|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stuffed animals are great travelers on family trips –
they don't object to weird foods, can stay up late, no teeth to brush or
face to wash, are wonderful company when a child goes to sleep in a strange
place, kids love them, and best of all – they travel free! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Packing for our first family trip out of the country, I told
my two boys, ages 6 and 8, they could pick one stuffed animal to take along.
My boys are like vanilla and chocolate, different in looks, what they like
to eat, what sports they do, but this time, their decision was identical
– they chose two small chubby penguins called the "Pengo Brothers,"
or just "Pengo" (no distinction between the two). Coincidentally,
the tag on stuffed animals said Made in Indonesia. Traveling to Bali, my
kids said with confidence, "We're bringing the Pengos back home."
In fact, the Pengo Brothers had just started their travels to destinations
around the world. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In our rented house in Bali, the Pengo Brothers made themselves
right at home. A walk down a path along the rice fields, steps up through
a carved stone gateway that was the way into our house yard. The airy spacious
two-story house with shaded veranda was surrounded by a snug, lush tropical
garden and towering coconut palms. During afternoon rainstorms, the boys
played with the Pengos, propelling them around on toy wooden cars we'd bought
in the open air market. At bedtime, the boys carefully placed the Pengos,
like benevolent guardians, on the headboards above their smooth teak beds.
The zip-lipped Pengos were joined by the sounds of unfamiliar birds and
very loud frogs in the warm humid darkness. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
The following year, when we trekked off to India, the Pengo
Brothers came along. We were on the move a lot, traveling to new places
almost every day. No matter how complicated our travel arrangements, the
Pengos were always calm and unflappable. Riding in the back of a camel cart,
piled high with luggage and bedding and odd cooking equipment for a camel
safari, the penguins took it in stride. The camel might be foaming at the
mouth and snorting loudly, but the Pengo Brothers were serene. At night,
they were tucked in with each boy in his sleeping bag, beaks poking out,
dreaming under the stars in the Indian desert. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Once or twice, we had to retrieve the penguins from spots
where they might have been forgotten. For Christmas, we stayed in a festive
"tent" palace in Jodhpur. Our tent was fit for royalty –
walls and ceiling covered in brilliant yellow and red fabrics, shimmering
bedspreads shot with golden threads, pillows and draperies everywhere. Just
the place for a Pengo to get lost. When it came time to leave, our taxi
driver was waiting, but Pengo was missing. Since I'm the perennial finder
in the family, I did a quick mental check. "Think like a penguin, think
like a penguin." First place to look was under the beds, but no Pengo.
Moments later, as I slid my hand between the bed and wall, there was Pengo,
tangled up in yards of fabric. The adventurous penguin was packed into our
luggage and made it back safe and sound. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
When the boys were in 3rd and 5th grade, we spent four months
in Europe. It was Sept. and there we were, getting on a plane to Amsterdam,
instead of heading off to school or work. The Pengos were packed in day
packs that we use for carry on luggage. When my younger boy started rummaging
around his day pack for a book to read, he pulled out something soft and
brown, like some kind of magic act. This squishy stuffed animal was a hermit
crab called "Hermity." Hermity, the kind of guy who takes his
home with him, was a stowaway. My boy explained with a note of defiance,
"Hermity won the stuffed animal lottery (did all the other animals
back at home have the losing tickets?) and a free round trip ticket to Europe." |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Our rented apartment in Amsterdam was our home base. While
the boys and I were out every day seeing the sights, the Pengos and Hermity
stayed in our apartment, ready to play when we got back. Our stuffed animals
were a link to our life back in California and made our apartment feel like
home. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We were on a boring shopping expedition to buy scarves and
gloves in a department store in downtown Amsterdam when the boys discovered
two cuddly wild boar toys. It was love at first sight. The soft furry wild
boars, with white stripes down their back like real baby boars, were twice
the size of the Pengos, but the "Hogsters" quickly joined our
stuffed animal family. As the days grew colder, the Hogsters, "Hoggy"
and "Sniffles," spent time playing with the Pengo Brothers and
Hermity in our apartment. Sometimes all the animals just rolled over and
played dead. Other times, the Pengos wore little buckets on their heads,
while the Hogsters dangled from the floor lamp like mountain climbers. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
Back home from Europe, we realized we'd collected quite a
menagerie on our travels. Along with the Hogsters, there was "Picasso"
from Paris, a little yellow Eiffel tower with a lopsided grin, topped with
a red beret. We'd also picked up three emerald green Nessies from Scotland.
