Travelog for: Papelbon

St Valentine's Day!

1/I near to a monument to soldiers-internationalists. It is constructed in honour to all Belorussians who were die in wars outside of the native land, since ancient times and up to now. For example, the Belarus division has been first thrown to Afghanistan. Thousand Belarus guys were lost, because of the Soviet heads.

2/I on river Dnepr quay. This main river of a city. Earlier it was navigable. But the climate has changed, and the river has shoaled.

3/Anchor on quay of Dnepr – the only symbol today, that it was navigable.

4/Building of the main bank in Mogilev before October revolution. Today here a museum named by Maslennikov (painter).

5/I near to the astrologer. The monument to the astrologer stands in city centre. It is surrounded with 12 chairs symbolising 12 astrological signs. At night from a telescope the powerful beam shining.

6/I near to a monument of Lenin. It is before a building of Regional executive committee, a principal organ of our area (the American equivalent of area - state). In 30th years when the western Belarus was under the Polish occupation, it has been decided to transfer the Belarus capital from Minsk to Mogilev, this building was constructed. But after an attack of Germany to Poland in 1939, the Soviet armies have attached the western Belarus back, and carrying over of capital has not been carried out.

It has been a month since my host said she put me in the mail.  I am lost and scared and just want to get home.  If I make it home I will join the rest of my owners TVs that are NOT going to ever be sent out in the mail again.  How odd there are four of my owners TVs lost out there in the postal service.  My owner is sad because I was a very special present for her.  If you see me or have me please send my owner a note.

Hey Mommy!

I have safely arrived at my first host on the Worldwide ToyVoyagers Trail. I'm in Missouri for awhile now.


Oh, and Steph loves the postcard you sent along with me. She says "Thanks".


I arrived on a night that there really isn't much to do. I played Rhythm Heaven on her Nintendo DS.


I also checked out her movie collection, but I couldn't decide what to watch.


After looking for awhile, I began to yawn and realized this polar bear could use some shut eye. My trip was definitely tiresome.


Goodnight Mommy! I'll update more very soon!

HAPPY LABOR DAY MOM!

Today, I didn't do much of anything. It was a pretty nice day, so I found myself a raft and decided this polar bear needed to try to work on his tan. 

But, as I was getting my raft out, I came across this creature. Steph said it's called a Phasmatodea or, as she likes to call it, a Walking Stick.


After examining the bug for a few minutes, I decided to drag my raft out and work on that tan. The water was a bit chilly for Steph, but I thought it was the perfect temperature.


While I was drying off, I noticed something moving in the distance. I began to make my way over only to see this turtle!


And in celebration of Labor Day, we had BBQ for dinner. It included hot dogs, chicken, hamburgers (not pictured), macaroni and cheese, baked beans (not pictured), and these cheesy potatoes that were so delicious. I was going to share the recipe with you, but we seem to have misplaced the card. If I find it, I'll share it.


And for dessert, homemade ice cream! What a treat for a polar bear! 


Well Mom, I must be off. I need to get a little shut eye after all I've done today. This weekend we're supposed to be going somewhere really cool if the weather permits us. I really hope it does.

Love,
Papelbon

Well, Mom, today the rain held off long enough so we decided to continue with our weekend plans.

Today, we crossed the mighty Mississippi river and went over to Chester, Illinois.



As soon as you crossed the river, there is a Welcome Center and I decided I wanted to take a few photos here. There was a nice deck to stand on to look at the river, the bridge we just crossed, and at Missouri.


Also at the Welcome Center was a Lewis and Clark cutout along with information about them. I decided to read the signs and see just what they had done here.



Top sign:

Quote:

LEWIS AND CLARK in Illinois On November 27, 1803, Meriweather Lewis, William Clark, and their party camped on Horse Island, just opposite of this place at the confluence of the Kaskaskia and Mississippi Rivers. The next morning, Lewis left them to travel by land. Clark and the men pushed on to Kaskaskia via the Mississippi River.

