September 2019 – Hot Dog Dot and the Wienermobile!

September has been a blast in so many ways, but its also been pretty trying. Troy and I have enjoyed a pretty flawless three months, so we were due for some hiccups. They were inevitable, but I think we are on the uphill after it all.

Our first week of September, we were in Darlington, SC for the Bojangles Southern 500 (ITS BO TIME). Most hotels in Darlington were pretty booked so we decided to stay nearby in a little inn in Columbia, SC. Our first day in town was Troy’s birthday! I surprised him with a bday video of all his friends from home/college and the other hotdoggers saying happy birthday. We spent the first half of the day exploring USC and walking around Columbia. It was pretty cool. Weird being back on a college campus during the school year. Oh! and we saw a giant fire hydrant (which is funny because we have a giant dog).

For the second half of the day, Troy decided he wanted to go big or go home, so we drove and hour outside Columbia and went skydiving.

Thats right… We jumped 14,000 feet out of a plane. I’m not going to say I didn’t panic a little. I definitely sent several goodbye messages to friends and family. However, it ended up being a blast. The guy I was strapped to was calm and assuring, so my nerves were kept as low as they could be considering.

When it came time to jump, we scooted toward the door, rolled out, and before I knew it we were falling 9,000 feet in 60 seconds. It was incredible. To be honest, it was over before I really knew what was happening, but its something I’ll never forget. I’m glad Troy wanted to go, because I don’t know if I would have ever done something like that by myself.

The NASCAR races were a blast. It was a different group of people than Troy and I were used to at events, but they were so fun. We had free hotdogs for everyone and spent the day letting people play cornhole in front of the Wiene. We had cool Ryan Newman (Oscar Mayer’s nascar driver) themed giveaways, made friends with the Geico tent across from us, and got to ride in a huge parade. We were even able to get into the race for free, but right before it started a rain delay happened. By the looks of the radar, the race wouldn’t start until 9 or 10 at night, so Troy and I sadly hit the road after a desperate sprint through the rain to the Wiene.

Now starts the month of maintenance and issues. After the race, we were supposed to switch back to our Wienermobile from the Oscar 6 racecar Wienermobile. However, when we arrived to switch, the door to our Wienermobile was completely broken. It would not shut and was consistently cracked open. We had originally dropped it off because of some brake issues, but to our dismay, more things had broken in our absence. So we were forced to leave it there longer and stay with Oscar 6. Oscar 6 is great and all, but the A.C. doesn’t really work…. and we are in the Southeast…. in the summer….

But we kept smiles on our faces and were ready for a drive day. However, then Dorian was predicted to hit florida (our destination was Orlando). We figured it out and rebooked all our hotels and things in Savannah, GA. Then Dorian changed paths… to Savannah. So we rebooked again for Atlanta, Ga. We also had another hotdogger, Luke Pitzo, flying in to see us these days. So he had to rebook his flight as many times as we did our hotels. We love flexibility.

But thanks to several miracles and Troy’s dad working at a Hilton, all three of us were able to stay safe and sound in an Atlanta Hilton. Whew. I got to see my family and dogs and show Luke around Atlanta, which was a blast. We hit up Ponce City Market, Henris, Taqueria, etc. and I got to show him Westminster 🙂 (my high school).

Luke and me at the Atlanta Beltline (photo creds PRIPRI)

Once the storm passed, the three of us road tripped down to Orlando, dropped Luke off at the airport, and went to our events. Orlando was pretty average except for some beautiful sunsets. We were in a large Spanish speaking community, so Troy and I had a blast brushing up on some of our terminology. We did have one random guy walk up to us and just give us two free park hopper passes to Disney World, which was incredible. Shout out to that guy. We worked with our boss to reschedule one of our off days so we could go!

Disney was so fun. We were able to hit up animal kingdom, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom all in one day. Troy and I made it to all the major rides in each park. Epcot was having the food and wine festival, so we also spent a few hours there walking around and trying all the different foods from the countries. We finished the day watching the firework and light show at the castle, and I cried a little because I forgot how great Disney is.

The next day we headed to Dothan, AL (National Peanut Capital). We LOVED our events in Dothan. They were so excited to have us. Every store cooked out free hotdogs and every media outlet in the city came to talk to us. We made the front page of the newspaper, made it on the news twice, and Troy was broadcasted on the radio throughout the week. It was awesome. A man came and made me a free hotdog and wiener dog out of balloons. I had a small child draw me a picture and another one give me the biggest hug ever. Troy and I got completely attacked at a Fazoli’s after dinner. So yea, it was a pretty good week.

The only downside was Dothan hotels did NOT come down on their prices at all… so Troy and I had to stay in an Econo lodge. It was fine, but we both agreed to never do that again (*shivers*).

Post Dothan, Troy and I drove to Tallahassee and flew out for FALL STAFF in the morning!!! Ah yay! Fall staff is when all the hotdoggers come back from all their regions and we roll out our fall marketing plan. Its also filled with crazy fun activities, challenges, and friend time.

