Travelog for: Sully Monster

WOW, what a day!  We headed out to the pumpkin patch and corn maze, and was it ever fun.  Here I am on a full-sized pumpkin...hi mom!



The corn maze was VERY cool...also VERY big, good thing Jones was able to carry me in her hoodie.



We had to find various checkpoints in the maze.  They were marked off with numbers or animal signs.  I asked the big lady to take my picture at each one...Jones says it will prove to you that I did the whole maze...





During the maze, I made a new friend!  He tickled my feet a bit when he crawled on me.  Do you see him?  He's a moth caterpillar.



He even crawled on my hand for a while 



In the middle of the maze, there were a flock of FLAMINGOES!  Big lady tells me they're not native to Canada, so we were really lucky to see them.  I even got to ride one:


Here are the rest of the maze checkpoints:




We actually missed a few, but like I said...it was a big maze.  The big lady says we did "good enough for one afternoon".

Afterwards, I met a really nice Jack O'Lantern named Ernie



While I waited for Jones to play mini golf and run in the hay maze, I chillaxed on a pile of gourds.  "Chillax" is my new word.

We've been busy decorating for Halloween.  I love the lights on the stairs!


Check it out when we turn out the lights...


I was just sitting on the table this evening though...and i felt like something was watching me....


AAAACKKKKK!


I tried to run away...


But all he wanted to do was tickle me...


WHEW!!!!  I'm still okay, he was just a Halloween decoration, and he was just joking around with me.  No monster-eating spiders in Canada...most of the real spiders are hibernating or dying off these days, the people tell me, because it's getting cold out.

Wow, we've been so busy Mom, this family is always on the go!  I have been to so many places and done so many things...although they don't always remember to take my picture. 

For Halloween, it was "unseasonably warm" said the Big Lady, so I got to go trick up treating!  Mainly I stayed witht he Big Lady while Jones nabbed up the candy.  Here we are getting ready to go out.  Jones was a vampire(ss)...I was a monster 

oday we went to a nature conservation area to meet "The Real Batman"...he had a slideshow all about Bats in Ontario.  We even got to meet a real one!  The bat was scared of me,a nd I was scared of the bat, so the picture is a bit blurry.  This is a typical Eastern Ontario brown bat.  He wasn't that big, but uhm....I was a bit scared nonetheless!


Afterwards we went for a hike in the woods. 


We came across a marsh with wild ducks (Mallards, they have green heads, very pretty!)


Not sure if you see them or me better in these pictures...hmm...


At the marsh there were a lot of cattails.  All of them were pretty dried out, as it's almost wintertime here.


I hid amongst the pine needles in the forest!  Can you see me?

So every Saturday morning, Jones goes to a place called "The Boiler room" to climb the walls.  Literally.  She took me today!  I got about 1/4 of the way up then was too scared to continue, so I came back down.


The lady in charge of the climbing gym said that maybe I was a bit too small to climb.  So I went outside with the Big Lady.  She took my picture overlooking the Rideau River

Well I'm packed up for a weekend road trip to Montreal!  The Big Lady grew up there, that's why this family speaks French sometimes.  Not sure if we will be getting to the city or not though, as we are going for the Big Lady's mother's birthday party.


Ah well, in the end, we didn't go into the city, too much visiting to do.  I took a quick picture in front of the village church in Ste-Thérèse.  This church is typical of the churches found around Montréal..lots of old big churches and they're all Catholic.

Jones has a sleepover party in her class today, and I was invited!  During the day, I stayed in Jones' mother's office, because she was afraid the other children might want to play with me too much and I'd get lost in the school.



School sleepovers are NOT common in Canada.  Jones just has a really cool teacher this year.  She even let all the kids bring one stuffed animal each!  Guess who Jones decided to bring?


Yep!  Me!!! I got to see her cubby, her classroom, and the gym.  Jones is in 3e année (Grade 3) and she's 8 years old.


In the gym we played game stations.  All of the kids were in their pyjamas byt his point.


I played a bit of lacrosse.  Most people think hockey is Canada's national sport, but the Big Lady told me it's actually lacrosse.  Lacrosse was invented by the Native people in Canada and is kind of like hockey on land, anyway.  Lacrosse came before hockey.
In this picture I'm sitting where the lacrosse ball normally would.  That's asoccer ball in the background...

Jones does skating twice each week...she's a speed skater!  This year she decided to start competing in speed skating, and so I have been to a lot of meets.  The thing is, Big Lady always forgets to take me along so I end up staying at the hotel   BUT, the big Lady made Jones a few skinsuit outfits for speed skating, and so Jones made me one too!  Here I am in my skin suit before practice.  Jones puts me in her vest pocket during practice, because they don't have skates in my size.


Jones also skates with me at the outdoor market square rink (in Kingston, behind City Hall).  I'm tucked ini her snowsuit in the picture, she's the one in purple.


I have been to meets in Ottawa(45.417  -75.700 ) , Kitchener-Waterloo (43.467      -80.533) , and Belleville(44.167  -77.383 ) so far.

Here's a picture of Jones and her team.  She's the littlest one of the Kingston team that goes to the out-of-town meets.

Well, here we are getting ready to go away for Christmas holidays.  The family is taking me to CUBA with them!  Although this middle-of-the-night flight business has me very tired.  Here I am crashed out at Pierre Elliot Trudeau airport in Montreal.  the airport is named after one of Canada's most famous Prime Ministers.



