was $3!  Mel told us when she used to cross the bridge north of here it was only $1.50. 
But the view from the Blue Water Bridge to Canada was lovely! 


We got over the bridge, but then had a LONG wait to go through the Canadian customs.  Finally it was our turn next!  Mel entertained us by making us laugh by making up stories about the people in cars near us and trying to guess what they were going to Canada for.


Us toys stayed quiet so the lady wouldn't think to ask US for passports too, and finally Mel got let through.  Then we were Canada!  We asked to stop at the Duty Free Shop, but Mel laughed and said that we didn't need booze and bad perfume, which is mostly what they sold. :P


Then there was more long driving.  We got back down on the seat and looked through some of Mel's notebooks while she drove across Ontario.  We finally stopped for a break in Brantford, and at the visited center there we found out that it is the home town of many famous people!  The two Mel knew right away were Alexander Graham Bell, who is known for inventing the telephone, and Wayne Gretsky, a great hockey player.  Buzz got excited and watched to see something else to do with Gretsky, so Mel drove us a short ways to the training arena he made for the town. We didn't go in but saw a lot of people of all ages going in to play hockey.


Then we got back in the car and went east some more!  Here we are coming through Hamilton, which made Mel happy because they have rocks.  This mountain is made up of the same rocks that Niagara Falls runs over.  We say signs to go to the Falls, but Mel said later.  We had to wait until after the wedding for that, she said, because she had to pick up friends at the airport at 7:30!and the falls are till an hour or more away from here.


Before we even got to go to the hotel, we went to the airport, since it was kind of on the way.  We knew we were getting close when an airplane flew right over the road we were on!


We got to the airport and parked, and then had to wait and wait for Mel's Friends, Arno and Christie, to get through customs after their flight from Amsterdam.  The local museum had a display there - Dinosaurs!  This is an Allosaurus!


We also met two very sweet and cute little girls, who wanted to meet us toys.  We told them our stories and they promised to come to he site to see our blogs, if they could remember the name after all of the excitement of their grandfather coming from Germany.  They gave us cuddles while we waited, it was nice!


Finally our friends arrived, and the hotel was found, and the baggage was unloaded.  Arno and Christie needed to eat, so we walked down to the street to a burger place.  There they had an old jukebox I wanted to explore, but I didn't do much because we were all SO tired after our long day!


Then it was off to bed.  Mel set us up on the windowsill so we cold see the lights of the city, but we fell asleep pretty quickly.  We are told tomorrow is exploring the city, and picking more friends up from the airport! 

Hello again!  Saturday was an interesting day, the morning was kind of dull but the evening made up for it!

Mel, Arno and Christie walked down the street to find breakfast, but we stayed behind and slept some more.  The beds were very comfy!  We thought that they wouldn't be gone long, but they took hours!  Finally Arno and Christie came back alone, with no Mel! 

We could tell from them talking that they had all gone to buy the presents for the bride and groom, and then Mel had rushed to the airport to get two more friends, Cleo and Jenn!  She has been in such a hurry that she didn't come back to the room first - but she should have, because we could have told her that she had the times wrong, and they came in at 2pm and not 12pm!  So she was gone longer than everyone expected. 

Finally she came back with Cleo and Jenn, who had flown in from London England, with a stop in Chicago.  They were very sweet and thought all of us toys were adorable!  We thought they were adorable too.  Then another friend, Robert arrived from New York.  The room was crowded but had three big beds, so everyone fit ok!

With everyone finally there, we could go out and see the city!  We walked to a train station to go to the waterfront.  then we visited the CN tower!  Buzz Bluejay was so excited, since it was one of his life goals. 

Here I am from the train station, with the tower.  it was alreadygetting dark, we were hoping to time it to see the sunset!


On the way up the tower we passed this moose.  He was keeping guard, dressed like a Mountie.  he was smiling though, because he knew we wouldn't hurt anything.


