A Pickle's Christmas

I was happy to send Mr. Pickle off with my friend Miss Olivia on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia from December 23-28. He had a great holiday with her while she visited with her family. No pickle Christmas would be complete without elves, cookies, cupcakes, and pigs!

 First up was meeting the Elf on the Shelf. It kept an eye on Mr. Pickle and his new friend, Olivia's 3 year old niece Madison, as they waited for Santa to come.

 Of course Olivia had to get to baking some fabulous treats, and of course Mr. P had to get it on the fun. Check out that dandy lil apron! No flour mess on this pickle.

 He enjoyed being tucked in for a cozy slumber.

 Play time! First up was an ABC board game.

 Then some quality time playing with his new farm pals. (Talk about anthropomorphic bliss!)

 He took a ride on the Pink Pig! Macy's Pink Pig has been a popular holiday attraction in Atlanta since 1953. Families (and pickles) line up for a ride on the Pink Pig.

No trip would be complete without some quality munching. Mr. P and his hosts enjoyed soup and sweets at Dulce Vegan. YUM.

All in all, he had a fabulous holiday, relaxing with his new friends. He's looking forward to getting back out in the world. Will it be with you? 

His winter is pretty open, and he's looking forward to an adventurous 2012.

email nomadicpickle [at] gmail.com if you want to take him somewhere.

Deep in the Heart of... New York City

Mr. Pickle spent the weekend of September 29- October 2 with my cousin Rachel on a trip to New York City. I shipped him out to her in Austin, and they set sail from there. So far, all I know they did was visit the Statue of Liberty at Ellis Island. He then spent the rest of October and most of November in Austin, Texas doing who knows what! He did meet Rachel's cat named Boyfriend. (This pickle meets a lot of cats.) Sadly, that's all I know!

Mr. Pickle Gets To The Point

Stevens Point, Wisconsin that is. I finally got to take Mr. Pickle on another trip! After Korea and Hawaii, Cort and Yu-Jin stopped in Detroit for a lil visit. I retrieved the pickle from him then. A week later they were reunited with Mr. Pickle as I headed to Stevens Point to visit with them from August 25-29. Ha! (Shall we call them pickle hogs?)  We enjoyed everything from bi bim bop to the beach to the brewery!

 

 After settling in at Cort's abode, we headed downtown to Cafe 27. It was new to me, and it was great! A cozy place, inside and out. We ate outside in a greenhouse. They have plenty of vegan options including this chocolate coconut cupcake! Mr. P helped shoe away flies as I ate it. He also recommends the sweet potato burger. Mmm. 

Mr. Pickle met Sugar Roo at the Portage County Public Library! The tops of the shelves in the Children's Room were lined with stuffed critters, it was so cute in there.

Mr. P posing with some Point residents.

We ventured off to Milwaukee for a day, stopping first at Classic Slice for some pizza. Mr. P played a little Miss Pac-Man and The Simpsons. And yes, he did kindly control himself. While he did that, Cort and I devoured GIANT vegan pizzas.

Mr. P did MKE. On this door on a downtown street.

This is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Mr. Pickle leaped out of my purse to hang with a mushroom.

McKinley Beach in Milwaukee. Mr. P enjoys a chilly Lake Michigan.

Someone left this awesome beach house for him!

 

Back in Point, we spent an afternoon downtown. He checked in at The Fox Theater.

Mr. P also checked in at the Tech Lounge.

And he rounded off the afternoon with a delicious Masuman Curry at Green Tea Restaurant. Cort said this dish was addicting, and she was right. Mr. Pickle is still having dreams of this curry.

We totally cheesed it up and took a tour of the Stevens Point Brewery! Kind of neat. He had never been on a beer tour before. He hopped in with some hops.

Mr. P meets Nicholas C. Point.

And at the conclusion of the tour Mr. P was able to taste anything he wanted. He stuck with the root beer, which was awesome. (The tour guide/ bartender asked him if he was similar to Flat Stanley. He choked up a reply of sort of.)

Mr. P had a great time in Wisconsin, and was not attacked by any cheeseheads. 