Bottom sign:

Quote:

Lewis & Clark Expedition 1803-1806 Chester, Randolph County, Illinois The town of Chester, Illinois, sprawls on the eastern bluffs overlooking the November 27, 1803 Horse Island campsite of Captain Lewis and William Clark on the west bank of the Mississippi River near its confluence with the Kaskaskia River. The Corps of Discovery Expedition crew knew that six miles ahead were the Garrison of Kaskaskia, more recruits, and supplies. Clark noted in his journal on November 28th, 1803, "passed the mouth said River (Kaskaskies) at half passed 8 o' clock - the high lands make near the Mississippi below the mouth of said River, a bold and rocky shore." Future travelers found the high lands near the water highways a comfortable place to settle. Chester became the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, in the 1844 election and hosts the eastern side of The Chester Bridge (Route 51) over the Mississippi River. The bridge bisects Horse Island and is the only bridge crossing the Mississippi River between Cape Girardeau and East St. Louis. It replaced the ferries that transported the families following the Trail of Lewis and Clark to the West. Many stayed in Chester prospering with the advent of the castor oil press in the first general store, the Cole Milling Company, the International Shoe Company, Prim Hosiery Mill, Gilster-Mary Lee Company, Menard Correctional Center, and its statue of Popeye that is a tribute to Chester's native son, Elzie Segar, a world renowned cartoonist.

But, today, we weren't in Chester to see just the river and Lewis and Clark, though they were both very cool. You see, Chester, Illinois is the Home of Popeye and each year, they have their annual Popeye Picnic where they unveil a new character statue each year.




And at the Welcome Center, we also found a statue of Popeye.  This statue was first erected in 1977 then they began to create more statues in 2006.

Quote:

POPEYE THIS STATUE IS ERECTED IN TRIBUTE TO ***ELZIE CRISLER SEGAR*** BORN IN CHESTER, ILLINOIS - DEC. 8, 1894 DIED IN SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - OCT. 13, 1938 Mr. Segar created Popeye from his recollection of Frank 'Rocky' Fiegel - Jan. 27, 1868 - Mar. 24, 1947 - Local Scrapper. Popeye first appeared in the cast of 'Thimble Theatre' Jan. 17, 1929. William 'Windy Bill' Schuchert - Mar. 8 1857 - Feb. 20, 1941 - Chester Opera House Owner and Mr. Segar's benefactor, appeared as 'Wimpy' the hamburger fiend.

We had a map of where all the statues are located and will be located in the future when they are unveiled. So, I looked that over and tried to figure out just who was where and how we could find them.


We parked downtown and began our adventure into the busy streets of the picnic. They had food, games, and carnival rides.


We stopped at a souvenir shop, but it was so busy that I couldn't really get into any photos inside. But, Steph did manage to take a photo of this timeline on the wall. It shows when character debuted in the "Thimble Theatre" comics. Did you know Olive Oyl appeared ten years before Popeye? Me either!


On the side of the building, there was a cool mural of Popeye characters traveling down the Mississippi. See the bridge in the painting? That's the one we crossed!


And a few feet away, we found the statue of Wimpy! It was created in 2006 and was the second Popeye statue to come out in Chester.



A few streets down, we found a statue of Bluto in a bank parking lot. Some band had placed their t-shirt on him which I found to be kind of funny and a unique way to advertise. This statue was created in 2008.



We got back in the car and drove a bit. I gave directions as I read the map until we found a statue of Castor Oyl....

And Whiffle Hen. This statue was released in 2009 and sits in front of the hospital.


Then, we decided to find the newest of statues. We drove a bit further down the road to Wal*Mart where we saw the statue of the Seahag...

And Bernard. This statue had been unveiled only an hour before we arrived.


As we drove through the town, I began to realize just how serious this town was about Popeye. He was painted onto windows of businesses, there was a painting of him in a fireman's suit with a hatchet on the fire department (but we couldn't get a photo) and there were restaurants based around it. Here's a mural we found on the side of a pizza shop downtown.


Just as we were about to leave, I realized that we had missed one VERY vital statue. Luckily, it was on our way out so we were able to stop by. It was the statue of Olive Oyl, Swee' Pea, and Eugene the Jeep. How could I have forgotten!? It was erected in 2007.



After we got back into the car, I found myself rather tired so we decided to go back across the Mississippi and head home. We picked up a brochure on the way out that Steph thought you might be interested to read. We scanned the inside of it and you can look at it here

I hope you enjoyed my update today! I really had a lot of fun.