We took an elevator to the top, and looked down through a glass floor!  This si me looking down at the Rogers Stadium where a baseball game was going on!


Sadly, mom, the sunset was mostly over and the sky was so dark that most of our other pictures came out no good at ALL.  Here's one though!


But the view was amazing for us even if we couldn't capture it well!  It was a fun night, though getting back to teh hotel was hard because the baseball game let out the same time as the tower closed, so we had a big crowd in the trains headed back into the city.  We made it okay though, and went right to bed. 

The next day was taken all up with the wedding that mel and her friends had come to see.  We toys stayed home, since we didn't know Anne and Chris, and didn't want to get lost in the confusion!  Riin and Eri were the only ones who went because they fit in Mel's camera bag.  They all got home VERY late from the wedding, and we let them sleep, because we knew the next day we were going with them, to see the Niagara Falls! 

Hello Mom!  Here is the story of our trip to Niagara Falls!

Some of the humans were cranky getting up early to go on such a long drive, because they had been up so late for the wedding, but we made them wake up anyway. We wanted to go!  

The drive wasn't bad at all, Jenn and most of us dolls napped in the back seat while Mel drove and Cleo chatted with her.  We went all the way back to Hamilton, then turned south along Lake Ontario.  So now I have seen two of the Great Lakes! 

When we got to town, Robert, who was driving the other car, called and told us to meet them at a certain tourist info center.  But we couldn't find it!  We did, while we were lost and looking for directions, find The Whirlpool, so we got to see that and they didn't.


After Mel got directions back to downtown (we'd turned the wrong way off the highway) we found Mel's friends and we walked towards the falls.  The city was so full of attractions!  I can see why a lot of tourists come here on holiday.


But what we wanted to see most was the Falls!  First we could see the American Falls, across the river from us.  The land there is the state of New York, in the USA.  So we could see to another country!


It was raining a bit, and the Falls made a lot of mist and fog too, so we were all a bit cold and damp as we walked.  But it was worth it.  Here is our first view of Canada's Horseshoe Falls, when the clouds and fog gave us a small break.




We kept walking upstream to the very edge of the biggest waterfall!


Here is me right on the edge.  The noise was incredible, Mom!  And the air was very wet, and the Falls made their own wind, too.  I wished I had a jacket!


Group Photo!  Buzz Bluejay and I, then Drew from George etc. and Riin and Eri. 


But we weren't done yet!  Cleo, Jenn, and Mel wanted to go on the boat that sails to the bottom of the Falls, so everyone else went along also.  They got rain jackets to wear, a sure sign it would be wet!  Mel promised she would keep us dry if we wanted.  I told her that I would wait and see.
Here is American Falls from the river, at the boat dock!  Our boat went where that one did. So close!


In the end though the view was too much for me to miss!  As we came up on Horseshoe Falls, I couldn't stand it anymore and asked Mel to take me out of the bag.  You can see the humans all covered up in blue hoods.




It was very wet, but an experience I wouldn't have missed for anything!  You could feel the boat motor fighting against the current at the bottom of the falls, and the roar of the water was so powerful!  It was amazing, Mom!   Mel and her friends, and all of us toys, were yelling to each other how awesome it was!


Mel's camera got a bit wet, and so did my fur, but I promise Mel dried us all off very well on the drive home and we are fine now.  Even if Mel herself did get a case of laryngitis from the trip.
The sun came out on our way home, and we had a little time, so Mel stopped just for a second at a shipwreck along lake Ontario for a wuick photo or two, then it was back to Toronto.


We toys took the time to sleep and dry ourselves out, but the humans went out AGAIN with the bride and groom, before they left on their honeymoon.

On Monday, Cleo and Jenn had to leave very early in the morning, and the others said goodbyes and then went back to sleep.  Mel finally got up and drove us all home, but we didn't stop much. She was so tired!  But she says it was worth it.  Now we are with her at her work, before the next trip on Friday!  She still won't tell us where we are going, just that it will be fun.  I can't wait! 

