Mini-Kolo in Portland

Well Mini-Kolo was sad to leave LA but he was also excited to go to Portland.  Monkey had told him lots about it and he was keen to see it.  He flew from LA to San Francisco, stopped there for an hour and then on to Portland.  He got to the hotel very late in the evening so he just went to sleep and didn't see how marvellous the hotel was until the morning.  Now we don't usually take lots of pictures of hotels, they are not usually that interesting, but this one was.

The room had its own kitchen!!  What can you say, look at the cool lighting!!  Then there was a seating area.

 

OK most people know the Baboon HQ baboons are not major fans of shocking pink but hey this colour scheme was awesome, funky!  Even the carpets in the hallways were cool.  See the breakfast room.

 



There were cool sweets there all the time and you could help yourself to breakfast and there was coffee and cool things like yogurt and fruit available all day!  Way cool!  Oh yes and there was a roof garden.

Monkey and Mini-Kolo took advantage of the sunshine on the roof.  Check out this hotel if you are ever going to Portland.  www.northrupstation.com everyone there was awesome, so friendly and helpful, the baboon rating was stratespheric!!

OK they didn't spend all day in the hotel, honest!  Portland is a cool city and has a European flavour I think.  On the first morning they went out for pastries in a great pastry shop round the corner.  Maybe Monkey can tell me the name.  It was lovely.

Mini-Kolo had a pain au raison and an almond croissant yummy, you can just see Monkey's lemon tart behind.  Of course they had great coffee.  There was lots of lovely food in Portland we didn't photograph all of it.

Then they walked up to see the rose garden and the Japanese garden.  Mini-Kolo meditated in the Zen garden.

 

It was very peaceful.  He also met a very nice Japanese lion.  He is a lot bigger than @LeroySealion.

 



Mini-Kolo was very interested in the Oregon pines, he had heard of them and was fascinated to see them.  He had never realised how tall they were.

 

Later that day they had the second Tweet-up of the trip, they went to Lucky Lab, in NW.  This place got a good baboon rating, they had beer and pizza, not that Mini-Kolo was allowed beer.  As I have said we will do a special blog for the Tweet-ups, but here are a couple of pictures.

They met @danapixi, who brought @BorisKitty's pal @EdgardaKitty and @Kittehboi's Mini-Breeze, Cybercat919 and @Liedertafel_pdx.  They had lots of fun and some gelato afterwards.

Mini-Kolo caught up with two more rehomed baboons, DanaPixi's Awbrey and Willy's Marley.  Its so cool to catch up with the rehomed baboons and find out how happy they are.

The next day they went out for a walk exploring.  They managed to find Voodoo Donuts, that is an amazing place, they didn't have donuts, the colours looked scary to us, but there was an amazing long queue for them.  They also saw at least one drag queen, early in the morning after their performance, what a city!  Mini-Kolo met a Chinese lion this time at the Chinese garden.

They visited the Saturday market, walked along the river and had a lovely lunch in another French bakery and then went on the Portland street car.

That was exciting and they saw a cable car, we have to go back to ride in that cable car, we had planned to the next day but there was so much to do in Portland that it was difficult to fit it all in.

The next day they went to the zoo.  This is another thing that I will blog about separately but I will show you the highlights.

On the way to the zoo Mini-Kolo met some cool street pigs.

These pigs live on the street and have babies, they are really happy cos they live outside a gelato shop!!  Sounds good to me!

I was delighted they met a bear because I think this part of the US actually has bears like this.  Near the bears our friend found a Geocache!  We didn't know about these before but we will be getting into that now.

The major thing about Oregon zoo is that they have mandrills.

It ws not easy to get pictures of these guys because of the plexiglass, but our man person did well.

 

Now this is a handsome baboon and he had a family group with him.  He chatted with Mini-Kolo and told him that he has a good life in the zoo.  More about the zoo in a separate blog.

 

That evening we had a nice dinner in a Thai resturant called Red Onion, this got a high baboon rating, but it is very easy to over-order here so watch out.

 

Well the next morning we were due to fly to Boston, this was sad because we had to say goodbye to Monkey who was going back to Dallas.  We had a great trip with Monkey and it was good to spend time with him.  Thank you Monkey for spending your holiday with us an for finding us such a cool hotel.

