Travelog for: Sweetie

Hi Mom!

Yesterday a new ToyVoyager arrived - His name is Bubblegum. He is from Germany. He told us all about his trip to Australia and Katara showed us his Travelog.

Tonight Katara made us some Macaroni-and-Cheese for supper. She added in a little bit of salami for flavour. It was really nice! 

Hi Mom!

We all helped Katara prepare tonight's supper. We had roasted mixed vegetables, chicken and wholewheat couscous.





xxx Hugs and kisses, Sweetiexxx

Hi Mom!

Katara has started a mini herb garden on her balcony. She has chives, peppermint, oreganum and flat-leaf parsley.



For lunch today we ordered some wood-oven-fired Pizza.
We ordered a "Tiri" - It has feta cheese, cheddar cheese and mozarella cheese with Napolitana sauce and a "Las Vegas" with mozarella cheese, pepperoni, mushroom, onion and Napolitana sauce.







In the afternoon she showed us their local community newspaper. Some articles are written in English and others in Afrikaans.

Hi mom!

Today it was hot so Katara treated me to a Magnum Almond Ice-cream. It has Vanilla ice-cream and is smothered with dairy milk chocolate and chopped almond. It was delicious! 



In the afternoon we took a stroll down the street.

This house has high-voltage electric fencing to keep intruders out.

Hi Mom!

Today we all did some sewing! It was much fun! 
We are all helping Katara make a birthday present for her sister 

First Katara made the legs, then we helped pin some of the pattern pieces.



I helped Katara cut out the 'arms'



Then we watched while Katara sewed the pieces together.



Birthday present in progress.



Then for supper we had Spaghetti Bolognaise. Katara made it with ostrich mince.





Open wide!

 

Hi Mom!

Tonight we watched "The State of the Nation Address" on television. I saw Mr Jacob Zuma - the South African president. 



Just now I will go to bed - at least it is a bit cooler tonight 

Good night mom!

PS: I asked Katara how to say "Sleep well" in Afrikaans. She says I must say "Lekker slaap".

Hi mom,

Today it is raining...



We spent the morning helping Katara to finish the doll for her sister's birthday. We are very proud because the doll looks beautiful! 



In the afternoon we told Katara that we wanted to bake a cake.
Me, Hase, Marty and Bubblegum found a recipe in one of Katara's cookbook's.



We creamed the eggs and castor sugar





I sifted some flour



Here the cake is ready to go into the oven



Katara helped me to taste some of the batter - It tasted delicious!



Then we put the cake into the oven. After a whilst Katara checked the cake - she said something wasn't right... We discovered we never put the butter/margarine into the batter, so the cake was a big disaster...  Katara didn't have enough ingredients for us to make another cake...

Today we went to Rosebank. Rosebank is a suburb in Johannesburg. We took some photos along the way...










We arrived at the Rosebank Mall. The newer part of the mall is called The Zone.



At the mall:





Hase, Bubblegum and I had some fun too! 



We also visited the Rosebank Rooftop Market:











I had a great time!

In the afternoon Katara gave me, Hase and Marty a little farewell tea. We ate some Cinnabons - it was very nice!







Tomorrow I will embark on my journey to Arizona
I don't want to go back into the dark envelope but I am looking forward to going to USA! 

Thank you Katara for hosting me!  I really enjoyed my stay!

I arrived safely in Phoenix, Arizona today! When my envelope was opened I was surrounded by friendly, smiling faces!


"Hi! I'm Sweetie and I live in Slovenia. I just completed a fun adventure in South Africa!"


"Welcome to Arizona, Sweetie! We're happy you've come to visit us! I'm Bart.  My human family and I will be your hosts."


"It's nice to meet you, Sweetie! I'm Puppy Graham from New Jersey.  I'm sure we'll become good friends and have lots of fun adventures together!"


"Hi, Sweetie! I'm Lilac and I live in Los Angeles, California. I've been the only Toy Voyager here for several months, so I'm really happy to have you and Graham here to share adventures with!"


After meeting my new host and Toy Voyager friends, we posed for a group photo.


Then I went outside to get some fresh air (that envelope was very dark and stuffy!) and get a quick look at Arizona.




When I came back into the house I met one of my host's cats. His name is Jake. He seems very friendly and he seemed to like me!


I'm very tired after my long nine day journey from South Africa, so it's time to get some rest.  My host says I have a few days to rest and relax and then we will be going on adventures this weekend.  I can't wait to see Arizona!

Bye for now!
Sweetie

I had my first Arizona adventure today! My hosts haven't been away in a long time, so today we went on an overnight getaway! We can't go far from home since Jake (their cat) needs insulin injections twice a day, so we went to Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino. It's only a 25 minute drive down the freeway from my host's house. 