Love,
Papelbon

Oh! And I got you a postcard. We'll send it out in the mail this week!

Just letting you know that I am safe and well in Australia. My host is in the middle of proofreading & editing 100 end of year reports for the grade she supervises at school and as soon as they're out of the way I will be able to use the computer to start my updates.
Get back to you soon - I promise!


IMG_7219 by becka_kate, on Flickr

Jay-Z! Oprah! U2!! Bono! The Edge!


IMG_0066 by becka_kate, on Flickr
Oprah's "Ultimate Audience" who she bought out here to film her Aussie shows were sitting right near us, just the other side of all those empty seats, and when she came out she sat here too!

U2 were pretty awesome as well!

IMG_0092 by becka_kate, on Flickr


IMG_0105 by becka_kate, on Flickr

(BTW - sorry not to be in the photos, but somebody forgot to put new batteries in the camera and had to use her iPhone instead! Apparently it is impossible without having 3 hands to photograph ToyVoyagers this way!) 

Tonight we saw Bon Jovi's Circle Tour (think there's a theme here - U2's concert was '360 degrees')

It was a great night, and luckily it stopped raining, so we didn't get wet.

Once again, Bec had to use her iPhone to get pics and so I'm MIA in these photos too! Sorry!

Such a gorgeous sunset behind the stage!


IMG_0132 by becka_kate, on Flickr


IMG_0134 by becka_kate, on Flickr

So, here's what I've been up to since landing in Australia...

Braved the crowds to go Christmas shopping...




Checked out some of the local fauna & flora...

Like these cicada shells (we counted 17 on this one tree alone!)


Christmas bush - the cooler than normal weather lately has meant that the colour is more vibrant than it has been in recent years.


Grevillia in red...


and yellow...


And, some Kangaroo Paw


I've played with the canine members of the family...


and taken them to the park to play "Fetch".


Together with Nursey, I've helped organise the Christmas cards


Helped decide on yummy treats to have for Christmas lunch and dinner...




and assisted with the grocery shopping.


We've been put to work wrapping presents...




but still found time to relax...

Catching up on some reading,




and playing the wii...


though I have to admit my driving skills in MarioKart leave a lot be desired!


I spent a lot of time crashed into the wall!


Christmas is in just a couple of sleeps and still a lot to do. Will check in later and fill you in on what an Australian Christmas is like (though, all the weather reports are predicting a cool, wet Christmas Day!)

Today's Christmas Eve and so we are getting ready to celebrate.

Wonder what this is going to be?

I think some Christmas baking is being done!

Nursy and I assisted with making chocolate cake, well, she supervised any way...




Mmmm Christmas cake - the result of the fruit mix I found earlier!


All the Christmas baking done - Fruit cake, chocolate and sponge.


Now to make the fillings!
Icecream with additions to go with the chocolate cake...




Of course there was still the mundane things to do like the washing!


and Bec seemed to think that today would be a good day to paint some magazine boxes to use at work. 

Tonight we visited the city to get into the Christmas spirit.
Our first stop was at the shop windows in David Jones, one of Sydney's major department stores. Every year they decorate their windows along one wall with a different theme. Some years it's a different Christmas story, other years it's Santa based. This year's was Christmas carols, with mice hidden in each scene (we don't know why!)

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear


God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen


Ding Dong Merrily On High


Good King Wenscelas


And of course, the Nativity (The First Noel)

There was also a light show at the nearby Hyde Park Barracks, which was a lot more contemporary in design and effects. We all agreed that although it was good, the Cathedral light show was  more impressive. We think the inspiration for this display was wrapping paper gone crazy 
(I am in these pictures - I swear! Just hard to see in the darkness)

I am home but I am leaving again! I am going to go visit a host that lives in Austria!! I will finally get to see where the Sound of Music was filmed!!! I am sooo excited I cant wait to leave!!

Hi mum!

What a journey - today I arrived in Hallwang, a a small town just a few kilometers outside of Salzburg. When my host mum received me, she immediately opened the envelope. I gave her the post card, which you sent with in the envelope... she really liked it!

I also got to know another tv, Babuo. He stays with my host mum for a while already. He want's to see the very famous 'Christkindlmarkt' in Salzburg, that starts on Nov 17th.

I send you the first pics, I could take here in Austria!