 



Mini-Kolo got ready for Boston by putting his Red Sox shirt on while he was waiting at the airport.  A word here about our flight.  We flew Alaskan Airlines, we did not know what to expect with them but they got a really high baboon rating, it was a 5 hour flight so quite long, we felt really well informed, well looked after and comfortable.  We highly recommend to our friends who fly internally in the US, if you have not checked out Alaskan Airlines, do so it was a good flight.

Mini Kolo in LA

Well it seems like months ago since Mini-Kolo (Jackson) set out for his trip to the US.  However, it is only two weeks tomorrow since he left.  One of the first things he told me was that he couldn't understand why people think airline seats are too small, he felt it was very big.

I can see how he might think that but I'm not sure I would feel the same.

He arrived in LA after an 11 hour flight, plus the journey to the airport this end and from the airport that end.  However, he thinks he is Dr Who now, travelling in time, because he left home at 6 am, to get to the airport for his three hour wait and then had an 11 hour flight but got there just after 3 pm.  I can't be bothered to explain that to him, but he was tired and so, once they reached the beach house, they went shopping for dinner.

 

Mini-Kolo was fascinated by all these watermelons and other big fruit he saw.  He chose from Whole Foods wonderful selection of prepared food and took it home to eat.

 

 

Don't worry the wine isn't really his (or so he tells me)!  The next morning he was ready for breakfast and went to Urth Cafe in Santa Monica.

 



He gave this cafe a very high baboon rating for the bread pudding with caramalised banana!  It was yummy!

After that Mini Kolo and our friend @hi_im@monkey (Monkey) who we were travelling with, wanted to see the beach.

 

Here they are between Venice and Santa Monica beaches, having a rest.  Not long after that Mini-Kolo could no longer resist the urge to climb a palm tree.

 



Well he had to do it didn't he!!

The next day he went back to the Urth Cafe for waffles with banana and other fruit.  He is sure he saw an actor from the TV series House in the cafe.

After that he wanted to go to to the beach again, and it was a good job he did!  You may remember that a couple of years ago @LeroySealion and his brother Henry had to stand in for a lifeguard on Santa Monica beach, well Mini-Kolo had to do the same, at Venice Beach.

 

He did a good job and I think people were glad he was there.  After a long morning of lifeguarding he was hungry so they went to Gladstones at Malibu for lunch.  This is a fish resturant that gets a very high baboon rating for its crab cakes, it also has great views and there were pelicans around.

 

 



After some crab cakes with salad and sour dough bread, Mini-Kolo linked up with his new buddy to go surfing on Venice Beach.

After that Mini-Kolo had an important job to do.  He needed to go back to Whole Foods to shop for the big tweet-up that was coming up that evening.

He needed to prepare food, with help from Monkey and our humans.  In the evening we had a big tweet-up.  I will write more about this in a separate blog as a lot went on, but to fill you in for now.  We met up with @MrBearAndRocky, @BerniceBlu'Jae, @MrKiplingwoof, @Winslowsmom and @TuffyCat.  Tuffy was one of the first friends I ever met on Twitter, in 2009.  It was fantastic to meet them all.  I know they have all tweeted pictures and I have more pictures to tweet, but this is a picture of the whole group.  It was such an honour to meet them all.  Thank you to all of you for giving up your evening to come over to Venice to meet up.

Mini-Kolo also managed to meet up with a couple of rehomed baboons.  Mr Bear's Buffy and @tommypug's Austin, who was staying with Mr Bear at time.  We love to catch up with rehomed baboons.

Of couse both of them told us how happy they are in their new homes.  That was a fantastic evening and we are so glad to have met everyone.  We will write more about that Tweet-up and the one in Portland, in a later entry as they deserve more emphasis.

The next day Mini-Kolo was very hungry, after being the perfect host.  He went to a cafe in Venice Beach, called the Terrace Cafe, in Washington Blvd.  We would recommend this cafe to anyone going to that area.  Kolo had an omelette and potatoes for breakfast, it all got a high baboon rating.

It was a very good thing that he filled up on breakfast because on the way back he found an unattended fire truck so he needed to fill in for the Venice Beach firemen for a while and look after their truck.

 

Mini-Kolo loved that truck.  I think he would have brought it home if he could!

After that they needed to check out of the beach house.  They went sightseeing, looking at things like Hollywood Boulevard and the House of Pies etc, (all documented by @LeroySealion, back in 2011).  Eventually they made their way to LAX airport to fly to Portland in Oregon (PDX).

