Last week, I had the immense pleasure of meeting up with a whole bunch of Hotdog Blog members. Harry's Mum Jutta hopped across the pond for her first ever trip to the United States. She began her trip in West Palm Beach FL in DoxiePet land where Chuck and Danny and all the DoxiePets took great pains to show her a good time. I was invited down to Florida for Jutta's last days in DoxiePet Land so I could have a chance to meet her since New York was not on her itinerary this time. Never one to miss a chance for a party, Chuck planned a DoxiePet reunion so that Jutta and I could meet other DoxieKinder and HDB friends.

I arrived on Wednesday night and was warmly greeted by such friendly people - Chuck & Danny and Jutta. When we got to the house, the DoxiePets also greeted me - some warmly, some not. Kris, Kurt and Kate liked me from the start but the blondies - Kinnon and Kira were not nearly as friendly. Chuck thought it might be the skirt (Jutta only wore trousers) or maybe that there were two girls in the house. No matter what I tried they just wouldn't stop giving me the stink eye. It didn't help that Tante Jutta had already made great friends with them. The Meanie went out of her way to Kinnon on her lap for a cuddle or take a moment for a girly chat with Kira about having puppies. For me she's not Tante Jutta but Taunting Jutta!

After a yummy breakfast at Benny's on the Beach in Lake Worth, we went to a Barnes and Noble so Jutta could pick up the cook book she had on hold. While we were there, we met up with Princess Kassie, one of the Doxie Kinder. What a beautiful girl - she looks a whole lot like her sister Belle and has her mother's sweet face and her father's gorgeous coat. Kassie is the apple of her hooman mommy's eye and is doted on by two hooman brothers. As the only little girl in the house she's certainly spoiled but NOT rotten. Her mommy Alyssa is super duper nice too! We couldn't stay long though because there were a still lot of preparations for the DoxiePet Reunion picnic scheduled for later in the day.

Back at Danny and Chuck's we had a lunch of genuine New York pastrami and half-sour pickles smuggled down from The Bronx in my suitcase. Well not really smuggled but it WAS a special treat for Chuck! After lunch it was all hands on deck to help get the picnic ready. There was potato salad to mix, baked beans to doctor up, pasta salad to assemble and dips to dispense. Tables were set up, paper plates and napkins laid out and before long, everything was ready. We had just enough time for a short break before the doorbell rang.

The DoxiePets barked the arrival of Cheryl and her fur kids Zoe, Gracie and Emma. All the doxies sniffed and made their introductions as did the hoomans. Well, the introductions anyway - as for sniffing, I didn't partake! Before we knew it, the doorbell was ringing again and there were Carmen & Tim and Kaylee and baby Liam. Sadly, Belle had to stay home as did her new sister Olivia since there wasn't room for them on the plane. We ate, we laughed, we cooed over baby Liam and watched as Kaylee and Emma became fast friends. Before we knew it, the young ones were sound asleep and it was time to go home. It all went by so quickly.

The next day Jutta and Danny busied themselves packing a big box to be mailed back to the IOW since she had no room in her suitcase. After a trip to the post office and a late lunch, it was time for goodbyes as Jutta was dropped off at the airport headed for Milwaukee and Carrie, Smokey and Anna. Jutta was sad to leave but very excited to be meeting even more HDB members up north.

I left on Saturday but not before I took tons of photos. Chuck told me he had pictured me as having a lens implanted in my forehead and the ability to take photos by blinking my eyes. I ignored his silly vision of me and kept taking photos. By the time Danny finished downloading them off my camera I think Chuck was beginning to see the method to my madness.

All in all it was a wonderful quick trip. Chuck and Danny are wonderful hosts - great cooks, great storytellers, and provided the best of accommodations down to the fluffy new towels. I was sad to leave but we all agreed to meet up again some day maybe in New York.

I've uploaded the best of the photos to Flickr. If you would like to look at them, here's a link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/auntie_doxhoont/sets/72157605886046204

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