Fuzzy Takes A Road Trip

Hi Kids,
I just visited another state. Can you guess from the picture where I went? Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion went to see the Wizard of Oz. But they started out in Kansas. 

If you look at a map, Kansas is just north of Oklahoma. It takes less than two hours to get to the state line. We stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up maps and take this picture.

We were going to Wichita. Our first stop was the Pizza Hut Museum. This tiny building was the very first Pizza Hut. The company was started by two brothers. They decided to call their restaurant Pizza Hut because after writing Pizza on the sign, they only had enough room for a short word. Now there are Pizza Huts all over the world!

Exhibits in the museum tell all about the business and have displays on Pizza Hut toys, like a play Pizza Hut kitchen and a Pizza Hut Barbie. While Miss Elaine looked at the exhibits, I sat on this old Coca-Cola cooler. This is what people used 70 years ago -- they didn't have Coke machines or Coke in cans back then. They put ice in this cooler and put the bottles in the ice. People had to pay the clerk because there was no place to put money in the cooler.

Later we went to the Museum of World Treasures. 

They had lots of different exhibits but I loved the dinosaurs best.

The next day we went to the airport to see an antique airplane. This is a B-29 Superfortress. B-29s were very important during World War II (1941-1945). Many of the B-29s were built in Wichita, including this one, called Doc.

Doc was used to make sure radar could detect enemy planes.

You can tell how big this plane is by looking at my picture.

During the war, there was a shortage of men needed to build the planes so many women went to work in the plants. Many of them were riveters -- rivets held the metal parts of the planes together. Here's a famous picture -- Rosie the Riveter - and, beneath the picture is a uniform worn by one of the workers.

This was so cool! The lady who wore that uniform is now a volunteer at the museum. Her name is Connie Palacioz. She was 18 when she worked on the planes. Now she is 94. I was happy to meet her.

After we saw the airplane, Miss Elaine had to go to a meeting. She was visiting with people from towns all over Kansas. They told us about things to do and see in their towns. Mostly, I napped in her bag until........

a lady walked by with an African crested porcupine on a leash. I had to meet him. He was friendly but I didn't get too close to his quills. 

When it was time to go, I got to meet the ladies from Dodge City. This town was famous in the Old West. Here is my picture. Do you think I look like a real cowboy?

Love,

Fuzzy