Chocolate, Chocolate Everywhere!

Today, I got to do something awesome; I got to take a virtual tour of the Hershey's chocolate factory in Pennsylvania, and I got to see how they make chocolate. Do you know what a virtual field trip is? It's okay if you don't. I didn't, either, until Mrs. Kook showed me. Basically, what a virtual field trip is is getting to visit somewhere from the comfort of... well... where ever you want (as long as you have internet access). It's the greatest!

Because of such great technology, Mrs. Kook was able to take me to the Hershey's chocolate factory all the way in Pennsylvania, and we got to sit on her couch and eat popcorn while we did it. My favorite part was getting to see them make the chocolate. I'm not going to share all of it because you really need to go see it for yourself, but below I have included a clip of the video for you to watch.

Boy, all this chocolate talk has got me wanting some.  I'm going to go to the kitchen and get some, but stay tuned... there's plenty more pirate adventures to come!

I love Parks!

Seeing as to how I was always out to sea doing pirate activities, I was never able to watch much television, so moving into a house that has access to things like Netflix has been a whole new world for me.  Everyday when Mr. and Mrs. Kook are gone to work and school, I sit around watching television shows with Calli.  We take turns making lunch for each other, and we watch entire seasons of different shows.  It's one of the ways we have bonded and become friends.

Currently, we have been watching the show "Parks and Recreation" together.  It's a super funny show about the Parks and Recreation department of Pawnee, Indiana.  You get to see an insider's view of the local government there, and it brings all sorts of laughter to my day.  If you haven't seen it before, you should definitely give it a shot.  Here is a brief clip of the show, and you can see me there dancing and watching!

I'm going to go finish the episode I just showed you a clip of.  The suspense is killing me!  Stay tuned for more adventures!

Captain Flat Jack

New Favorite Snack

Today was such an awesome day!  I got to spend a lot of time with Mrs. Kook and Calli when she got home from school today.  We sat around and watched this super funny television show, "Parks and Recreation."  I haven't watched much television in my life, so it has been hard to peel myself away from it at times.  I did, however, manage to do so tonight.  We got out of the house to go make salsa!  Look at me helping Mrs. Kook get all of the vegetables washed and ready:

I know what you're thinking - 'Why were you guys making salsa?'  Well... Mr. and Mrs. Kook sell salsa at a local farmer's market called Pepper Place Farmer's Market.  It happens every Saturday, and they are there most Saturdays with their salsa, Wildman Salsa.  I had never had it before tonight, but let me tell you... it's some of the best salsa I've had in my entire life (and I have been to a LOT of places that have salsa throughout the world while traveling with my pirate shipmates)!  It is officially my new favorite snack, especially their verde (that word means "green" in Spanish) flavor. 

I don't know a whole lot about this Pepper Place Farmer's Market, but if you would like to know more, you should visit their website at http://www.pepperplacemarket.com/.

Stay tuned for this weekend's blog.  I will be attending the market with Wildman Salsa and the Kook's.  Hopefully we will see you there!

Captain Flat Jack

A Favorite Past Time

Yesterday I got to help Mrs. Kook during one of her school activities.  At first, I was not interested at all, but then I realized what we were doing - barter and trade!  We pirates have always enjoyed this kind of thing!  Trading something we didn't want for something we wanted or needed was always the greatest day ever.  I would get rid of some old plank that some new guy needed and would walk away with a brand new anchor.  It was great!  Check out the picture below to see me in action yesterday.

Do you see those great sticky note holders Mrs. Kook made?  I am thinking of making one (with her help, of course) to send to my mom for Mother's Day.  Although I don't really see the use behind sticky notes, all of those ladies seemed to really enjoy them, so I figure my mom will love them just as much.  Mrs. Kook gave me the directions to make them, but being a pirate and all, I kind of lost them.  If I hadn't, I would've loved to have shared them with you all.  I'm sure you could find them online somewhere.  I would highly recommend trying to find out how to make them and doing it for your own mother.

We got all sorts of goodies, including a package of Reese's Peanut Butter cups and an awesome thing of bubbles.  Can you believe I had never had a Reese's cup or played with bubbles before?  Neither could any of the ladies in her class, but I loved every minute of it when we got home!  I would love to do it again some day!

It's time for me to head to bed, so as always... stay tuned for more of my amazing land adventures!

Captain Flat Jack

Food in a TRUCK??

Today was a whole new adventure for me.  I was with Mrs. Kook at school, and she wanted to grab a bite to eat.  I figured we would be going to a cafeteria or something, but instead we walked right outside of the building and up to a truck.  I was so confused at first.  I thought maybe the truck was going to take us to where the food would be, but then I noticed the name of the truck.  Down the side of it, it read "MELT" in big letters.  See for yourself in the picture below.

Can you guess what they serve there?  All types of grilled cheese!  Today, she ordered a tomato and feta (that's a type of cheese) grilled cheese.  I didn't try it because I don't like tomatoes, but she told me that it was her new favorite type of grilled cheese.  Maybe next time they come to her school I will get my own.  She said all of her friends really like the buffalo chicken grilled cheese there.  That sounds more like something I would like!

Now I'm going to help her cook dinner for Mr. Kook.  She's going to show me how to cook spaghetti squash (whatever that is).  Wish me luck, and stay tuned for more pirate-y land adventures!

Captain Flat Jack

App-lications.

Hey guys!  It's been such a great week since I last posted.  I have been on so many adventures with Mr. and Mrs. Kook, but I am so excited about one thing in particular: learning how to use an app!  I didn't even know what an app was until I moved in with these guys, but they have taught me about them.

At first, I thought they were all about playing games.  I just love playing that Angry Birds game.  Have you ever played it?  Oh, man... shooting those birds across and trying to knock out all of the pigs is so much fun!  Here is a picture of me playing Angry Birds on Mrs. Kook's couch.

After I sat on the couch for days playing Angry Birds, Mrs. Kook told me something new - there's other types of apps, too!  My other favorite type that she showed me is educational apps.  My favorite of the ones I found is the Civil Rights Museum app.  It shows all sorts of cool pictures about the Civil Rights Movement, but it also provides information about a ton of different people involved in the Civil Rights Movement.  Do you want to know what is the coolest part about that?  The Civil Rights Movement happened here in the south, not too awful far from where I live now with the Kook's!  How cool is that?  Here's a picture of me playing with the Civil Rights Museum app.

I have played on this app just as much as Angry Birds since I discovered it.  I have learned a ton of information.  You should download it on your own device and learn something new.  Learning is always fun!

I'm going to go learn some more about Martin Luther King, Jr.  Stay tuned for more pirate adventures!

Captain Flat Jack

A New Friend

Hello all!  Today I made a new best friend.  Who knew that animals could be so loving?  Not me.  Having lived over half of my life on a pirate ship, we didn't have very many opportunities to have pets.  I have seen many different types of animals in all of my travels, but none of them have been as friendly as this one.  Mrs. Kook refers to her dog as her "fur baby" (I think that's because she and Mr. Kook don't have any children yet), and her little one is the cutest little thing.  Do you want to see a picture of her?  Here you go:

Her name is Calli.  Her "parents" adopted her, much like they have done with me.  Isn't she just the cutest thing?  Her giant ears are almost as big as I am!  We have gotten to spend so much time together since I first became land-bound.  Mr. and Mrs. Kook work quite often, and she has been the only company I have had during the day.  I think she just might be the perfect first mate here on land!

She and I are going to play in the backyard and throw the frisbee now, but stay tuned!  I'm sure this won't be the last you see of the two of us together.

Captain Flat Jack