Little Bear's Adventure's
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The Vatican It was sort of quiet when we arrived at dusk. Beth put me on a railing and told me that was St. Peter's Cathedral, behind me. She said that's where she saw the Pope when she was 11.  I don't even know what a Pope is. And I didn't know what that thing was, that she put in my lap. Rosary Beth said, "You never know when you might see the Pope!" She wanted me to have a rosary, just in case. I'm still confused.  I didn't see the Pope. Beth says she has seen 3 different Popes. She said she had a rosary with her each time. I'm not sure I believe her.
But I don't think she'd lie, on Good Friday.
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Old I feel as old as this little matchbox. Beth has kept the tiny box since her mother used up the matches in Italy, 55 years ago.  I'm not that old, but I look as worn out as that box. I climbed in it for a while, when Beth was packing for the trip. Then I asked, "Why are you taking this box to Italy?" My Pose in Pisa When we got to Pisa, there were about a zillion people taking pictures, pretending to hold up the Leaning Tower, with their hands.
People doing poses with selfie-sticks and doing glamor shots. And then Beth just stuck me in the grass, with the matchbox. The Leaning Box Instead of looking cool like everyone else, I just sat in the grass looking like I was holding up this leaning matchbox.  I was embarrassed when people walked by and wondered why I was doing this. Beth assured me, they were too busy taking their own photo to notice me.  That sort of made me sad. I told Beth she wasn't a very good photographer. because in this photo the tower is blurry and it's not leaning.
Beth said "Oh well." and tucked me away with the matchbox. Later she apologized and so did I. We both blamed our moods on jet lag. Mossy Park In April, Beth took me to Italy. We visited a park that seemed to be in the country.  There were no swings or picnic tables, but there was lots of moss.  You have to look hard to see me in the moss, in this photo. You can also see a mossy wall and the top of some kind of decoration. Surprises in the Park There were no slides or climbers in this park, but there were things even better!  Behind me you can see the legs of a sculpture, created hundreds of years ago. Monsters and Creatures The park was filled with sort of scary looking statues. Most looked like monsters.  This one just looked like a lady with a thing on her head. I sat on the ground and posed near the lady's legs. She was sitting on the ground, too.
Beth posed by the metal bar, that kept people from climbing all over the lady. She was made in the 16th century. She is very old. When They Were Younger About a million years ago, Beth was 11 when she visited this park. The statue was also much younger, in 1969.
Usually, I'm the one that gets to climb and sit on fun things. Beth takes pictures of me on flowers and riding on tiny turtles. She can only dream of doing those things. But long ago, Lucky Beth, got to climb on the Lady!
I'm jealous. Stairs Here I am, climbing some steps...  ... on a stairway...  ... that rests on an old fireplace mantel. Boat Here I am, sitting on a boat...  ... in the same house. The boat is displayed on a table...  ...and the table sits in the corner of a room.  Next to the table, there is a window...  ...with an incredible view. The window belongs to a beautiful house, where 2 light keepers and their families once lived.  Beth brought me to this house, where we sleep in the upper room on the right. The Lighthouse The lighthouse, where the keepers worked, is just a short walk up a hill.
The light still shines out over the Pacific Ocean.  Here's a view of the Heceta Head Light-keepers House, where I played on the stairs and sat in the boat. Next time I come to Oregon, I want to take that boat out for a real sea adventure!
It's That Time of Year Again! In Texas... every spring...  Parents pose their kids in the bluebonnets! Couples pose with their pets in the bluebonnets! Everyone loves to pose in the bluebonnets, that grow just about everywhere! Always the Same! I told Beth we should skip this year. All the photos look the same, year after year. The bluebonnets don't change and neither do I.  Beth was nice and didn't comment that I have aged quite a bit. She just scooted me onto the railroad track that was near the bluebonnets.
She told me,"Just lean back on your paws and enjoy the sun!" I did and it felt nice. Ahhhh! Our bluebonnet photos are a tiny bit different this year! Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope everyone enjoys a green project today!  I'm not. Beth just posed me so I look like I'm in the midst of quilting! We're at the cabin and she couldn't find anything green to pose me with. She plopped me on the quilt covering the bed and then dug through a jar of old thread spools. Voila!
Have a Lucky Green Day! Yellow Not Blue The wildflowers are blooming in Texas. It's against the law to pick the bluebonnets.  But Beth picked these yellow flowers. She called them weeds because they were growing in the cracks of the driveway. Vase Worthy I thought. If they are weeds, why are you putting them in a vase?  She said they are pretty and worthy of a vase. But when she stuck me in there for the photo I thought. Yeah, pretty. But they smell like weeds, not flowers.
