Harold has decided to run for the highest office of the land. He wants to “Make America Smile Again!” That’s right… he’s all for hugs… and smiles and less yelling and mean-ness. Won’t you help support The Stufftie Party? Stuffties you can believe in!
All buckled in for a new adventure… Where is Harold off to? Think sand… Sun… Surf…
Sandy Eggo, here he comes!
Wow. I cannot believe the weekend is over already. Harold is still trying to catch his breath… What with all the fun in such a quick weekend! We packed in the good times with family, food and culture!
Harold won’t stop talking about the art museum there in Houston. We took quite a few photos there as per Harold’s request. I think he was a tad disappointed for not being able to trip over to the space museum, but you wouldn’t know it by the fun he was visably having! He managed to find the exhibit called “Deco nights… evenings in the Jazz Age. He is enamoured with the display of bar ware from the time. Harold loves such things.
After the our visit to the art, we were off to a quiet evening at Dave & Buster’s for some family fun. Harold was so tired that he stayed back at Hotel Zaza while I beat Judy at air hockey and danced some old school and some not so old school tunes with the DJ.
Anyhow… The next morning we had a lovely brunch with my cousin and his family. Harold got to meet Sage and she introduced Harold to her Stufftie pals. It was nice to meet some Texas Stuffies… A new experience. That is Cousin Chris with the goatee.
But after all the fun, Harold did not want to leave Hotel Zaza. Me neither!
But we did manage to find a way to cheer him up at the Hobby airport.
We are staying at Hotel Zaza in the Museum District of Houston… A very rock n roll, art boutique hotel… think a contemporary Warhol-ish place with gobs of STYLE! It is a really great hotel with koi in the lobby across from a painting of Frank Sinatra’s mugshot. Harold loves this place!
After a delicious breakfast of bread basket offerings and fruit smoothies… We headed to a bar mitzvah. My cousin’s first child… Harold was feeling sleepy and slept in the car. For the rest of us, There was a lovely lunch… And lots of hugs and pictures and family and tastey desserts.
Then… It was off to The Museum of Fine arts conveniently located across from Hotel Zaza… Oh! Harold loved the Picassos, the Calder and Modiglianis. The neon tunnel gave him the willies, but he enjoyed the experience. Sadly, there was not enough time to visit The Space Center, but that would have to wait for a future trip.
Harold, here, at San Jose International…
We got to San Jose with little time to spare… Commute traffic into San Jose isn’t thrifty… Harold was worried that we would miss our flight to Phoenix… But we did alright. Here’s Harold eyeing Judy’s beer at lunch in Phoenix. Yes, that’s Harold’s water.
Harold “getting off his feet” in Houston.
Destination: Hotel Zaza.
Our next trip will be to Houston, Texas. This is new territory to Harold, and he was feeling a little nervous. “What’s in Houston?” He asked me.
As the largest city in Texas, Houston has many of the wonderful things found in big cities: Art, history and science museums, zoos, aquariums, gardens, parks, and great music.
But what Houston has that no other city has is the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. This huge place has been Mission Control for all American space flights. It is where American astronauts have been trained since 1967.
“What’s an astronaut?” my stufftie friend asked. I explained that astronauts were people who went into space to explore and see how people could live off the Earth. Harold got very quiet for a minute, then asked how you got to BE an astronaut. You apply, I said. You write why you would be a good astronaut and send that to NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in Houston. Then NASA decides if you should come learn how to be an astronaut.
I helped Harold go online to see what it took to be an astronaut. There was a really long list. You have to have studied at a University. You have to have experience with equipment. You have to be the right size…
“Right size? I’m tiny! I’m perfect! I could fit in a really small space ship!” Harold decided that even though he would not be a REGULAR astronaut, he would be very useful in space. He doesn’t need to breathe air and he doesn’t take up much space.
Most importantly, he said, astronauts need hugs sometimes, just like everybody else.
And Harold is very good at hugs.
Harold wishes everyone around the world a happy 2016!
Harold wishes you a very Merry Christmas… he’s spending it at home this year… (with his pal, Patches) …but home is a lovely place to be at Christmas… all the crooners say so. So Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year… (stay tuned for a very full year of travel!)
Harold spent his weekend at the Salinas Valley Comic Con… which, was held, literally right down the street from my office. It felt like another galaxy as there were Stormtroopers and a lot of interesting characters who walked by my table…
But the fur stood up on the back of his everywhere when the 501st Legion showed up…. with VADER!
But Harold loves to help at the conventions… he helped me keep track of button sales, and he made sure that all who wanted hugs, got them! Harold has developed quite a following. In fact, it was requested that he be subject-mattered in a few art commissions! He was so flattered!
Harold and I want to thank everyone who dropped by the booth… (including Vader who was nice enough to pose for a photo) and to those who helped make my con a Merry One! Cheers!
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| Judy on Happy New Year! |
Travels with Harold 