I will write you again soon, Mom!  Miss you!  I am having fun though, and seeing new things!  Wish you were here!

Hello again, Mom!  Happy Memorial Day! 

You'll never guess where I spent my weekend!  Mel took us with her to Dearborn, Michigan, for the second World Steam Expo!  What is that, you ask?  Its a Steampunk Convention!  Everyone was dressed up like Victorian days, but not quiet.  It's hard to describe, so I'll show photos instead.  But there was a lot of shopping, music, thing to learn about, and costumes to see!

This was a small small part of the dealer's room that we all spent a lot of time (and money!) in.


Then we went to a concert for the group Tartanic.  They had bagpipes, and Mel and her friends danced a lot!  The light wasn't good for toy photos, but here's one of the band Mel took.


By then it was past our bedtime, so we headed back to Mel's best friend Shannon's house for the night, knowing the next day we would be up early to go back!

This time Mel and her friends Shannon and Naarah dressed up!  And we started the day with another concert, this time the band was Abney Park.  It was the first of two concerts by them, and it was very fun! 


I even got to climb up on the speakers for a better view.


Raven and Amelie from George etc. and me, sitting and watching the concert while Mel danced.


Mel had brought a lot of toys to the con this day, and Naarah took this photo of all of us with Mel in her costume.  Raven and Amelie are Mel's dolls, then Buzz Bluejay, and Riin and Eri, and Horatio and me!

(Mel says please pardon the cleavage, whatever that means, she blames trying to sit in the corset?)

Then we walked across the street to the mall to find lunch.  This is the hotel that the con is held in.


On the way back, we stopped to watch this class on how to use a whip.  It was outside for safety.


Then we went back and shopped some more before we found a yummy dinner and then went home to sleep before the long day on Sunday...

That day started with lessons on fighting, and then went to a class on making bustles.  We also spent a lot more time in the dealer's room.  Here is me checking out the candy selection!


This nice man let me play with his zeppelin...  Naarah held me up...


... and then gave me some cuddles and a kiss while I tried on a pretty hat!


This was exciting!  We met the author and artist of the Girl Genius comic, Kaja and Phil Foglio!  They are fun people, as you an see. 


Then Shannon, Naarah and Naarah's husband Rob went to another concert while Mel helped turn people into zombies!  There was a whole line of people wanting zombie makeup so Mel did a couple.  We gave advice.  Here is one she did all by herself.


Then there was another Abney Park concert, and this one was much longer and even louder and more crowded and more fun!  But there was a really long wait to get in, this kind band, The Extraordinary Contraptions entertained the crowd waiting in line. 


After the concert we were all so tired!  But we went back again the next day!  But honestly most of us toys just let Mel carry us around, though she did buy us more candy and she got us a knitted top hat to share.  We also enjoyed a concert by the Extraordinary Contraptions, who had played for us all a bit the day before.  Now we are all recovering while Mel nurses her blisters and enjoys not wearing a corset. 
So we will head home to Grand Haven tomorrow morning, and I'll write more soon!    I miss you, Mom! 

Hi Mom!  FINALLY the stars are out in Michigan!  I have never seen a place so cloudy!  So Mel let me go out stargazing, and even experimented with getting a picture!  She says we might try again later.  She's not perfectly happy with it.  I would like that!

Hi Mom!  Mel finally decided that if we wait for a nice sunny day when she is also off work, we will NEVER get to the beach, so she packed us up a picnic lunch and off we went! 



There were big strawberries and raspberries for dessert, and w all ate so many!  But the drink was chosen JUST for me!  Mel says I can't visit Michigan without trying a Faygo pop, and she found one named Vanilla Creme just for me!  It was yummy!  It was made here in Michigan and the brand has been around for a long long time.  (mel didn't realize this was still sideways, she'll fix it when she gets home from work. )



I'd already seen the beach and lighthouse, so I explained things to my new friend Cilly.  She hadn't been here before, and I hadn't gotten to go close to the water last time, but today the water was nice and calm, so Mel let us get closer!



