Benny in Australia with Julie - pictures only

OK, Benny. Here's the deal: I uploaded all of my sister's pictures of you (with and without her) to a photobucket. She said she would be able to dictate your trip Down Under, so I'm going to defer to her wishes. She is, after all, the one with military experience. But I did want everyone to see how much fun you were having!

http://s727.photobucket.com/albums/ww275/trolly1/Benny%20in%20Australia%20with%20Julie/

She's hoping to come back in mid-March, so if you can wait that long, I'm sure she would appreciate it. OK? Good. Thanks a bunch, Benny. I knew you were a good egg.

Hawaii Trip- Day 1

Friday, January 9, 2009. The place: Kathy's car. The time: 4:15 p.m. We begin our trip West by driving... East?! Ahh, apparently this is some new geography thing. We head the opposite direction to get to our destination. Wait a minute. Why are we stopping in Sterling at a Farm and Fleet? Are you buying me chicken feed? What do you mean your dad needs shoes, Anna?! No one consulted ME on this little side excursion. This trip is getting weird already! After wandering around Sterling and figuring out that you need to type in an address in the Tom-Tom, not just a city, we were on our way to Bartlett, Illinois. Not quite the exotic, Hawaiian destination I was expecting, but at least we got to see a slide presentation of Vietnam. I skillfully avoided being plucked and boiled by Mrs. Pham and went to bed dreaming alternately of sandy beaches and small, Asian mommies chasing me with a cleaver! Will this trip ever begin?!

Pre-trip Blues

My trip began rather uneventfully. Busta packed me in his bag- a little too unceremoniously for my taste! Then there was the long car ride from Bloomington to Moline. Boy, that Busta sure can't sing! Finally, we arrived at Anna's abode. Hurrah! I'm ready to fly! Wait a minute. Why don't I see any suitcases? What do you mean, the trip doesn't start for another week? What am I supposed to do in Moline for a whole week? Look at your Christmas tree?! Oh sure. Take down the tree now. For Pete's sake, this is not what I had in mind. I'll just sit here next to the telephone and wait for my life to call. Um, Anna, could I please NOT sit here by myself all week? Your cat looks like he enjoys chicken a little too much for my comfort. Ahhh. After 3 days of staring down the cat, I was allowed to migrate to Anna's bedroom. Wow! There's a lot of stuff in here! I think I'll spend the rest of the week exploring Anna's room. Better use a ball of twine so I don't get lost on my trek.

Hawaii 2009

Ok, so apparently John isn't going to write up my trip to Australia any time soon. Therefore, I have decided to employ a more reliable author to record my highly interesting anecdotes on my Hawaiian adventure. Anna, prepare to receive dictation!

Trip to the West - final post

Benny - Busta, I think you left some things out of the final post from the trip out West.
Busta - I did? Like what?
Benny - Like how you almost killed us going down the mountain to Denver.
Busta - Hey, it was a steep mountain! And it was raining!
Benny - You also left out the part where Anna didn't talk to you for 2 weeks after the vacation.
Busta - I didn't talk to her, either. It was a mutual disagreement.
Benny - You said something not so nice to her.
Busta - I apologized. Half-heartedly.
Benny - Still ...
Busta - Zip the lip, rooster! Or I won't take you anywhere else!
Benny - I'm not scared of you! I have Anna on my side.
Busta - What's she going to do?
Benny - "Ve haf vays"
Busta - Oh, I forgot. She's Fraulein Commandant. Carry on.
Benny - I thought you would see things my way. Now, when are you going to write about Australia/Afghanistan for me?
Busta - Soon.
Benny - How about now?
Busta - I said soon.
Benny - Now is soon enough. TYPE!!!!!
Busta - Yes, Mein Commandant. Heil Benny!

Trip to the West - July 16th thru July 19th

Days 12 thru 15 - It was a great night of sleeping last night. I was able to dodge the paparazzi and Balanced Rock didn't crush our tent. All is right in the world! Now, if they would only let me go West to visit Cal, that would be great. But, no! Wanda wants to go to Hovenweep, so Anna and Busta rearranged the itinerary to accomodate her. Did they do that for me? NO!!! Of course not! Why did I come on this vacation anyway? All they do is take pictures of me. They never let me wander on my own and see the great outdoors! The next time I come out West, I'm going to the Pacific Ocean. Without them!



What? We're back from Hovenweep already? But I didn't see anything! What kind of tour guides are you, anyway? Wait a minute? Who's that? Moab? Are you a raven or a crow? Oh, who cares? Let's play cards and ignore them.






