A to Z Hotdog Tours

  Per Alan’s usual attention to detail and generosity, we were handed our mystery bag with our intended itinerary for the day.   Yup, Beth guessed NH and she wins the prize.   We knew it was going to be a bit further than previous tours because we had a 9:00 am “be there” at the Aubins.    HD Swag Not only did we have a colored itinerary of the hot dog stands/places we would be visiting, but hand wipes, Slim Jim’s wrapped to look like hot dogs, gummy dogs and baseball caps with a hot dog on the front.   Women got pink and gentlemen, I use that term loosely, received blue caps.   We took flight first to Walpole, NH and Dog Daze Hot Dogs.   I use the word “flight” because NH was the first public flight of the Wright Brothers in 1908.   There would be no “flights” of beer today, though; all hotdogs! Nicole and Ryan - Dog Daze We were excitedly greeted by Nicole who owns the stand with her husband Ryan.   They bought the business from he...

  Ate or Eight?   Either way it’s great!   June 23, 2023, was the 8 th year of our annual (minus one COVID year) of the A to Z Hot Dog Tour.   The usual participants were Alan, Terry, Tom and Beth.   AKA – All In Alan, Terry Two Footer (she ate a 2 ft. long hotdog without cutting it) Tommy Jaws (no explanation needed) and Beth or Battling Betty.   She battles to keep up with the other three dog hounds! Wally's Weiner's Wearing our gray T-shirts with black lettering of A to Z Original Hot Dog Tour, (courtesy of the A team), we began the tour of dog eateries in Rhode Island.   Following the colorful itinerary provided by Alan complete with an emergency hot dog kit (gummy hotdogs) in case we didn’t find any to our liking (yea like that’s going to happen!), we proceeded to our first stop in Newport, RI.   A former elite dining French Restaurant, then a French Fry Palace, now known as Wally’s Weiners at 464 Thames St.,   Do you think there are ...

  2022 A to Z Tour Blog With the threat of scattered showers and/or worse, Alan and Terry Aubin, the A’s and Tom and Beth, the Zs, were not to be deterred from continuing our annual hot dog tour. This is our 7thyear coordinated by Alan, the master planner. The week prior to the trip, Alan sent out facts about hot dogs and buns. Terry added comical comments and her favorite, emoji’s. Beth replied with jokes and Tom gave us all nicknames: “All in” Alan, Battling Beth, Two-footer Terry, and Tommy Jaws. We decided that Alan Best in Show will be the planner and program designer for all future tours since he does an outstanding job. Whew, I’m off the hook! Our first eatery was Best in Show in N. Grafton, MA. A bright red road side wagon proudly displaying the American Flag fitting for hot dogs being one of America’s favorite foods. Best in Show served Kayem hotdogs in a New England style bun {my favorite bun). All of their dogs were named for different breeds. Beth had a Yorkie and...

Anticipation was building as we awaited the fifth annual A to Z hot dog tour with Terry and Alan. It was Alan's turn to plan this event and he had been telling us it was going to be grrrrreat! Okay, Tony, the Tiger! What also made this year special, it was also Terry's 53rd or if you are dyslexic, 35th birthday. We like the dyslexic reference because that would make Tom and I 26!!!  Our chariot arrived at 9:30 when Terry and Alan arrived with two special bags. Inside were "happy"tizers of Slim Jims and two sugar cookies decorated as hotdogs. We supplied a gummy package of hotdogs, hamburgers, sour gummy fries and pizza gummy. But the best was at the bottom, two shirts commemorating the 5th anniversary. Front said, 5th Annual A to Z hot dog tour, June 29, 2019 with a perfect classic hot dog. On the back were the five years under which were listed the places we visited each year.  Such generous and creative people, the Aubins. Tom and I were saying the night before, we ...

June 30, 2018 I know it's cliché but where does the time go? When you're enjoying one of America's favorite food, the hot dog, and doing it with favorite friends: time passes all too quickly. Today's tour was postponed due to Dad having an attack of angina brought on by unnecessary but Clark style worrying. He needs to eat more hotdogs! Anyway, this was the year for the Zela zos to plan. After researching and looking at maps for driving time, Beth decided on New Bedford, Fail River, Cranston RI and back home to Crazy Jakes in Wilbraham, Setting out about 9:30 we vet e off with Betsy (Tom's GPS girlfriend) showing us the way. Mary's Steamed Burgers First stop was to be Paddy's in New Bedford where we would also take a stroll on their river walk and enjoy the Atlantic and fill Terry and Alan in on the charms of this old whaling port. But alas! Paddy's was no longer in business. What to do? Tom went into a small and interesting record shop and asked where c...