Category: The Adventures of Bosty

It’s been a while since Bosty’s last trip, so he decided to head south before it gets too hot. Bosty isn’t a fan of hot, humid summers.

The first thing he did when he arrived, was visit the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Actually, he really wanted to go restaurant hopping to eat lots of southern dishes – but I told him we had to make a few museum stops first.

So up next we visited by the National WWII Museum to get a history lesson.

Then we walked around before grabbing a bite to eat. We admired all the murals on different buildings.

Bosty really liked the banners on all the lamp posts. Especially the ones that told bikers to watch out for open car doors. He really appreciates safety signage.

Finally we made it to a restaurant in the Garden District for dinner. Bosty decided to have chicken. I was surprised he didn’t order gumbo or a po’ boy.

After dinner we wandered down a few streets in the Garden District and admired the brightly colored homes with high windows and large front porches. All-in-all, Bosty was very satisfied with yet another day out and about in a different city.

Bosty decided to spend his summer vacation in the windy city – Chicago. He was really excited to see Frank Gehry’s Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. He’s so cultured.

Then he had to stop by the “bean” because he thought it sounded tasty. He was disappointed to see that it wasn’t a real, edible bean.

He spent the afternoon wandering through Millennium Park dog watching and people watching, while admiring some of the park’s sculptures.

For dinner he had to stop by Giordanos for some deep dish pizza.

He even had some leftovers that he boxed up and had for a late night snack and breakfast the next day.

Up next? A visit to the impressive Art Institute of Chicago.

Bosty liked the modern wing – he’s a big fan of the architecture.

He also visited the special exhibit on Roy Lichtenstein. Bosty loves comics so he’s a big fan of Lichtenstein’s style.

Here’s one of his favorites in the exhibit – I think he just liked it because he could recognize Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.

He was pretty excited to see Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks in person.

That night Bosty decided to live it up and do some fine dining at the famous Charlie Trotter’s restaurant. He heard it was closing soon, so he wanted to make sure he had a fancy multiple course meal there.

The next day he wanted to check out the view of the city from the Sky Deck at the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).

After pushing through a lot of tourists at the top, he was able to get a few snapshots of himself in front of the view.

Next we wandered around the city – it was such a beautiful, sunny day. Bosty got excited when he saw this parade float drive by – such colorful seahorses!

Here he is posing for another one of his tourist snapshots.

Later we stumbled upon the Buckingham Fountain – Bosty was very tempted to swim in the water. After all, it was an unusually hot summer day.

The word hot reminds me of…hot dogs! We stopped by Hot Doug’s for lunch.

After waiting in line for about an hour, Bosty tried not to be a piggy while eating several Chicago style hot dogs (he worked up quite an appetite).

 We ended our visit with a stroll through the city at night.

Bosty hasn’t been traveling much these days. He’s been hibernating because of the cold weather but now that it’s spring, he doesn’t have any more excuses. So he headed west to wander around San Diego, CA.

He was a little sad that he was too early for Comic-Con at the convention center. Better luck next year…But he did like the way the building looked at night.

Since he couldn’t spend the next day reading comic books, he headed over to San Diego Zoo to catch some sunlight. He thought this sign was very misleading – “I didn’t even see one hippo lifeguard!”

He got to see lots of colorful flamingos.

And a peacock that got loose on the grounds (Bosty later complained that my picture of the peacock cropped him out too much. He’s such a critic).

He thought about joining the panda for lunch, but didn’t think bamboo would fill him up enough.

Although it seemed like the birdies had quite a feast of…well, he wasn’t quite sure what they were eating. So he gave in and stopped by one of the zoo’s cafes for a snack.

Later, he wanted his picture taken in front of a warthog so he could look all the more handsome.

And he liked comparing his pointy ears to the hyena’s.

After San Diego, he decided to drive to the countryside to see all the modern-looking windmills.

The fields weren’t too bad either.

Then it was back to San Diego to relax by the water and watch people fly kites in the park before heading home.

Bosty outdid himself this time – he made the trek all the way to Chapel Hill, NC to get himself a big stack of pancakes at his favorite cafe, Crook’s.