I'm not sure who won the game. Before we could finish the game, we were taken away and put in the tent for bedtime. Moab and I had a lengthy discussion on how to escape, but before the plan could be put into action, we fell asleep.


The next day we were packed away and put into the car. Apparently, our trip is over and we're heading east. Again, I tried to fly WEST, but the windows were rolled up and locked. (Note to self: learn how to unlock windows.) I was kind of sad we were going home because I knew what that meant: long boring days at Busta's place while he went to work. Since I haven't figured out how to work the TV (another note to self: figure out remote and channel number for The Discover Channel). And despite not seeing Cal, I did get to see lots of interesting things: The Grand Canyon, a dinosaur, Moab. But we trekked our way through the mountains and into the plains. We stopped at Lincoln, NE for the evening, and for the first time, I felt right at home. I could smell the fresh country air. Soon we'd be to Iowa and then Illinois.


The next day we were in the Quad Cities by 3 PM. We dropped off Wanda and Moab and then stayed the night at Anna's. Not much was going on, so we fell right asleep.

We decided to leave Anna's the next day and head back to Busta's. I helped him drive.






Not much to this driving thing. We made it to Busta's at a decent hour and had Sunday to rest before he headed to work on Monday. I can't wait for my next adventure!

Trip to the West - July 15th

Day 11 - After a restful slumber where I dreamed of flying INTO THE WEST to visit Cal the Condor, I awoke with aching feet. If only these heathens called humans hadn't stuffed me into cramped quarters at the top of their tent, I would be fully stretched.






But no! They made me sleep with no room. I'd have more room in the glove compartment! Needless to say, I was a not a chipper bird this fine morning. But Busta was bound and determined to take me on a hike today! Only if he takes me in his pocket, because my feet are killing me! Must be my arches.

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I interrupt this blog to bring you a heart-wrenching story about a man and his rooster. I will call it: The Hike.

Scene: Foot of the hiking trail to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, Utah. A story told from two different perspectives: one part human, one part aviary.

Benny - It took us 1 hour to hike to the end and I didn't even break a sweat.

Busta - I huffed, wheezed, sputtered, stumbled, scrambled, bumbled, struggled, gasped, cried (briefly) and panted on the way to Delicate Arch. I was sweatier than a fat man in July. Oh, wait, that was me. Benny rode in my pocket on the way up because of his foot hurting him.

Benny - It was a beautiful, sunny day. Busta took numerous pictures of me and my delicate arches.

Busta - I took about 50 pictures of Delicate Arch, 3 of which were with Benny. A lady chuckled when saw me with Benny and told her daughter she should do the same thing with one of her stuffed animals.

Benny - I had to beat the paparazzi off with a stick. Everyone wanted a picture of me and my delicate arches. A gaggle of ladies practically threw themselves at me. All eyes were on me and my delicate arches. Some people even wanted to touch one of them!

Busta - I could literally touch Delicate Arch, that's how close we could get. I couldn't take my eyes off of it! I took pictures from every angle I could think of, including from below. I couldn't get above it, though. I would've need a rope and even then I couldn't climb it!

Benny - Busta roped off the paparazzi so they couldn't get a good angle to take a picture of my delicate arches. Some tried to climb over it, but Busta stood his ground.

Busta - The ground was hard on my butt so I stood up to stretch. As sad as I was to go, I knew I had to start heading down to the parking lot. Wanda and Anna had the car and were picking us up for the rest of our journey.

Benny - Busta was excited to tell me that a car was picking us up to take us for a rest with Journey. I didn't know Journey was in Utah, but they must be at a spa, because they're resting! That sounds like a great idea, because I'm running on empty!

(at the car in the parking lot, with Wanda and Anna inside) Anna - The gas tank is almost empty!

I now bring you back to your regularly scheduled blog.

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The hike really wiped me out (must've been the sun), so I asked if I could be dropped off with Journey. My request was denied, so I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Busta, Wanda and Anna at Canyonlands National Park. Not much to see there, so we did a little more hiking (I didn't leave the car for fear that the paparazzi was following us!) and then went back to camp. Outside of the hike, not much happened today. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep without the paparazzi watching my every move. Part of me was also hoping that Balanced Rock in Arches N.P. didn't fall and come rolling over our tent in the middle of the night. I slept with both eyes open that night, watching the Utah night for a sign of bad things to come. I slept AND I watched - I'm that good!