Hiking in Oregon

On their first weekend together, BFF Bethany took Emong2 (E2) out this weekend. The let him play in the Halloween decorations and BFF Bethany gave him a big kiss AND a button letting everyone know they are BFFs!!


They went hiking and rode horses. It was a bit tough staying in the saddle, as E2 doesn't have legs.. or hands.... but he winked at BFF Bethany and her friends and they helped him stay in the saddle.

Hooray for Hollywood!

Today was so fun!! BFF Lorraine and My Human took me out to Hollywood so I could see more of my home. We started out at the Hollywood sign.

I wanted to hike up there, but you can't and My Human said she would not bail me out if I got arrested for trespassing. It was bad enough FE already had been arrested, I did not need to do the same.

Then we went to Hollywood and Highland shopping center. BFF Lorraine stopped in Aveda and we met Amy. Amy is awesome. She was so fun and showed us all sorts of yummy smelling things. She gave BFF Lorraine a hand massage, then gave me a shoulder massage. It was soo relaxing. Aveda rocks.

mmm.. shoulder massage.
After Aveda, we went cruising up and down Hollywood Blvd. There were tons of tourists and buses and the crazy (but fun) actors that dress up as different characters and let tourists take their photos. It is kinda funny seeing The Hulk talking to Batman while Gene Simmons looks on.

We met Capt Jack Sparrow near El Capitan Theatre. I was just peaking in his treasure chest and he thought I was stealing stuff. My Human came over and explained what I was doing and he calmed down a bit.
After that, we headed over to Grauman's Chinese Theatre and looked at all the stars' foot and hand prints. It was amazing to see all that history. Soon, it was time to head back home. What an adventure. I can't wait for the next one!

PS: Check out more pictures by clicking on the title of the blog (Hooray for Hollywood)

Wii-diculous!

Friday was really cool. First, BFF Lorraine came by to let My Human know that little Wiggle is a GIRL!! She brought the sonogram by so we could see, then I had to pose for a photo with Lorraine and Wigglette.

Little Wiggle will be showing up around March, so check back for those pics.


That night was Wii night at the studio. I got to play a little till the rest of the humans came over, then there was no way I could get in the middle of all that. They were laughing and yelling and having a great time with the Wii on the BIG (14') screen.

Ella took me over to the buffet for some munchies. It was a tasty spread.

Thought I ought to include a photo of the humans playing Wii tennis.

Then Dana, Fran, Ella, Loren and Laura posed for a photo with me. They were warned it would not be the last.

Auntie Helen also came by and she brought Indio. He was not sure what to make of me at first, but he laid there patiently while My Human and Auntie Helen took a photo. Indio is a good dog - especially since he did not try to eat me.

It's a Party!

Happy birthday, Adam!

Not sure what was up with that scarf around his head under the sombrero...but it IS his birthday, so he can do what he wants. 

Seth was the official photographer, though he did not look like he wanted the tables turned. Too bad for him! My Human was too quick with the shutter release!


I got to go to a birthday party for my friend Adam. There was  candy, piñatas and beads. They let me ride one of the piñatas, luckily Lorraine saved me before they started trying to beat it open to get the candy out. 

I got to play Robo-Elmo and walk along one of the tables. It was interesting having arms and legs.

Lorraine gave me some ice cream to eat.. Kind of hard to eat without hands, but I managed.

Thanks to Lorraine at Lunchbox for inviting me. Well, thanks until she and My Human started experimenting with places to put me while on the move. Not bad work if you can get it, I suppose. 

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Take a walk on the wild side

So one day on the cruise, my BFF Bethany took my brother, Flat Emong (we call him FE for short) out with her. She was going to ride the zipline, but they would not let her take the camera with her (said she needed both hands or something like that.) But FE did get to meet Dallas and his wife. They headed over to start their adventure and FE got his picture taken with the guide. He was a bit nervous about the ziplining so he is a little pale in the shot. Chicken.


After the zipline adventure, BFF Bethany took FE over to get a bite to eat. They had crab, shrimp and all sorts of things at Mauricio's.
Bethany's mom is awesome and she shared her crab with FE. (Crab, not crabs.. sheesh)

Now, after that things got a little confusing. From what I hear, they started teasing FE about being scared of the zip line and waterfall and he started getting all mad.

He was like "who you calling scared" and they were like "you, you flat chicken."

Then FE got all in their face, then somehow the cops came (they were in plainclothes working as security) and found out FE did not have a valid passport but was using some bad fake one and then he gets ARRESTED!! They put a gun to his head and everything.

BFF Bethany begged for them to release FE and they finally let him out after getting all up in his face and threatening him about using fake passports and causing trouble.

