Mail call

I received a postcard from Jerry and Ben the other day. They are on a hiking trip in Wyoming.

This is Devils Tower National Monument. It has a height of 1,267 feet. I wonder how it was formed, perhaps by volcanic rock?

Sounds like they are having fun! Thanks for the postcard!

OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD Kaleidoscope Kit

Hello everyone! If you're wondering why I'm wearing my astrobear suit today, it's NOT because I'm going to outer space today, but because we are going to make an OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD KALEIDOSCOPE!

Yes, I have right here in my little paws a very cool kaleidoscope kit with a space theme. I'll spread all the materials out.

I've never made a kaleidoscope before. Let me take a look at the directions.

Our first step is to cover the outside of our kaleidoscope tube with this sticky constellation paper.

A kaleidoscope isn't a kaleidoscope if it doesn't reflect properly That's what these 3 mirror pieces will do.

We'll stick them inside the tube in a triangle shape. Hello - can you see me?

Then we'll pop the viewing cap on to make it nice and dark.

In our viewing dish, we'll put an assortment of beads, gems, and sparkly sequins. This will be really good.

Then we attach that piece to the bottom of our kaleidoscope tube. It's done! Let's have a look.

Oh wow! Amazing! Beautiful! Terrific! Really wonderful!

Hmm, what did you say? Oh, you want to take a look also! Yes, of course! Have a look inside.

Come a little closer, don't be shy!

What do you think?

I'll rotate it while you're looking inside.

Do you like the colors? No two designs are ever the same!

I'm going to bring this space kaleidoscope with me on my outer space adventures. Every astrobear should have one in their rocket ship!

Ooogie's Job Update

Today, we're going to check in on our friend Ooogie to see how he's doing at his new job. I helped him find a new job about a year ago after his last one wasn't a good fit. Let's see how he's doing now.

Well, I'm here at his workplace. It looks like he has been named Employee of the Month -- for 12 straight months!

"Hiiii Ajdiiiin," said Ooogie.

"Hi Ooogie! How are you doing? How's the job going?"

"I'm gooooood. I looooove myyyy jooooob."

"Well, you must be doing great if you've been Employee of the Month for the past year -- "

"AND WHERE'S MY FAVORITE EMPLOYEE???" It was Ooogie's boss.

"Hellooooo bossssss. Thissss issss myyyy friiiiiend Ajdiiiiin."

"AHA! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO REFERRED HIM TO US!" His boss spoke very quickly and very loudly.

"Yes, I just wanted to drop by and say hello," I said.

"DID YOU KNOW THAT YOUR FRIEND OOOGIE IS A GENIUS? LET ME SHOW YOU SOME BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURES OF OUR PROJECTS."

He took out a blueprint.

"OOOGIE MAY BE SLOW, BUT SLOW IS JUST WHAT OUR COMPANY NEEDED! LOOK AT THIS! IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM, WE WOULD HAVE BUILT THIS PYRAMID UPSIDE DOWN! CAN YOU IMAGINE?"

"Er, yikes," I said. "Yes, I could see how that might be an issue."

"HE STARTS EVERY MEETING WITH THE WORDS 'LET'S SLOW DOWN AND THINK.' I'VE MADE THAT OUR COMPANY MOTTO FROM NOW ON. AND LOOK AT OUR SALES FIGURES! GOING THROUGH THE ROOF NOW ALL BECAUSE OF HIS ATTENTION TO DETAIL."

"Wow, that's great! But I'm not surprised, really. Ooogie is a hard worker." I was really proud of my friend.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M GOING TO PROMOTE YOU, OOOGIE!" his Boss exclaimed excitedly.

"Buuuuut youuuu juuuust prooomoted meeee laaast weeeek," Ooogie said.

"DID I? SEE, HE'S HONEST TOO. WELL, I'LL PROMOTE YOU AGAIN, SO WHAT? WHO CARES? I'M THE BOSS. ALRIGHT, I NEED MY 3RD CUP OF COFFEE THIS MORNING..."

It sounds like Ooogie is doing great at his new job! What do you think?

Road Trip Conclusion - Part 7 - CONCLUSION

The next and final stop on our road trip is... SAN DIEGO!

Here I am at the Bob Hope Memorial in San Diego. Bob Hope was a wonderful and talented entertainer who loved performing for the troops. He did a lot of USO Tours around the world to lift the morale of troops stationed abroad.

Everyone can use a good laugh, right? So many people were touched by Bob Hope's work.

Behind me is the USS Midway Museum, which is actually an aircraft carrier! We will go onboard shortly.

But let's take a look around and see what else is on the shore. There is a really cool ship behind me here. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but Coronado is just across the bay and that is where the Navy SEALS do a lot of their training. I'm still waiting for the Navy BEARS program to open up...

And this is... woah. This status is called "Unconditional Surrender." This statue resembles the famous "V-J Day in Times Square" photo. We'll leave them alone for now, heh...

Ok, time to get onboard the USS Midway! I'm in the hangar and there are so many planes like this one. We also went into the auditorium and watched a brief film about the Battle of Midway - it's a fascinating, action-packed story! The average age of sailors on ships like these was 19 years old.

Now we're going inside the deck to see some of the other exhibits. If you're claustrophobic, maybe you should wait outside. And watch your head and your knees! We will be climbing through some small entryways that are designed for sealing off any water leaks.

Here is what one of the officer's work areas looked like. Some desks, filing cabinets, and they also had some decent personal living spaces.

But if you're a low-ranking sailor, then here's your bunk. I call top bunk!

There are offices full of binders and charts with task assignments. This is a very busy ship.

We have things to do and places to go - so meet me in the ready room!

This is your Captain speaking! We have Sandy on refueling duties, Little Fox in the pilot's seat, Jerry & Ben cooking up a storm in the galley, and Droopy in the anchor room!

What? You don't like your assignment? Well, too bad! You don't want to be thrown overboard, do you? 😉

Captain Ajdin here at the controls. I wonder what all these buttons do.

There are several teams within the navigation control room of the ship, with many radar supercomputers and communication devices. In the middle of the room, the captain sits on a stool so he can see everything that is going on. It's not an easy job! Many important decisions must be made quickly here.

We will head down to the anchor room. If you're new on the ship, you'll most likely start out working here. Each anchor link chain weighs 156 pounds, with the anchor weighing 40,000 pounds. I think I will need Uncle Tibbs' help here.

We will be tying knots on this ship. Lots of them. So study up!

Okay, time to go up to the flight deck. It's a beautiful day!

There are dozens and dozens of helicopters and aircraft on the flight deck here!

Do you think anyone will mind if I ride in one and fly it away?

This one looks like it has a saucer on its back. It's actually a radar and this plane would be tasked for surveillance missions. Very cool!

Time to take off!

And this is the plane of John Glenn, Jr., the first American to orbit the earth in 1962. Prior to being an astronaut, he was an aviator in the United States Marine Corps. Cool

Well, that does it for this super road trip! Time to go home and rest up for our next trip!