More about Portland in the next entry.

Huggy, Hoppo and reunions

This is a varied blog just to update you before we have our annual Baboon HQ holiday.  Some special things have happened in the last couple of weeks, to tell you about.

Firstly, a new baboon arrived at Baboon HQ.  This was definitely not intended but he is settling in well.

Meet Hoppo, he is a big baboon like me, 45 cms/22 ins tall.  He is one of the most handsome baboons I have ever seen.  He came from Germany.  How did he get his nam? Well let's let him tell you.

Hello, I'm Hoppo.  When I first arrived we watched the Australian programme Bondi Rescue, about the lifeguards on Bondi beach.  I really like the lifeguards.  I couldn't choose a name between them but wanted one of their names, because they are so brave.  Our manperson suggested Hoppo after the head lifeguard and because he thought the name suited me.  I agreed, so I am now Hoppo!!

The second thing to mention is our 80th rehoming.

 

 

 

Meet Huggy, he went to live with @Avofpunkinhead, in Canada.  He is a very polite baboon so he started out by shaking hands with Punkinhead's girl.

 

 



He soon started hugging!  Here he is with Punkinhead, they seem to be getting on well already.  Huggy was very tired when he arrived but when he had had a good sleep:

 

he woke up and told them that his name was Huggy.  Huggy may look a little bit familiar to you.  That is because he is the brother of Marley who was rehomed with Willy, in Oregon, a few weeks ago.

 

 

This is Marley with his new primate friends.  You see they are similar but have their own individual faces.

Another very exciting thing happened this month.  One of our rehomed baboons was reunited with his parents.  This is so exciting, its never happened before.

 

Dear @CelesteB3 managed to reunite her rehomed baboon, Xolani with his parents.  Can you imagine that!  What a great thing to happen!  Xolani's dad is called Babatunde which means daddy has returned and his mother is called Yewande which mans mother has returned, Celeste explained the meaning of the name to me and they seem very significant.  Can you image the happy scenes, they all live together now.  How wonderful of Celeste to make that possible.

I also love to see rehomed baboons meeting up.  It happens from time to time but this one is particularly funny.

 

 

 

What a lovely cuddle puddle with @MumbasGabig, @BooBooBearGreen and friends including their baboons Tartuffo and Tony who is sitting on @MumbasGabig's head.

 

Well that is what has been going on at and from Baboon HQ.  Thanks for reading.  The next blogs will be from Mini-Kolo in the US, including tweet-ups and meetings with some rehomed baboons.

Bear exhibition

We have a guest blogger today and I have to warn you that he is not a good photographer!!  Actually he is not even a guest blogger as I am having to write it for him.  Anyway here goes.

My person's lovely old Teddy Bear, Tet Bee met up with Henry @Henryandfriends to go to a Teddy Bear exhibition in Portsmouth City Museum.  I am sure this exhibition is old hat to all of you,as both Tabitha and Martha have already been.  However, these bars wanted to have a look for themselves.  Tet Bee, who has been with my person since her first Christmas, doesn't get out so much so he got all dressed up in his Bearmani outfit for the occasion.

 

Tet Bee ran into some famliar faces including Sooty and Sweep and Winnie the Pooh, there are others here whom he didn't recognise but he stopped to have a look anyway.

 

Prime example of poor photographic technique here, despite directions from Henry, and we also know that Martha and Tabitha have both shown you this picture (well actually a much better one of the same bear), but we couldn't resit him as he really is so much like @DoctorRedBear.  He was labelled as Napoleon Bearnoupart.

 

With a slight improvement in photographic technique Tet Bee managed to get a picture of this lovely old chap.  He made Tet Bee feel very young indeed!  So young, in fact, that he climbed up this wall with Henry hot on his heels!

 

Yes the old boy actually got to the top first!!  He is very proud of that!!

 

This was a big exhibition of moving Steiff bears and monkeys.  Tet Bee was keen to show me some of the monkeys.  Henry took part in the production of Shakespear they were performing.  I'm sure he will show you.

 

Before leaving Tet Bee was delighted to see a chap who might be an ancestor of our dear friend @OllyTed.  If he is he would be a great, great ancestor at the very least, as he was born in 1910.  He really is a handsome chap, and very like our Olly we think!!