FE got all quiet after that and BFF Bethany and her mom let him have a beer before they headed back to the ship.

Learning the Ropes

Today, My Human took me to work with her.. I got to meet the UPS guy, Dwayne. He is pretty nice, but looked a little skeptical when My Human asked him to pose with me for a photo. She bribed him with a cold drink from the fridge and he agreed.
I also met Jack, My Human's cat. She set me down with him and he was sleeping, then all of a sudden that beast opens his mouth wide and bares his fangs. I learned he was just yawning. Then he gave me a bit of a hug and My Human scratched behind his ears. I am still not sure if I want to be left alone with him, but we seem to have formed a truce for now.

Last Day at Sea

Our last day on the boat was started by My Human and Auntie Helen sleep in late. They had spent the night out partying in the Carousel Lounge. They joked they had just spent the night with 2 jugglers, which was technically true, though sounded a bit more risque then it really was.

After they dragged themselves up, we headed up to the library for a bit so Auntie Helen could study.My Human worked on the website a bit and I checked out the books. Auntie Helen fell asleep on the couch in there and My Human decided it was time for some lunch and caffeine. We went for a quick lunch then headed down to Gatsby’s for the martini tasting.

I kept tasting the drinks and My Human and Auntie Helen was soon laughing as I was unable to prop myself up. Romano wandered over and we watched some of the short films he has made (really good - gunfire, butt-kickin, movie fu...) then we went back to the room so MH and AH could change and head down toward dinner and the last night’s festivities.

They ate dinner in Versailles again and MH let me have some of her beef and Yorkshire pudding. After that, it was back to Gatsby’s where we met up with BFF Bethany, talked with our friends Marcelo, Richard and Evangeline. Richard read MH’s palms and said she was in for some good things. Dallas and his wife came by and we all took another picture together.

After closing down Gatsby’s for one last time, it was time to go back to the room to pack and get ready to head home. It took me just a minute as all I got was a sombero and some bling. MH and Auntie Helen took a while, but were soon sleeping away.

Morning came early and MH and AH stumbled out of bed, finished packing and then trudged up to get in the LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG line to get off the boat. Soon we were off the boat and I saw California for the first time. MH says LA is a cool city and I should dig it here.

Auntie Helen’s husband picked us up and I got to take a photo with them as well.

It was a fun trip.

MH will be updating her site soon with her version of the trip.. you can check it out here.

A Day at Sea

The last few days of the cruise are spent at sea heading back to LA. My Human and Auntie Helen enjoyed not having to mess with the lines going ashore and so we all spent most of the daytime out on deck reading.

The night time was when things less relaxing and more fun. We went to see one of the shows at the theatre. Nino Frediani and his son Romano performed their amazing juggling act and the magician Murray performed a short show. Afterward we all got to meet Murray and My Human made sure we posed for a photo with them.

We ran into Nino and Romano at our little bar and invited them to go to dinner with us. We ate sushi and talked a lot - BFF Bethany joined us after her family went to bed. Then we all headed down to Gatsby’s for some more drinks then when they closed, we went to the Carousel bar where danced and had a lot of fun. My Human and Auntie Helen walked a bit crookedly back to the room very late.

Emong in Puerto Vallarta

Today was really fun! We headed into town early, My Human and Auntie Helen had signed up for cooking lessons and a tour of the town. We boarded the bus with our tour guide, Emma, and started off on our adventure. First stop was along the coast.

There were lots of statues by local artists, some were really interesting. I posed with the seahorse and another one that looked like a mom sending her kids up a ladder - I tried to climb up, but My Human said I had to go back to the bus.

We toured the church of the Lady Guadalupe, it was lovely. I had never been in a church before. We were then off to the restaurant where we were going to learn how to cook a Mexican dinner! We started out with salsa and guacamole - both were really messy but yummy. Then we made Chiles en Nogada, a yummy stuffed chile served chilled.

Chef Pablo taught us how to make tortillas, mine turned out really yummy. There was a nice couple across the table who let me watch them make their dishes. T. W. and Kelley are from Utah and they let me take a picture with them as well.

Then My Human got me a present and had a man draw a picture of me! It was my first portrait. I can’t wait to get it framed.

After the cooking lesson, we went shopping a bit, then back to the dock where we wandered around a bit. It was really hot, so My Human and Auntie Helen decided to go back to the boat to cool off a bit. I got to watch some of the sunset on the deck and sit in the hot tub, though I had to stay on the side and not get in as I am still not water-friendly.

The other REALLY exciting part of the day was with my Other Me - also known as Flat Emong. Bethany took FE into Puerto Vallarta with her and I got into all sorts of trouble. She took FE on the zip lines through a waterfall, but they would not let her take the camera with her - but it was still a blast.