Cilly and I found some nice wet sand and made a sand castle!  We named it Castle of the Lovely Bears!



Riin and Eri were exploring the shoreline too, and they found some pretty shells, that they brought over to decorate our castle!



Then my friend Buzz Bluejay came to se our castle, and said that every proper castle needs a flag.  So he found us a feather from a gull and put it on the top!  The Castle of the Lovely Bears was lovely indeed! 



But then Mel's newest toy Horatio came by.  He is a dragon, and he said that dragons were supposed to attack castles!  And he stomped our castle into the sand! 



Eri started to cry and Buzz got mad enough to give Horatio a bite on the tail!  Cilly and I tried to cheer Eri up.  Horatio felt bad and gave her a hug, too.  Mel gave him a good long lecture on manners on the way home!  He's going to travel soon and she won't hear of him wrecking his host's things! 



As we were packing up and leaving, we saw this photographer and models doing a photo shoot on the beach.  We all wondered what the photos would be for, if they were for a famous magazine!  That would be neat!



Mel says that Buzz is leaving us later this week.  I will miss him, but I know he is excited to travel!  Then this weekend Mel promises us something else special.  What a busy summer! 

Hello Mom!  Guess where I went today?  To the 18th centrury! 
There was a historical reenactment of Michigan's colonial past out on harbor island, called Feast of the Strawberry Moon.  There were Indians, French Voyagers, and British soldiers.  A lot of people brought goods to trade.  It was fun and we learned a lot!

This man had made bark huts and brought many items to show, including wool blankets and tomahawks.



A shepard came and brought his sheep and dogs, to show us how the dogs worked with the sheep.  His wife also had a place selling wool and sheep's milk soaps. People could pet the sheep if they were careful.



Then we heard gunfire!  We ran over to the field and saw that a band of Indians and a group of British soldiers had bumped into each other, and negotiations hadn't gone well.



Cilly tells the story of what happened very well in her journal.  She seemed to enjoy the whole day very much!  I did too, but she was way more excited than anyof us, I think!

We all enjoyed sitting and resting while we watched the battle, though.



After the reenactment and some lunch, we went downtown Grand Haven and saw a bit more of the waterfront.  This is an old steam train that is parked here as a display.

Hello Mom!  Einstein Pig arrived today, so because he loves to learn new things, Mel took us all to the Gillette Nature Center at Hoffmaster State Park.  It is a place to learn all about the great lakes sand dunes!

The dots on this map show places with a lot of sand dunes.  I can find were we are, and Mel's hometown!



This is not a real bug, thankfully!  it's a model, many many many times bigger than real, of an ant lion.  have you seen them?  they dig little pits in teh sand and catch ants that fall into it.  There was a video we could watch.  Interesting!  I'm glad they are tiny!



On the lower level there were animals to learn about.  Here is all of us with stuffed birds and mammels, on display for teaching and research.  A little creepy, but interesting.



Speaking of creepy but interesting, we also got close to this garter snake. 



At the back of the building is a huge three story high window!  There is a view of the dunes there, and a feeding station for wildlife.  Very pretty!  We saw birds, squirrels, and even a few frogs.



Then we went on a very short hike into the dunes, just to get into the woods a bit.  We saw more wildlife and lots of pretty forest!

Hello mom!  We all had an exciting day at the Art Museum in Grand Rapids!  But when Mel got there, all of her toys in tow, we realized that they didn't want us to take photos!  But we still had a lot to do, looking at the pictures, and also playing with Mel's niece Madison when she got a bit bored.  Me especially, Madison carried me around most of the day! 

Mel's mom did take this one photo of us on the way home, with the painting that Madison did!  The special display was the bird paintings of Audubon, so we got to paint our own!