The lighting wasn't excellent, to protect the bears, so the pictures are not excellent (well that is Tet Bee's excuse), that is for the protection of the elderly bears. However, we hope you get a flavour of the fun they had.  It is a great exhibition.

Tet Bee has a word of caution for you all.  When planning days out make sure you are not going on a day when there is a special event for the under 5's.  Elderly bears find noise challenging and the cafe was packed out.  However, he did enjoy his outing.

Emirates Cup

Yesterday Mini-Kolo had a very exciting day.  He went to the Arsenal stadium to see the first day of the pre-season friendly tournament, the Emirates Cup.

He got ready in his Arsenal shirt.  He was hoping Mr Wenger would give him a game.

First he had to go on the car ferry from Fishbourne, our car ferry port, to get to Portsmouth.

 

Mini-Kolo got on the ferry first so he enjoyed watching the other cars being loaded.  Then they set off to sea.

 

Heading towards Portsmouth.  When they got off the ferry there was a long drive in the car to London, that is around 70 miles.  Mini-Kolo needs his mid-morning coffee so they stopped to get that.

 

He had to be careful not to spill his coffee on his Arsenal shirt, Mr Wenger wouldn't like a coffee stained Arsenal shirt would he!!

 

After parking the car at Richmond, on the edge of London, they got the train to Highbury and Islington.  Mini-Kolo had a little nap to be ready for the game.

They had great seats at the Emirates stadium.

 

Mini-Kolo watched the games and cheered in all the right places.  Arsenal didn't win their game, they were two goals down to Napoli at half time, and Mini-Kolo was a bit disappointed.  But then Alex and Theo came on and everything changed.  The action was right in front of them for most of the second half with Arsenal shooting lots at the goal.  We got two goals for a draw, and Mini-Kolo was much happier.

Some old favourites were playing, our old friend Eboue was playing in the other game for Galatasary and they saw Mr Drogba the famous Chelsea diver playing for them too.  Pepe Reina the old Liverpool goal keeper was playing for Napoli so they saw some familiar faces.

They came home on the tube and then in the car.  There were two games so it was quite late by the time they got to the ferry.  Mini-Kolo thought Portsmouth Harbour looked very interesting in the evening light.

 

Now we are watching the second day of the tournament, on television, so we will see if Arsenal can win today.

Latest re-homings

The rehoming project is picking up again for the summer (baboons are so happy to get homes that they will travel at any time but they prefer travelling in summer weather if possible).

Five baboons have been rehomed since the last update.

This little chap went to Glasgow to live with @ThisBear, one of our oldest, most respected and loved friends.  I am so glad Mr Bear was able to give him a home.

Gilbert, who is a little finger puppet baboon arrived in time to enter #TeddyOlympics in the treats section, with Bear.  I am very proud of all the baboons who have entered #TeddyOlympics, but to do it so soon after arrival is really quite something don't you think.  Here they are with their Treats entry.

Another little chap has gone to live in the north east of England with @BooBooBearGreen.

 

 

 

BooBoo is an Arsenal fan so his baboon is named Tony after our greatest Arsenal captain, Tony Adams.  BooBoo is so kind and patient he let Tony climb all over him.



As regular readers will probably know we went for a picnic and met @MarthaBBear and @TourGuideTed and rehomed baboons with them in the fur.

Mini-Kolo (cool dude) rehomed this little chap with Martha, she called him Barney or Barnie, because she thought he looked like a Barney or Barnie. 

Mini-Kolo rehomed another chap, brother of @ThisBear's Gilbert, with @TourGuideTed

This little chap was named Bob (after West Bromwich Albion player Bob Taylor).

Both Barney and Bob were very lucky they had holidays after they were rehomed.

Then there was another rehoming.  This chap, Marley Mandrill, went all the way to Oregon to join @Cybercat919 (Willy's), primate family.

 

It would appear that he is learning to drive, but he needs to realise that you need to look out of the windscreen, not have your back to it.

I wanted to show more pictures of some of these chaps, but Blogger is being tempramental about uploading pictures today, I will try to add some more later.

I have another rehoming underway, and that will be number 80!! He will be going to Toronto!  Imagine my friends have been kind enough to rehome 80 baboons and give them loving homes and exciting lives that suit their needs and interests.

Thank you to all of you.  HUGS HUGS HUGS!!