This is the Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino sign along Interstate 10. I'm sorry the sign is blurry and you can't read it.


Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino opened in October 2009. Gambling isn't legal in the state of Arizona, but it is legal on Native American land.  Wild Horse Pass is owned and operated by the Native American Gila River Indian Community.


We saw some pretty yellow wildflowers blooming outside of the hotel.



The hotel registration desk is in a tall rotunda lobby area that has a big statue of a wild horse.


Time to go check out our room, it's on the fourth floor. Here we are...our home away from home for the night, room 432.


This room is very nice!


The bathroom is very stylish, too!


And this pillow-top bed feels very soft and comfortable!


I wonder if the televison has any information about the restuarants here at the hotel?


Maybe it's better to look in the hotel Guest Services book.




We were getting hungry, so we decided to go to Cafe 24/7 for lunch.


We shared a grilled seasoned chicken sandwich and french fries. Mmmmm...that was very yummy!


Next, we went into the Casino to play some slot machines.  We didn't win anything big, but we still had fun. We played one slot machine that was based on the movie, "The Hangover". It was funny! We got to play a lot of bonus rounds, so we had fun playing for a long time. Sadly, still no big win though.


Later we went over to Lone Butte Casino. It's only about 5 miles from Wild Horse Pass, and it's also owned by the Gila River Indian Community.


We parked in the 3 of Hearts area of the big parking lot.


It was getting late, so after playing for awhile and not winning at Lone Butte Casino either, we decided to go back to the hotel to watch television and relax.


I wasn't very interested in the show that was on television, so I decided to look at this pretty book about Arizona.


I can't wait for our adventure tomorrow.  I wonder if we'll see any of the places in these magazines!


Time for one last group photo with Graham and Lilac so that we'll always remember our getaway to Wild Horse Pass!


We need a wake up call, but this phone is bigger than I am, si I can't make the call. We asked Graham to call and request a wake up call. 


My hosts said that tomorrow we're going on an "old west" adventure! It sounds so exciting and interesting, I can't wait! Time to crawl into that big, comfortable pillow-top bed and get some sleep. Good night!

Today my hosts took Lilac, Graham and I on an adventure into the Superstition Mountains.  We learned a little about the old west!

Our first stop was the Superstition Mountain Museum. Here we learned about the Dutchman's Lost Gold Mine.  Legend has it that a German immigrant, Jacob Waltz, found one of the legendary Peralta family gold mines, deep in the Superstition Mountains.  At the time, "Dutchman" was a common, yet inaccurate, American slang term for "German" (derived from the word "Deutsch" which means “German” in German), which is where the mine got it's name. According to Jacob Waltz, the mine he found was rich beyond dreams and was located where a miner would never look for gold. Supposedly, on his death bed he gave a friend a crude drawing of a map containing the location of the mine.  To this day, the mine has never been found.  Many versions of the legend exist, along with much controversy about it's existence.



Back in the 1860s, this area had several gold mines which produced a large amount of gold.


In addition to providing history about the Superstition Mountains, the museum is now home to two buildings from the Apacheland Movie Ranch which was located near here, in Gold Canyon, Arizona. Apacheland Movie Ranch opened in June 1960.  Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Ronald Reagan, Steve McQueen and Clint Eastwood were some of the actors that filmed western movies at Apacheland.  Movies filmed there include: “The Gambler II”, “Death Valley Days”, “Charro!” and “Have Gun Will Travel”.  The last full length movie to be filmed there was the 1994 HBO movie, “Blind Justice” starring Armand Assante, Elizabeth Shue and Jack Black.

In May 1969, a suspicious fire destroyed all but 7 buildings on the ranch. The sets were rebuilt but almost 35 years later, in February 2004, another suspicious fire destroyed Apacheland.  In October 2004 Apacheland closed its doors permanently. The cause of both fires still remains a mystery.  Upon closing, the only two surviving buildings from Apacheland were donated to the Superstition Mountain Museum.

The chapel from the Elvis Presley movie "Charro" survived the fire.


Inside the chapel there is a display case showing some of the movies that were filmed at Apacheland Movie Ranch.


Just outside the “Charro” chapel we saw a man who looked like a gold miner from the old west! He posed for a picture with Lilac, Graham and I.  He said his name was Rusty Spurr.


We also saw a little cactus garden outside of the chapel.


We found a stage coach just waiting for me to jump in! I bet it was really hot riding in this stage coach back in the old west, it doesn’t even have air conditioning!



That barn in the background survived the fire, too.  It was used in lots of western movies filmed at Apacheland.


In this picture you can see the Superstition Mountains behind me.