Mikayla, my best friend on the team, had the same layover and flight as me so we got extra time together. I was so happy to see her <3. We got to the hotel and waited for people to trickle in from their areas of the country. All of us had a bunch of loose ends to tie up. Luke and I went to the University of Madison and got dinner with his family. I got to see the campus more and spend time with the Pitzos. It was a party 🙂 They are such a fun and goofy group of people. Later that night I sent in my vet school application officially, so keep your fingers crossed for me.

The next day was largely business. Each team presented a summer marketing idea for next year (Troy and I rolled out Wienermolympics… from lighting the torch to lighting the grill, Oscar Mayer is on your team). We discussed challenges and future progress with the brand and marketing teams, as well as got a look into what was expected of us over the next three months and how the job might change a little. We also got our winter gear (keep me away from the snow for as long as possible, please).

That night we all went out to dinner with our bosses and then sat around and waited for the planters peanuts to get to the hotel. If you don’t already know, we do a lot of our training with the guys and gals who drive the planters nutmobile. They are amazing. They finally got there and we had a huge reunion.

The next day was more business followed by a trip out to a park where we had the fall staff games. I don’t know if you’ve heard of sixty second games, but thats what we played (google it if you haven’t). We split up into teams and had a big competition. Our bosses participated, because they are the best. It was such a goofy afternoon with a gorgeous view of the mountains and a lake. When we finished the competition, the dogs and our bosses went out to a picnic table and we played the newly wed game. Each partner pair had to answer questions about their partner and whoever got the most right won. It was pretty hysterical and also creepy at times to see how well Troy and I know each other. We are basically a married couple, except we work together and are isolated from other people our age. So I’d say we are a married couple on steroids.

That night we all drove to Kalahari, a waterpark in Wisconsin. We spent the next day there just enjoying the waterslides and a day off with our friends (there were also one on one meetings regarding our performance going on between us and our bosses, but it was only 30 minutes each). Time with the dogs and nuts is always appreciated because no body gets our job but us. We all have a certain respect and understanding for what we do, because while it is a dream job, it can be hard emotionally sometimes. Isolation isn’t always easy.

Me and Alex asking for our water in marg glasses because we are DDing

The next day most teams left in the morning, but me, Troy, Mikayla, Luke, Amanda, and Alex had until the evening to enjoy each others’ company. We got lunch at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and had a spotted cow out on the terrace. Because of the flooding in Houston, a lot of planes were delayed including ours. So Troy and I dropped everyone else off at the airport, while we stayed in Madison another night. Luckily, we were able to crash with Luke’s friend Johnny until 3:50 A.M. when we headed out to return the rental car and make our flight.

After a full day of traveling, we finally arrived back in Tallahassee. Where we enjoyed two pretty uneventful work days. Our hotel had a lake and fishing gear, so that was a plus. Come Monday, we headed back to Charlotte, NC to finally pick up our Wienermobile. Well, wouldn’t you know it! The breaks in Oscar 6 gave out along the way, so we sat in the boonies for 3 hours and waited for a tow truck. When we finally made it to the Penske to switch out the Wienermobiles at around 10 P.M. we walked back and the door was still broken on the Wiene. Now we had two Wienermobiles and two hotdoggers with thin patience, but we kept our cool.

We stayed another night in Charlotte. By mid afternoon the next day, the door was fixed. So we went to go pick up our Wienermobile. We switched all the event supplies and luggage into her and were about to head out when we realized she wouldn’t start…. originally we thought it was the battery. Penske was able to get her running so we headed out and began our drive to Knoxville.

About three hours in, I pull over to get gas. When I go to turn the Wienermobile back on, nothing. People try to jump start us. Nothing. Finally, a guy from the gas station comes out and tells us our starter is fried so the motor can’t turn over. Troy and I call Penske SOS and they send Tracy out to save us, and after several hours and him finding and installing a new starter, the Wiene is finally up and running. Not all heroes wear capes.

Our time at the gas station was a blast though. I played football with a random man for 30 minutes, Troy basically held an event for the town, I sang karaoke on the side of the road, and a nice man ordered us some pizza on him. So even though we were broken down, it was still a good day. The only big bummer was I had my friend Jake Campbell coming to visit, so plans fell through.

Later, we finally make it to our hotel in Knoxville and realize the Wienermobile won’t lock because of what they did to the door. So basically we got more maintenance done and I think now, after 4 consecutive days of different Penskes we finally have a fully functional Wienermobile. But I think I’ll talk more about my time in Knoxville in my next post and leave it here for now.

Hopefully the month of maintenance is finally over and we can continue about our days.

But per usual, franks for coming to ketchup with me,
Hot Diggity Dot

And if you’re wondering, here is my schedule for the next few weeks:

Sept 30th – Oct 7: Atlanta, GA (hello :))
Oct 7 – Oct 14: St. Louis, MI
Oct 14 -Oct 21: Atlanta, GA (hello again)
Oct 21 – Oct 22: Mooresville, NC
Oct 22 – Oct 28: Goldsboro, NC
Oct 28 – Nov 4: Gainesville, FL

Also here are some of our media hits if you are interested and want to check them out:

Also Mikayla took this picture and I thought it was cool…. so enjoy that too:

and heres an entertaining photo of Troy

Thats all 🙂

Month: September 2019

The Month of Maintenance