The "Country" of Arizona

Typically when I think of driving in the "country" I picture miles of corn fields or grasslands. In Arizona, instead of corn, cacti litter the countryside. I have never seen so many towering cacti! The mountains are covered with cacti and other desert plants as well.

Today my co-worker and I went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Besides being located in the gorgeous outskirts of Tuscon, the museum had desert gardens and a small zoo. My favorite animal was the javelina--a desert pig. More than the mountains, however, I enjoyed watching the sun melt behind the mountains. The colors of a desert sunset are breathtaking.

Phoenix, Arizona...Round 3

I was shocked to discover that the other evening was cool and pleasant. As many of the locals have already said, now is the time to be in Phoenix. It is warm during the day and quite pleasant in the morning and evening.

TV Filming

The other night my co-worker and I had a unique opportunity to be part of a television show filming. Have you heard of Overhaulin' on the Discovery Channel? It is similar to Extreme Makeover, except the hosts choose a car to completely re-do. The Wienermobile has a star role...and if you look for the two people in red polo shirts, you might even see me and Jeff.

Anyway, it was incredibly interesting to see the process of filming the show. I was amazed to realize how involved it is to organize these television shows. We had a lot of time throughout the night to talk to the hosts and producers of the show and get the entire "behind the scenes" experience. There is never a dull moment on this job!

The Weekend

Contrary to most individuals' schedules, my weekend started yesterday. This week I actually have Monday through Thursday off. Usually I work five days and have two days off, but occasionally, like this week, my days off all fall together.

We spent the day at a filming of the much-loved show Jeopardy in downtown LA. I am amazed by the volume of trivia that people can recall. Much thanks to our all-American vehicle, my co-worker and I had a police escort to the back stage of Sony Studios. We were also gifted front row seats at the show, as well as some other souvenirs. Mark your calendars to watch Jeopardy January 3rd and 4th.

Wienermobile in the News

Here's a clip from our afternoon in Tehachapi:

http://www.tehachapinews.com/home/ViewPost/34205

Small Town vs. Big City

When we pulled into Tehachapi, California (a tiny town between Lancaster & Bakersfield), we became instant celebrities. Residents of Tehachapi were ecstatic to see the Wienermobile. After dropping our luggage at our hotel, we stopped by the local newspaper only to find that the photographer had already been snapping pictures as we were checking into the hotel. The photographer climbed aboard and we drove to the local park. The phones in the neighborhood began ringing and soon much of the town had stopped by the park.

Small-town Tehachapi provides quite the contrast to overpopulated Los Angeles. Traffic is non-existent, other forms of civilization are not within sight, and most everyone has time to stop and say "hello."

On the Road Again

Our summer promotion is officially complete. We have finishing debriefing and are ready to begin new activities. Tomorrow I will fly back to LA and continue our journey around the West coast.

Time with the rest of the team in Madison has been refreshing! Fun times have been enjoyed by all as we connect with each other. After all, there are not many who share the same unusual job of traveling the country in a 27 foot long hot dog and operating a public relations firm on wheels.

Here is the fair I am going to be working at this weekend in Orange County.

http://www.thekidsfaire.com/costamesa.htm

Madison, Wisconsin!

We're back at headquarters for some meetings with our co-workers and bosses. We also have some time to share and compare stories from our unique travels across the country. Since we have not seen each other since training in June, we are thrilled to re-unite!