With my Buddy I love spending a holiday with a buddy.  This plastic doll is not my BEST buddy. My Buddy Charlie Charlie is Beth's granddaughter, but she is my best buddy.  She is two now. That's old enough to celebrate! Choosing Beth put me on the table with the doll and guess who Charlie reached for?
But she didn't exactly hug that baby. Luckily she didn't think that baby was candy. I think she likes me better than that baby. Tired Charlie Charlie got tired before Beth got a good picture of the two of us.
It was time for nap and the baby and I were forgotten King Cake By evening the "adults" had Sazeracs and shrimp jambalaya. The baby and I got to make an appearance on the cake.  But Charlie headed for bed, before the cake was cut into. Where's Charlie? I wish Charlie didn't have to go bed all the time. But at least I wasn't alone on the cake.  My new plastic baby-friend and I laughed and said we were glad to NOT be inside the cake. There was actually another one buried inside.
I'm glad I got to spend a little time celebrating with my Best Buddy, earlier! Happy Valentine's Day! I hung out with a friend today.  She's really just a decoration at Beth's house. But I had fun. Romantic? Beth teased that I had a girlfriend and she made it all romantic.  She lit candles and tossed candy hearts our way. I was annoyed. Faces Look at our faces. Do we look like we're in love?  Not really. But I did enjoy the candy!
Charlie and Me Charlie came to my house for Christmas!
We haven't seen each other for many months. I think she was happy to see me. Sitting Around She put me on a chair.
I sat around a while. I sat and I watched Charlie.  I sat some more. Then Charlie found me another chair.  I sat some more. Then...  It was time to put me back in my bag. Charlie is very careful with me.
I love her. 2023 It's a new year. The Christmas decorations are still up.  This year Beth didn't pose me with Christmas cookies or ornaments. She posed me with a basket of nuts. These nuts look like they are about 100 years old. Old Stuff One year Beth posed me with those little reindeer. They are really old. I think they are called antiques.  And those books are really old behind the deer. Why does she like old stuff so much? Old? Wait a minute. I'm not new. My fur is almost gone from my tummy.  I won't even let you look at my paws. I'm old.
I'm glad Beth likes old things. Crescent Bay Here I am on a rock, early in the morning.  I'm soft and furry. The rock is hard and sandy... but we look so much alike. Camouflage I was happy for my camouflage.  You can barely see me on this rock, but I am there. Watching the waves. Bird Watching I was also watching the gulls.
And they were looking...  They looked very serious. They looked seriously hungry. None of those seagulls spotted me. I was glad.  Out of all my adventures, I have never been swooped up in a bird's beak. I hope that never happens.
Posing with Pies Beth poses me with food sometimes. Sometimes I'm on big food-filled plates. Sometimes I'm sitting on large fruits or just staring at some seafood.  But when we visited Oceanside, Beth was so excited about 2 different kinds of tiny pies, she had to buy them and pose me! They smelled so good, High-Pie The little fried pie in the bag, came from this house.  This cute house was in the filming of the first "Top Gun" movie. Now it sells pies and coffee. Booboo's Sweet Potato Pie The little round pie, came from an outdoor market.  The pie was just as cute as the seller was friendly and fun! Beth and the Pie Guy both look pretty happy about that pie. My expression in the first picture doesn't show it, but I was pretty happy about that pie too!
California Succulents I've climbed around on lots of cactus in Texas. This garden in Monterey had lots of different plants with thorns and prickles. Dangerous.  I avoided the big, sharp point at the top of this succulent.  What is this anyway? Agave? I don't know. It's not a cactus, because it has leaves. I know just about that much. Soft Prickles I don't weight very much, so these prickles didn't bother me.  Beth said the prickles and my fur were just like Velcro... working together.  There was a breeze, but I didn't fall off. I'm glad I have fur or this would have been an itchy place to sit. Smooooooooth! Who knows what this plant is? I just know that I enjoyed the smooth, slippery green surface!  I begged Beth to lift the leaf tip a bit so I could use it like a slide.  She refused. She said I'd tumble off and I would be very hard to find. Not So Comfy I didn't love this one.  It was like sitting on some kind of backwards pincushion... or riding on a porcupine's back. Not fun. Taffy? Suddenly Beth spotted a big Century Plant that made her get all sentimental for some reason. She said it reminded her of being 10 and eating taffy.
She said she first remembered seeing plants like this, when she moved to Florida as a kid. The leaves always reminded her of one of her favorite treats. Flat taffy. I didn't get it. Sitting on the Century Plant So she put me on the top of a thick, curling, ribbon-like leaf. I could have used it like a slide, but I didn't get a chance.