Then he met me for a stroll around town. He liked getting in the way whenever I took artsy pictures. Or any pictures, really.

After an hour, Bosty headed back to Crook’s for another helping of pancakes. I joined him for a cup of coffee. Brrr, it gets cold in Carolina in December.

Later he helped me uninstall my artwork in Lexington, NC from the “Out of the Wild” exhibit. The show had animal artwork and a taxidermy collection. So we decided to pose beside the animals.

Bosty wasn’t sure if he liked posing around the wildcats. They looked a little too big and fierce.

And he wasn’t convinced that I looked like I was running when I posed next to the galloping zebra. That Bosty is a tough one to please!

Bosty decided to join us on our trip to Lexington, North Carolina for my “Out of the Wild” group exhibit. He really wanted to check out Chapel Hill – so we were on the road again.

We ran into a bit of traffic getting out of Washington, D.C., which made Bosty a little impatient.

But eventually we made it to Chapel Hill. First stop? Crook’s Corner for a bite to eat. Bosty really wanted to go there because of the pig on the roof. He thinks they should call it “Bosty’s Corner” with a mini sculpture of him on the top.

We ordered some good ‘old shrimp and grits. When we weren’t watching our plates, Bosty decided to sample our food. He had quite a few samples by the end of the meal.

He liked the decor of the courtyard – they had lots of bamboo that made him feel like he was lounging in a jungle.

The next day we strolled around UNC’s campus. Bosty decided that all my snapshots weren’t picturesque unless he starred in them.

He got a little too excited when we walked by a construction site. Bosty really wanted to play on all the trucks and machines. We didn’t want him horsing around there, so we decided to call it a day for this dog.

After Bosty heard that I was in Louisville, Kentucky, he got a little jealous and decided to go on his own trip. First he stopped by the Louisville Slugger Museum. He really liked the enormous bat out front and thought he could buy himself an enormous baseball at the gift shop. But alas, they had no giant baseballs.

Next he wandered around town and noticed a couple horse sculptures. He liked the way this one was painted to look like it was made of colorful puzzle pieces. Could he find anymore?

He sure could!

Next stop was the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. Bosty is quite the theatre enthusiast.

While going for a stroll, he noticed the KFC Yum! Center. For some strange reason he started craving fried chicken for lunch. Yum!

He walked by the river hoping to take a look at the beautiful sights overlooking the water. Unfortunately Louisville has had quite a bit of flooding from all the spring rain. The Ohio River was muddy from all the rainwater.

Bosty kept on strolling – he wanted to enjoy the cool, spring weather before going back to his hotel.

“Hmmm, I think I might know someone else who is in town. They’re not over here…”

“There she is!”

Bosty crept up right behind me. He’s always up to something!

Bosty noticed some of the neighborhood dogs were being walked, and demanded that I take him for a walk as well. It was a gorgeous day outside, why not go out and enjoy the warm weather?

He loved taking a look at all the spring flowers that were blossoming.

He even found some flowers that he decided to name “Bosty Flowers” because they were purple just like him.

We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling down the city streets, imagining what the people were like that lived in the colorful townhouses.

Bosty decided to head off somewhere that’s a little warmer this time of year (DC is still too chilly for him). So he wandered off to the south to spend some time in the country. He LOVED all the colorful chairs that were being sold by the side of the road.

And he was a bit confused when he noticed all the machinery lined up near his doggy hotel. What are they up to around here?

Lastly, he just had to get his picture by a tractor – to prove that he had gone off to the countryside. Silly Bosty.

Bosty decided to go on a trip to enjoy the vineyards and landscape of Charlottesville, Virginia.

He stayed at the Clifton Inn

and enjoyed lounging around on his room’s deck.

He liked the rustic decor – although the room was also decorated with a few birdcages. They reminded him a little too much of a pet shop.

And after a lazy day, he ran outside to catch the sunset.

Later in the week, Bosty decided to take a look at UVA’s campus. He dressed up for the occasion in a colonial hat…

Bosty sure does love Jeffersonian architecture!

He ended his trip by strolling through some countryside pastures.