He's thinking his next trip to Wisconsin will be most exciting.

email nomadicpickle [at] gmail.com if you want to take him somewhere. check his itinerary to see if he's available. He has a lot of free time starting in October!!

Aloha Mr. Pickle

After their Korea trip, Mr. P stayed on with Cortney and Yu-Jin as they headed straight to Hawaii for a honeymoon! From August 8-15 they were nice enough to take Mr. Pickle along as they traveled the islands and enjoyed beaches, walks, sunburns, and many fruity beverages. Warning: This looks even more like paradise when written on a chilly, rainy day in Michigan.

 His first fruity drink (Passionfruit!) on the island of Kauai, which is where they spent most of their time.

 Trying to avoid a sunburn on his first beachy day. He wore SPF 45 and a sunhat.

 Mmmmm. Coconut. One of many fruity drinks.

 Hanalei Valley Lookout, on the edge of paradise off Highway 56.

 Mr. Pickle is LOVING this fantastic scenery. 

 Sun time, fun time. Ouch, that rock is hot.

 You put the pickle in the coconut...

 More fun times, Kauai style.

 Mount Wai'ale'ale, one of the wettest spot on earth. The 2nd highest point on the island of Kauai.

 Mr. P makes a friend! This peacock is much less daunting than the alligator he met in Louisiana Cajun Country. 

 Snorkeling at Tunnels Beach. Um, guys, these flippers are a tad big for Mr. P.

Another yumtastic fruity drink! At Tunnels Beach.

Mr. Pickle and a starfruit. This made the song Star Fruit Surf Rider by Cornelius get stuck in his head.

Totally digging a visit to a Dole Plantation on the island of Oahu!

 

Mr. P is not vegan, but he enjoys tasty desserts of all kinds. So this yummy raw chocolate pie hit the spot. Then he craved a fruity drink to wash it down. Go figure!

Beach time for Mr. P, Oahu style. He avoided sunburn! His straw hat came in handy. 

Mr. Pickle had so much lazy fun in Hawaii. He could sure get used to that lifestyle. Cortney and Yu-Jin left Hawaii and flew into Detroit. They later handed the pickle back over to me before heading home to small town Wisconsin. The word Wisconsin piqued his interest... Stay tuned to find out what we did about that!

email nomadicpickle [at] gmail.com if you want to take him somewhere. check his schedule to see if he's available.

Mr. Pickle's Got Seoul... Korea

From around July 30- August 7, Mr. Pickle took his first trip outside the continental US. He did it up big and went to Korea! He went over with my good friends Cortney & Yu-Jin for their traditional Korean wedding ceremony. They all had a bit of fun before and after.

Waiting at the airport in Minneapolis. It's not that quick of a trip to Korea.

Just hanging around at the airport, still.

The Pickle has landed! Here he is at Hyewonjeongsa Temple. Check out the details in the bronze fittings.

Hyewonjeongsa Temple for Zazen meditation. Mr. P is not quite in the correct position, but he's feeling good.

A trip to Busan! A beachy view from the lovely Paradise Hotel. Mr. Pickle is looking pretty snazzy in his new hat!

At a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant serving temple food in Seoul.

Cafe Brownie in Seoul. Mr. Pickle wanted to devour all the chocolate. Yu-Jin had to hold him back.

It's thirsty times for pickles while enjoying Dosan Park in Seoul. (The tomb of Dosan Ahn Changho is there.)

Still at Dosan Park, this pickle tries to translate. He guesses the sign has something to do with trees and dog poop.

Cortney, the art historian, reports that "roof tiles are where it's at." Mr. P is enjoying some evidence here in Dosan Park.

A modern Seoul inhabitant.

Such a lovely light show in the Gangnam District in Seoul. 

Mr. Pickle is getting his geek on here in Seoul.

Interestingly, Mr. P did not learn a word of Korean while there, so he was in a fog most of the time. But the sights and sounds did him wonders. 

C + Y + Mr. P left Korea and headed to Hawaii next! Stay tuned...