Beth stepped further back and took this photo, just as a gust of wind invaded. She pulled the camera back and said, "Where is he?" The ground below was dense with growth. She had no clue where to begin looking. Luckily Don had been watching and knew which direction I'd fallen. No More Poses After a stressful few minutes of searching, I was scooped up and placed back in the camera bag.  I heard Beth tell Don that there were so many more photo ops that she'd have to pass on.
Sometimes I'm happy to get back in that camera bag! "Succulents & Sunshine" I might have to write a song.  I wanted to sing about the glowing green plant I was sitting on. And the warm sunshine... "Happy Birthday" But instead I just hummed "Happy Birthday" from my little perch on the plant. I don't think Don heard me.  Today is his birthday. Don and Beth are traveling in California and they hiked up a pathway in Big Sur. They found this view and they saw whales. I was just glad they brought me along and I got pulled out of the camera bag.
Happy Valley, Oregon Charlie is finally old enough to play. I climbed into her toy cup and waited.  Charlie didn't notice me, until Beth put the cup on her highchair tray. She seemed intrigued. Not So Sure Charlie was amused, until I climbed out.  She was not a bit sure about me. Funny? After she touched me, she suddenly thought I was hysterically funny. I'm not sure what to think about that.  Charlie's high pitched squeals were almost painful! She seemed delighted, but she still didn't want to touch me again. Pocket Time I found a good way to spend some time with Charlie, so she could get comfortable with me.  She was okay having me in her pocket, but she still wasn't sure. Finally Eventually, Beth pulled me out of the pocket. Charlie reached with her hand and cautiously held me with two fingers.  With the help of her Support Panda Mei Mei in one hand, Charlie was able to enjoy my company.
I love Charlie. Eye of the Potato I've climbed in corn fields and I've climbed on tomato vines.  I've posed with peppers and watermelon. Today I posed in the eye of a potato. Fake Potato First I posed with a potato that wasn't real. It was a giant potato, at the Idaho Potato Museum.  Beth found a tiny dent and tucked me in, for a photo. She said it was a potato eye. Never heard of such a thing!  After the big photo shoot, we headed into the little cafe, inside the museum. Lunch Of course Beth bought a baked potato.  It didn't look very good. The bacon looked fake and the slippery blob of sour cream did not look appetizing. Potato Picnic Beth took the potato in the car and we drove to a rest stop.  She ate the potato all by herself. I said, "No thanks! It's all yours!" Climbing the Lava Not far from the table, we found some walkways. We wandered and found some hard lava formations. The rock was once hot lava, that became solid a few thousand years ago! The rocks had lots of holes. They look more like eyes than those potato eyes.  I climbed around on the rock, thinking about lava and potatoes. I guess all the lava has made the soil just right for potato growing!
I have determined that I prefer rock climbing, to potato climbing. A Tiny Waffle We started the day with waffles. Tiny waffles.  I decorated mine with red-strawberries and blue-blueberries and a dab of white-yogurt. Ugh. Beth needs to keep whipped cream on hand.
I added a tiny flag because today is July 4th. I will have hotdogs and watermelon later! Happy Hour We are nearing the end of our Colorado/New Mexico Road Trip. Don and Beth celebrated with a little Happy Hour, on our hotel patio.
Our Texas hotel was way out west, in ranch country. That means lots of cows and horses... which means flies. Fly Friends! Suddenly the flies wanted to join the party. The flies must have gotten tired of bothering cows and horses.  I thought "Why not?" about those flies joining us. But Beth put me away and took photos of flies, instead of me.
That was rude. Manitou Springs, Colorado Manitou Springs has a fun old Arcade. We visited early, before the summertime crowds.  That was wise. I didn't want a little tot trying to share this saddle with me! No Galloping I loved this old zebra-horse, but it didn't move. Beth didn't put in any coins.  I was still nervous, because I couldn't reach the reins. Near the Horn She put me up by the horn, because people who aren't great at horseback-riding, like to have something to hold onto.
That works for people. But I couldn't wrap my paws around that horn. Panda Time Next I sat on a panda's head.
 Beth didn't have a quarter and that's okay. It was slippery, so I would have fallen. Elephant! I didn't like the panda eyes staring at me, so Beth moved me to the top of an elephant. It was my favorite.  I was tempted to slither over his forehead and slide down his trunk! Time to Go But Beth said it was time to go. Families were starting to wander around.  Beth said she saw a boy chuckling, when he noticed her posing me on the elephant. I told her I didn't see anyone, but she put me away in her bag.
Next time I want to go INSIDE the arcade! Skeeball could be very exciting! |
Little Bear
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