THEN they went out to eat and she got FE ARRESTED! They put FE behind bars and everything! Luckily, she was able to get FE back out of jail. It was a bit scary, but exciting.

We heard about all of this when My Human and Auntie Helen met back up with Bethany on board. We sat around having a few drinks. Not too long after, Romano joined us at the bar with his father, Nino. They are both fascinating men who come from a long line of circus people and performers. My Human and Nino talked a bit about the circus, Italy and life in general. We decided to go see their show the next night.

Emong in Mazatlan, Mexico

Today we headed to shore in Mazatlan. Getting ashore was easier, since we were docked rather then moored.

Right after reaching shore, we saw Señor Frog and I posed with him. It was a bit rainy, so My Human kept me in her bag for a lot of the morning so I would not get wet.

Our first adventure was to the “Golden Zone” where they herd the tourists to go shopping. Jorge was our cab driver and told us about the discos and pointed out a few sites along the way.

After wandering about the market a bit, My Human and Auntie Helen stopped in a jewelry shop and picked up a few trinkets. Next we decided to stop for lunch where I had another beer and tried some hot sauce for the first time. It was quite tasty. My Human bought me my own sombrero for a souvenir! She said I had to stop singing La Bamba while dancing around the room, though.

Since it was time to end our short day in Mazatlan, we caught a cab and started back to the ship. This time, our driver was Alfredo. Alfredo was awesome. He took us around to see the old city, made a few stops along the way to check out some of the statues along the coast and showed us the cliff divers.

After getting back on the ship, we went out on deck to explore the ship and I played in the life ring and looked out on the coastline.

We headed down to dinner (though My Human and Auntie Helen said I was not quite old enough to sit at the table yet) where My Human and Auntie Helen played a murder mystery game. They felt it was a little too adult for me, so I did not get to play. Then off to our nightly fun at Gatsby’s.

Tonight was a lot of fun. I got to play in the champagne bucket. We met my new best friend, Bethany. She is from Oregon and she is a lot of fun. I posed for a photo with her and her mother (they each snuck kisses - I blushed a bit.)

Then Auntie Helen took me out dancing with her and I went up to sing with a group who was accompanying the piano player. My Human started to play around and dressed me up as a gangster. It was a long day and I was so tired when we finally went back to the room. I fell asleep immediately - still wearing my sombrero.

Emong is born.

Today I was born. My Human needed to work on a project for a craft swap she was involved with on Craftster, so she brought along some bits of fabric, thread, scissors, etc. and while Auntie Helen was lounging beside her catching some rays, My Human started sewing me.

My design was made up on the spot with a few things that were symbolic. My back is made from a star pattern, so I can always find my way. My shirt is shamrocks - not just a nod to the Irish - but also for luck that I won’t get lost, ripped, misplaced or blow off into the ocean.

My very first trip was when I was only a day old. We moored in the coastal town of Cabo San Lucas. I couldn’t wait to go ashore - all I had ever known was the sea. my Human and Auntie Helen waited in line and took me aboard the tender - our water transport to shore - and the fun began....there was so much to see!

Our first stop was to see a baby lion. My Human got some photos, but I was a little too scared to pose with the big kitty.

Next was to the market to check out the local merchandise, then onto a restaurant where Auntie Helen wanted to grab a beer. I tasted my first Corona, salsa and guacamole. It was good. We watched the numerous vendors plying their wares on the boardwalk, then made our way back to the tender. I was a bit sad at first to go back aboard - but soon had forgotten that when I made my debut at Gatsby’s bar on the ship.

Marcelo, Richard and Evangeline made me feel like part of the family - and I got to taste my first martini!!! Marcelo let me play hide and seek in the vodka bottles and we took all sorts of fun pictures so I could remember it. After our stop at Gatsby’s My Human wanted to take me around to see more of my birthplace.

We headed to the Carousel Bar where Auntie Helen let me sit on the carousel horse. Then we went back to one of the smaller bars and I got to play with the Wii!!! We bowled and played tennis and laughed a lot. Milan was our host from the ship during that time and he was a good sport about how bad I am at holding the controllers. We also got to meet Romano, a juggler from the ship who was a great conversationalist and kept popping back and forth between an American and a British accent which was kind of funny. Milan and Romano let me take a photo with them even though they did not quite understand at first what I was all about. On the way back to our room, My Human stopped in and wanted to show me the casino. I played the slot machine but didn’t win anything. My Human said that was pretty typical and I should never gamble more then I can lose. I think it was fun and might have to try again one of these days.

It was then off to bed for another fun day ashore in the morning.

Check out the photos here.

Night!