One Pickle, One Vegas, Thousands of Librarians

Mr. Pickle joined one of his favorite traveling librarian pals Karla (of Seattle trip fame) for the ALA Annual Conference in Las Vegas from June 25 - July 1. This is not his first time at ALA, as he loves his librarians. Being Vegas, he saw a little more than he should have.

A dapper pickle checking out the details.

Um, hello lady friend. Thankfully Mr. P did not slip any singles anywhere.

Lord of the Rings! Games! Vegas! Winning!

Counting cards.

Mr. Pickle hangs at Caesar's Palace.

While there he hangs out with a few new friends.

He takes a bath in this one's tea.

Oh, and look at these feathery friends! Sparkly and twinkly.

One of the coolest things about the trip was that Mr. P and Karla were reunited with Jenny and Elizabeth, ALL of whom have traveled with Mr. Pickle! They have each taken him to ALA at some point. Ha! 

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Oh, such fun! You never know what this green guy is going to be up to next.

He's got room on his calendar for summer times, and needs to check more states off his bucket list. View his itinerary and see if he fits your sched.

Seattle's Best Everything

Mr. Pickle loves librarians, and he loves tagging along with them on conferences. True facts. He headed over to Chicago and then spent January 21-25 in Seattle, Washington (a state he's never been) with Karla. In addition to library business they drank yummy drinks, went on adventures all over the place, and Mr. P even met some pickle friends!

The ALISE conference ponders... 

Always the beautiful question.

 

Mr. P met some Britt's Pickles! FREE SAMPLES. Live cultured foods are his best friends; they're smart.

They visited the EMP Museum, which was AMAZING! Hey Doctor Who fans, check out that Dalek! Mr. Pickle was all over the music installations and pop-culture fun.

Hello tasty brew at the Gordon Biersch Brewery.

Time for Mr. P and his friends to enjoy more tasty eats. Pike Place Chowder hit the spot. Apparently there's a legacy behind this place.

Market time, market time.

No loitering? Yeah, right.

SHOWGIRLS! What? Mr. P, I hope you were covering your eyes. Only $1 for video peeps though.

No trip to Seattle is complete without some Pearl Garden & Sound Garden in your ears. Mr. P forgot to pack his flannel shirt. D'oh!

Where are we?

Mr. Pickle is a BIG fan  of public transporation. (Here's a secret: Mr. P doesn't pay anything on his travels. He has special privileges anywhere he goes. But he doesn't let it go to his head. He's very grateful.)

He sure celebrates libraries and librarians! He travels with them to lovely places.

Mr. P's still not sure if this really is Seattle's Best Coffee.

The needle points upward! Seattle's famous needle. It's not for sewing, silly Mr. Pickle.

Hot Mama! Many Hot Mamas. Oh my, Mr. P was a bit overwhelmed with all of the attention they gave him. They were a little to sassy for him though.

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And so ends another STELLAR trip with lovely folks. Thanks, Karla for all the fun!

Next up he's headed back to Cali! 

He's got some free time coming up after that. Where will YOU take him?! 

East Coast Fall Explorations

Mr. Pickle spent the last half of October with his pal Elizabeth. They  left Chicago and headed off to Charlottesville, Virginia and Washinton DC. There was a work conference, a race, a lot of biking, an alligator attack, a bit of presidential mischief, and he went postal.

Mr. P and Louisa stopped by Fibre Space in historic Old Town in Alexandria, VA. This was near the election, so Elect Wool is present in the window.

While on a Mount Vernon Trail bike trip Mr. P and E stop for a break mid-ride to watch planes take off at National Airport.

Mr. P finds himself in some cozy spots while visiting the National Postal Museum in DC. It's perfect that E took him here, for two reasons: 1.) Mr. P travels by post as often as he travels by plane or bike. 2.) Elizabeth loves mail!

No matter if it rains or snows pickles, the mail must go through.

I guess if given the choice, Mr. Pickle decides that he is a letter.

How cool are these old mailboxes?!

Mr Pickle and Elizabeth rode bikes to Barack and Michelle Obama's house, AKA The White House! Unfortunately, Sasha and Malia couldn't come out to play. (This was just before the election.)

Thanks to some Capital Bikeshare wheels, they were able to trek about Washington DC.

Cheap champagne coctails at Blue Nile in Harrisburg, Virginia! I swear this pickle is not a lush.

Delicious Ethiopian cuisine for this pickle. He has no hands, so how does he eat it?

A little Halloween time in Charlottesville. Mr. Pickle's not quite sure what to think of this freaky mess.

Here he meets Thomas Jefferson!

Mr. P throws on a scholarly look for a visit to the University of Virginia. Such class, this one.

More gators! Aaaaah! Whey do they always find him?! This time at an antique shop. See here and here for his past encounters.

He should probably be more concerned with the giant starfish behind him.

Mr. P and E squeeze in some apple picking at Carter Mountain Orchard!

Tis gourd season after all. Well played with the hat here.

A monster encounter for Mr. P on Halloween. Someone knew he was coming and drew him.

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More good times with Elizabeth were had. He's headed back to Michigan now. And he has NO TRIPS planned for the rest of 2012. Will you take him somewhere with you? He gets bored easily.



New Orleans or Bust!

Mr. Pickle was the lucky guest on another business trip with Miss Olivia. This time they stayed States-side and headed to New Orleans from October 12-17. He's been one busy traveling pickle lately! And he's loving every minute. One minute he's in France, the next minute he's in the French Quarter.

Planning time! Books and beads.

Mr. P says hello to the New Orleans Convention Center.

Tiny swag at the neuroscience convention. (I said it was a busines trip!)

A beautiful early morning in Jackson Square.

Yes, yes, and yes. Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. He is looking like a most dapper pickle ready to devour ALL THE SWEETS.

Why must Mr. Pickle encounter alligators every time he visits New Orleans? At least he manages to escape the clutches of death each time. Phew.

Mr. P enjoys some unique corncob ironwork on Royal Street. He's the size of corn!

Eyeing some chicken and frog cakes at Croissant d'Or Bakery. I don't even want to know what these are. Thanks Olivia for taking him to yet ANOTHER bakery :)

They visited100 year old Central Grocery for a muffuletta, because apparently no trip to New Orleans is complete without this muffuletta.

Mr. Pickle checks out this original soda fountain at the Pharmacy Museum. This place sounds pretty cool!

Mr. P meets his first voodoo doll at the museum. He's not quite sure what to make of the poor thing.

Would you like some voodoo goofy dust?

This cute green guy makes a spectacle of himself at the spectacle display at the Pharmacy Museum.

An original pharmacy show globe! Mr. Pickle was happy not to break it.

Enjoying a view of the Mississippi River and the river boat Natchez and the plus-shaped World Trade Center.

Please take one pickle at Preservation Hall. Pickles for the soul!

How about a sip of a cherry hurricane wine slushie? Yes please!

Mr. P and Miss O enjoy a walk all the way down Magazine Street with a carrot, beet, kale juice. Yep, this pickle digs kale.

They even caught some Lousianna-made shorts at the NOLA film festival!

Fpr some reason, pickle things are everywhere. Like this pickle bottle stopper. Mr. Pickle is perplexed, his face just doesn't show it.

Wow! Olivia sure can pack in some sight seeing while on these business trips, and Mr. P is always happy to guide her along.

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Next up is Chicago and some east coast touring. Check out his itinerary and let me know if you wish to take him with you somewhere! He'd love to show you his hat collection.