We saw a lot of Cholla (pronounced “choy – a”) cactus. They look like fuzzy trees, but I was told not to get too close! They’re often referred to as “Jumping Cholla”. If you get too close, just the slightest brush against it can leave you covered in cactus thorns. YIKES!


It was time to get back in the Jeep and continue on our way. 


The first stop was Canyon Lake Vista!



We had a beautiful view of the whole lake and the surrounding canyon walls.



We saw some pretty yellow wildflowers again. They seem to be every place we go!


Back on the road again!



Just a short distance from Canyon Lake is the tiny town of Tortilla Flat, AZ. Only 6 people live here! Over 100 years ago Tortilla Flat was a stage coach stop along the Apache Trail. Today over 1 million people visit Tortilla Flat each year. That’s a lot of people!


This sure is a tiny little school!


Oh good! We found the Saloon just in time for lunch!


We had to wait a while for a table because there were so many people at Tortilla Flat. While we were waiting I saw an Indian carved out of wood!


I also saw a place to pose for a picture!


It took about a half hour, but we finally got a table!


We ordered a Cowboy (burger), Big Bad Dawg (hot dog), a salad bowl and soup. It was all very tasty! I have to say, my favorite was the Big Bad Dawg! The pretzel bun was delicious! It tasted just like a soft pretzel!



Look at the dollar bills on the wall! There are dollar bills everywhere! All over the walls and even on the ceiling! The custom of pinning dollar bills on the walls began many years ago when regular customers, ranchers, prospectors and people working on the Salt River Dam would pin their card and dollar bill behind the bar. Local customers and visitors from all over the world have continued the tradition and today the walls have currency from more than 67 countries!



One of my hosts came prepared! She thought that each Toy Voyager should have a dollar bill on the wall. Here’s a picture of me with the dollar bill she prepared for me to leave in Tortilla Flat. Now everyone will know that Sweetie was here!


Someone made a nice sketch of Tortilla Flat.


The saloon bar has bar stools that are made with real horse saddles!



Bart, one of my hosts, decided to mosey on up to the bar and order a beer…a root beer (after all, he’s only 7!).


In this picture you can see more dollar bills way up high. You can also see people on those crazy horse saddle bar stools!


They had a United States flag hanging in the Saloon.


More dollars along the walls!


After we were done with lunch we walked down to the Old Time Ice Cream & Candy Store. They have candy that looks like a Saguaro Cactus!


They also hade Prickly Pear Cactus Gelato, but we were too full from eating lunch so we didn't buy any. 

Speaking of Prickly Pear Cactus, we found one just outside!  This one doesn’t have any fruit on it right now though.


I was finally able to have my picture taken with a Saguaro Cactus!


It was time to get back in the Jeep and start driving back to Phoenix.


There’s Canyon Lake again.


We made a quick stop at Canyon Lake for a picture.


There are lots of pretty views along the winding road through the Superstition Mountains. Here’s one of those pretty views.


It only took about 20 minutes and we were back in the Valley of the Sun (that’s what they call Phoenix). We stopped along the road for a few pictures. Here’s some more Cholla Cactus (I didn’t get too close!).


The final picture from our adventure is of the Superstition Mountains. I had a really great time experiencing a little of the old west in the beautiful Superstition Mountains!
]

Today is Bart's birthday! One of my human hosts bought a card for Graham, Lilac and I to give to Bart.  We were all happy to sign it because he's been a really nice host!


We all took turns signing the card for Bart.






The card is signed and ready to give to Bart!


Bart requested a special birthday lunch...Sloppy Joes. So Graham, Lilac and I decided to make some Sloppy Joes for him! First we had to fry the ground beef.


Then we had to add the ingredients that make the beef into a Sloppy Joe. We had to keep stirring it while the delicious flavor cooked in, we didn't want it to burn!


That didn't take long! Time for all of us to share a Sloppy Joe! I hope it's not too, uh...sloppy!


Bart loved his Sloppy Joe and so did we! I thought it was very tasty and it wasn't too terribly sloppy!  I didn't even spill any on myself!

Now it's time to give Bart his card. I hope he likes it!


Bart was so happy with his "8 is great" birthday card! Our hosts also bought Bart some "Cars" cupcakes and a nice big "8" candle!


Aren't the cars on the cupcake cute? It's really yummy, too!


It was a nice little celebration for a very nice host! I wish you many, many more Happy Birthdays Bart!

Today one of my human hosts had to go to the Mazda dealership to get the oil changed on the Miata. Graham, Lilac and I decided to go along.

It was a beautiful day outside, so the roof was down on the car. We wanted to feel the wind blowing through our fur, so we jumped up on the back of the car.