Each Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, had a beaming face and sported a plaid
tam 'o shanter and bagpipes. One Nessie plays a tinny version of the Scottish
national anthem when the cord is pulled. Our traveling animals were given
a special spot on the shelves in the boy's rooms. But only the Pengos continued
to travel. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The next year on a spring break trip to the Yucatan, my boys
discovered accessories for the Pengo Brothers. In Merida we were shopping
for Mexican hats for the kids, when the boys spied miniature sombreros in
the store. The tiny sombreros, red or black velvet trimmed with silver and
decorated with embroidery, were a perfect fit for the Pengos. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accessories for the Pengos were everywhere in South America
where we traveled the following summer. In Otavalo, Ecuador, we bought miniature
ponchos and red felt hats for the "penguinos" in the same shop
where we bought indigo boys' ponchos. The Otavalo market had tiny bamboo
flutes, woven baskets, and fluffy little llamas. Back at our hotel, the
Pengo Brothers were arrayed with their new purchases. There they were, two
pear-shaped penguins wearing traditional ponchos and hats, riding on sweet-faced
llamas. Moments later, the Pengos were leading the llamas by the nose, and
the llamas were wearing the hats and ponchos. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
On a trip to Germany last summer, we vacationed in Binz, a
beach resort on the Baltic Sea. The boys, now 11 and 13, tossed the Pengos
into their luggage along with their music stuff and grubby tee shirts.
The Pengos had become our trip talisman. No longer the snuggly toys for
two little boys, the Pengos are now world travelers, comfortable everywhere. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The beach at Binz is chock-full of rattan beach chairs, as
far as the eye can see. Amidst the jumble of stuff in a souvenir shop in
town, we spotted tiny white beach chairs with blue cushions, just big enough
for the Pengos. And who could resist two little perky fuzzy white sea lions
with black plastic noses, sea-going companions for the Pengos. Returning
to Berlin, we added a couple of bears, decked out in fake leather aviator
jackets and foggy goggles to travel with our stuffed animal family. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We have photos of the Pengo Brothers in all sorts
of situations from everywhere we've traveled. Our hotel room or rented house
is always the setting for the Pengos adventures. In Guatemala, a sturdy
Pengo singled-handedly fended off an attack of fierce jungle animals, a
jaguar, monkey, crocodile, armadillo, and coatimundi wooden animals, surrounded
by the dense jungle in a turquoise and blue tropical print bedspread. You
can guess who came out ahead. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stuffed animals are travel companions who are
always ready for the next adventure. For little kids, a stuffed animal is
a piece of home in a new place. Even after your kids are bigger and may
pooh-pooh childish toys, the traveling stuffed animal becomes a trip mascot.
They are a warm, tangible reminder of all the imagination and comfort there
is in the world. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tips for your traveling
stuffed animals |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Pick a small toy – Take one that doesn't take up much space and
packs easily (leave the giant bears, hippos and rhinos at home.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Don't take the most treasured stuffed animal – There's a small chance
that your animal traveler may get misplaced and end up an expatriate. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Make sure your plush toy is washable –You
never know what may end up on your beloved toy – from crushed crackers
to the results of a distressed stomach. Pick a color that won't show the
dirt (pure white gets grubby looking in half a second.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pack your stuffed animals in carry-on luggage
– If your checked luggage gets lost, the kids can still go to sleep
with their snuggly animals. (Just don't bring a stuffed animal with a wind
up music box inside – the metal can set off the metal detectors at
security in the airport.) |
