Dad and I stay pretty busy all year long doing hundreds of different animal shows at parties, fairs, festivals and other events, but our real cross-country traveling starts in the fall with our college tour. Sometimes we are on the road for weeks at a time driving from campus to campus before getting back home for a few days. I love getting to see so much of the United States and meeting so many different people from all different places.
College campuses are really cool – kind of like a whole little town within another town. There’s usually a cafeteria or coffee shop to eat in, a bookstore to shop in, dorms to live in, a gym to exercise in, an auditorium to see plays and concerts in, and thousands of people from all over the world. Most colleges have sports teams that you can cheer for, and lots of them also have fraternities and sororities and other social clubs. There is always something fun and exciting going on.
Most monkeys and some people never get to see any colleges, but I am lucky that I have been to many of them. Just within the past two months dad and I have traveled to Iowa, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Illinois…and there’s lots more to come over the next few months.
When we go to a college, we always set up in a big area with plenty of room for all the students and faculty that come to meet us. Everyone gets to meet and interact with me and all of my animal friends, while dad teaches the students about us, conservation, and responsible animal ownership. It’s always great fun to see who is brave enough to pick up my friend Cuddles the tarantula first, or hold Purse the alligator. It’s kind of like a big party and everyone has a great time – the people and the animals! Maybe one day I’ll get to meet you at one of our college entertainment shows.