Once we passed security, I read for a while with Jones


Here I am with Jones' oldest dolly, Katsi.  Katsi is the only dolly that gets taken on plane trips by Jones and her family.  She is 8 years old, like Jones, and she's been to California, Guatemala and all over Canada.  She's not a toy voyager in the true sense, but she's travelled a lot.  Katsi has a Mohawk name, it's actually Katsisenha:wi for real, and it means "She brings the flowers" because she usually wears a dress with flowers on it.  For Cuba though, she borrowed a bathing suit from the rabbit Webkinz, and a Santa hat from one of her other dolly friends.

Behind us is the plane that is taking us to CUBA!


Katsi and I sat on Jones' lap once we got on the plane


Shortly after we boarded the plane, they let us all have pillows...ahhhh  Finally I get to really relax and have a nap!

Here we are on our first day in Cuba!  the hotel is really nice


There are flowers in the trees and although the weather is COLD for Cuba, it's much much much warmer than what we left behind in Canada.


Today we checked out the resort, which is on the peninsula near Varadero.  There's a kiddie pool for me and Jones


All you can eat buffet meals




All you can drink at the bar (I have developed a taste for Shirley Temples mom...LOVE THEM!)


All over the resort are different kinds of trees and vegetation, my favourites are the Coconut trees


There are palm huts all over the place too, they're fun to climb...can you see em?


And of course there's the beach.


I like to watch Jones' aunt and uncle play volleyball


the water is a bit choppy though, so I'm not able to go out on a catamaran

Today we went to Havana on a private tour.  The Big Lady was worried about me wandering off, so I mainly stayed in the camera bag.  They did remember to take me out for a few pictures though!

About 60% of the cars in Havana are old american cars, from before the revolution 50 years ago.  They have been seriously well taken care of to last 50 years!  There's one passing behind me in this picture, taken near the Cuban Capitol buildings


In Revolution Plaza, there is a monument to the Revolution.  Fidel Castro gave his big speeches at the foot of this monument.  I'm joined here by a Cuban dolly named Mojita.  She was able to teach me a bit of Spanish while we were in the camera bag together.  Es una lingua muy simpatico.


In this photo I am joined by Smelly, a monkey who may very well be the most well-traveled toy voyager I have ever met!  Smelly doesn't voyage solo...he belongs to Jones uncle and aunt and accompanies them on their travels.  They have taken Smelly to about 8 countries in Europe, to 4 countries in South America, to 3 countries in Asia, as well as all over North America.  Smelly has been traveling for at least 10 years.  We're in front of the Ministry of Industry, which features a metal sculpture of Che Guevara, one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution.  Smelly's dad (Jones' uncle) looks a LOT like Che Guevara.

One last road trip for em!  Jones had a long-track speed skating competition this weekend...outside in the FREEZING cold!  It was -24 this weekend!

After she skated, she wanted to take me skating too (I'm not allowed to actually *compete* with her, her skinsuit is too tight to have me inside with her)

So we went to the Rideau Canal, aka the World's Longest Skating rink!


Here I am skating with Jones!


We stopped for a Beavertail, a quintissential Canadian culinary delight that originated on the Rideau Canal many years ago...


MMMMMMMM...Beavertails.....Jones and I shared a regular cinnamon sugar one, while the Big Lady ate a chocolate one.  Mmmmmmmm

Hey everyone, it's me, Sully Monster! I just arrived in Baltimore with my new host Ashe! She's also hosting Emil and we took a photo together:



Ashe says it's a good time for me to show up- she's throwing a bridal shower for her friend Susan on Sunday! So we're going to be very busy.

I'll write soon!

Hi mommy! So many exciting things happened in Baltimore. Let me tell you about all of them!

Ashe threw a bridal shower for her friend Susan, who's getting married next weekend!

We bought her gummy panties:

Ashe is silly!

Here I am hosting the buffet:


Here's Emil and me with the favors:


Susan and everyone had a great time!

Emil, Stanley Monkey, and I dyed Easter eggs with Ashe and her niece, Abby.

Here are us TVs posing:


Blue dye, just like my fur! And Ashe's favorite mug:


Here's me with eggs. I had some when Ashe wasn't looking! Nomnom.


Meanwhile, Ashe's second semester of grad school started. I helped her study:

Strategic management, is the subject, she said. Whatever that is!

I visited Ashe at work. She works in the concierge lounge for the Marriott. Here I am in the back. You can see the pot of iced tea she has to make every day on the right:


Here I am on the counter:


I helped Ashe fill out the monthly consumption report!


In front of the dishwasher and water rack.


Ah, that was fun! Well, it was work for Ashe but I was glad I could visit.

For our last romp, Ashe, her friend Siobhan, Stanley, and I went to the fairy festival in Pennsylvania. It's a tiny May Day festival but it was raining! So I only got one picture in.

There's alpacas in the background but they're blurry!

I had fun in Baltimore with Ashe! But now I'm off to Canada. Eh?


Ashe and me at 4:45AM, before I went in my box and before she went to work. Parting is such sweet sorrow but I'll always remember my Baltimore fun!

I'm here 

I made it safely to Calgary. Wow, apparently I didn't fit in Smaug’s letter box so he came picking me up from the post office later this evening.

When we arrived home I could hear a lot of voices around me but from inside the box I wasn't sure of who they were.



Then I came out and met them. There is quite a gang of stuffed toys here, but the only other tv is sammino who actually is a stay-at-home-tv. They were all very excited as apparently I am the first tv that they host.




I had a great time in Baltimore, but now I can’t really wait to explore this new place! Next update to come soon