Sadly, our host said that it just wouldn't be safe to ride on the back of the car like that. She said that she had to keep us safe so that we could return home to our families all in one piece, just the way we arrived.

So, we jumped down from the back of the car and sat down inside. We had a nice ride in the little car and we even felt the wind blowing through our fur a little bit, too!

Today my hosts took me and the other Toy Voyagers on a beautiful drive along Bush Highway, just outside the Phoenix suburb of Mesa, Arizona.

The beautiful mountains along the highway are very rocky and jagged!


A lot of people come to this area for access to the Salt River. Tubing down the river is a popular activity during warm weather.


While we were stopped by the river we saw people riding horses. Saguaro Lake Ranch is just down the road and they offer horseback riding and cabins for rent. The ranch was built in the 1930s and is quite popular due to the beautiful scenery and serenity of the area.

Next, we drove to Saguaro Lake. Saguaro Lake is one of four reservoirs that were formed by dams along the Salt River. The four lakes, Apache Lake, Roosevelt Lake, Canyon Lake and Saguaro Lake are owned and operated by SRP (Salt River Project). The dams along the Salt River generate power for the Phoenix Metro area while the reservoirs serve as water storage for Phoenix. The lakes also serve as recreational centers offering fishing, boating and other water sports. 

It's a beautiful day at a beautiful lake!




There's a dock on the lake, too.  A lot of people go fishing, boating and jet skiing on the lake.


Here they are again! More bright yellow wildflowers along the lakeside. These wildflowers seem to be everywhere we go in the desert!


Aren't the bright yellow flowers pretty?!


There are lot of high cliffs and rocky mountains along the lake!




On our way back to Phoenix we drove by Usery Mountain where a giant arrow and the word "Phoenix" are painted on the mountainside. In the 1950s, as a community service project, a group of Boy Scouts whitewashed rocks they used to form the word “Phoenix” on the side of Usery Mountain. At the time the area was open desert without any real landmarks, so the intention was to direct pilots to the Phoenix Airport. Today the Phoenix metro area extends beyond Usery Mountain, so the sign is now obsolete. Last painted in the 1990s, the sign will likely never be painted again since the public has complained about defacing the natural scenery.   

We drove to two different areas to try to get a picture of me with the Phoenix sign, but we couldn't seem to get a real clear picture of me and the sign together. Either I was in focus or the sign was, never both (drats!).

Here's the series of pictures we took of me with the sign. 






Since we couldn't get a clear picture of both me and the sign, we zoomed in to take a clear picture of just the sign so you could see what it looks like.



This mountain is near the mountain with the Phoenix sign on it. The mountain's official name is "Pass Mountain", but it's often referred to as "Scarface Mountain" because it looks like the mountain has a scar across it.


We had a great time! It was a beautiful day, for a beautiful drive, into the beautiful mountains! My hosts said they sometimes forget that all this amazing scenery is practically in their own back yard!

Today my hosts took me to Gilbert Town Hall in Gilbert, Arizona.  Gilbert is a suburban town (it’s not officially a city even though it has more than 220,000 residents and encompasses 76 square miles) in the east valley of metropolitan Phoenix. From 1990-2003 Gilbert was the fastest growing municipality in the United States and it’s currently the fourth fastest growing. In 2008 Gilbert was listed in Money Magazine as one of the best places to live in the United States. 

As soon as we got out of the car we saw some pretty flowers on a tree!


In the front of Town Hall we saw a bunch of Saguaro Cactus. It was almost like a forest!




We also saw a little waterfall. The sound of the flowing water was very serene.


As we walked past the waterfall we came to Gilbert’s 9/11 memorial. Following a three year quest, an 8-foot steel beam that once held up the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, was given to Gilbert Town Manager, Collin DeWitt. His goal was to create a tribute to the 3000 lives lost on 9/11/01 during the worst act of terrorism on United States soil. DeWitt, along with Gilbert's Fire Chief, drove to New York City to collect the beam. They drove the beam to Arizona, giving it the same honor and respect given to fallen soldiers.


 
The beam rests on a pentagon shaped slab of granite. 








The memorial is surrounded by four granite walls that contain the names of those lost in the attacks, on planes, the World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon.



Six granite benches also surround the memorial.


Although the memorial was unveiled to the public on September 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attack, my hosts had never seen the memorial before. They were very touched by it. They said they’ve seen many memorials in the past, but this one held such significance for them because the tragedy happened in their lifetime.

It was a beautiful memorial, but I felt sad for all of the people who lost their lives and all of the families that lost loved ones. May all of those who lost their lives rest in peace and may their loved ones find peace and happiness in their memories.

We will never forget.