SOCK MONKEY

Here, for the first time captured on film, are the international sightings of Sock Monkey. Join him as he travels the globe in search of adventure, decent mai tais and the perfect wave. He is . . . the most interesting monkey in the world.

Coveting fudge on Mackinac Island, Michigan
With a few thousand penguins at a rookery, basking in the summer sun
Cruising through icebergs, Antarctica
Beachside in the Seychelles
Nine-Arches Bridge, Sri Lanka
At Mt. Everest base camp. Everest is the peak at back left.
Brisbane, far nicer than expected
At a salt lake in the Atacama Desert, Chile
Petra, Jordan.
The view from the top of the Burj. Those are 60+ story buildings down there.
Read posted signs.
Sunrise in Goreme, Turkiye (yes, that’s how they want you to spell it now)
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Grabbing kanelbullar in the Haga district of Gothenburg, Sweden. This thing was as big as your head…
Insta-worthy at Nyhavn, Copenhagen
Benagil Caves, Algarve, Portugal
Who doesn’t, though?
At a great tavern in Crickhowell, Wales
LlanfairPG, Wales. He can pronounce that!
Tower Bridge, London
On the walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia, pondering dragons.
Railay Beach, Thailand
Comatose after a hard night of clubbing at his bungalow on Moorea, Tahiti.
Day tripping off Ko Tao, Thailand
At the night market in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Hitting a real steak dinner in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Oh, my.
In Kyoto at the famous tori gates.
Discovering Japanese baseball, where the fans are unlike anywhere else.
Why yes, that is the world’s largest rodent, the capybara.
Soug Waqif, Doha, Qatar
Colling off with a local beer in Sri Lanka. It’s hot out!
With the roos Down Under
Perth, Australia
Hitting the sangria in Santiago, Chile
At the world’s tallest building, the Burj Kalifa in Dubai, UAE
On a felucca boat headed up the Nile. Not pictured: beastly heat.
Hundreds of balloons over Cappadocia
Overwater bungalows, Hard Rock Maldives. One must relax after a long flight, you see.
At the Berlin Wall, now an outdoor mural space.
At the Little Mermaid, Copenhagen Harbor
Taking a coffee break on his year-long trip
Preparing for the annual kite festival, Sanur Beach, Bali
No one knows who he is, or what he was doing…
Punting along the Cam. Cambridge, England.
Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
Enjoying the water from Mont Blanc at a local brewery in Chamonix, France.
The next morning, after Bloody Marys. The main island of Tahiti is visible in the distance.

In Ko Samui, Thailand
High in the Swiss Alps above Lauterbrunnen
Near the top of Iguazu Falls, on the Brazilian side.
Visiting with “friends” in the Monkey Forest Sanctuary in Ubud, Bali (Indonesia). Hey, buddy, watch the hand.
With escort in the Patpong red light District of Bangkok
At Angkor Wat in Cambodia. “Tomb Raider” film crew all wanted autographs.
On safari in Kenya. Herds of wild buffalo and gazelles were beautiful, but some times one simply must relax back at the tented camp and listen to the animals at sunset . . .
The Great Pyramids. Giza, Egypt.
At the Acropolis. Athens, Greece.
Crusing the “Med” on a tall ship, just off the coast of Hydra, Greece. Pictures from later stops on the cruise of his romps in Turkish nightclubs are not suitable for family viewing.
In Italy, he is known as “Il Duce Piccolo.”

Ready to take on the Irish in South Bend.

Also a big sports fan, Sock Monkey was spotted cheering for the USC Trojans against the hated Fighting Irish in South Bend, Indiana (pictured here with autograph seekers), and for the Cubbies at Wrigley Field.
S.M. was caught by our intrepid camera staff in New Orleans as he went on a bender in the French Quarter.
It started out as a wild night out, but ended up in less glamorous fashion in Audubon Park, with a hangover and an empty Abita Beer bottle.
Displaying his penchant for upscale locales, Sock Monkey recently toured the wine country of Northern California. Here he lazes among the vineyards before heading off to the coastal redwood forests, to pose bfore a towering 300-foot tree.
In Costa Rica for volcano trekking.
The more relaxed side comes out in this vintage picture of Sock Monkey visiting relatives in Los Angeles.




He’s a fan of beaches everywhere, but Sock Monkey particularly enjoys Florida. He’s seen here lounging on Miami beach, no doubt resting up for a big night out.
South Beach Miami.
Sunning on his yacht off the coast of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Visiting with official guards outside a palace in Seoul, South Korea.
In the world’s coldest bar, in Denmark
Downtown Copenhagen at the amusement park.
Downtown Tokyo.
Ashore in Mykonos, Greece
Curacao, where “dushi” is the local world for good. He is amused.
Mugging for the view over Condado Beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Offshore at St. Thomas, USVI
Carambola Beach, St. Kitts. He makes a point of trying out the local beers wherever he goes.
Vegas, baby
Slumming it at the old Imperial Palace
Mayan ruins, Belize. Contemplating the nature of the universe at the Mayan calendar reset in 2012.
At the swim-up bar in Ambergris Caye, Belize.
An avid hiker, he particularly enjoys the climbs around Sedona, AZ.
In a contemplative mood at Kaanapali Beach, Maui
Among the tourists of Times Square.
On an idyllic Summer day in Central Park.
At the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles.
Private water taxi, outside Saint Mark’s Square, Venice
Canal-side in Amsterdam
A tireless champion of progressive causes, he takes a moment to help in Amsterdam.
Going downscale, he sometimes slums it at mainstream couture shops, this time in Paris.
A renowned international sports enthusiast, he catches the last stage of the Tour de France.
With assistance from fans, being enshrined by pawprint at the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
At Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach, Oregon Coast
It’s not a cliche, and in fact the expression originated with him. Sometimes you have to stop and smell them. At Portland’s oddly named International Rose Test Garden.
Multnomah Falls, outside Portland
You really can’t get enough beach time when you’re a monkey made from footwear. Why not spend that time at a high-end resort, like Kahala, around the curve of Diamondhead on Oahu?
At ComicCon, San Diego, demonstrating that there is no high or low culture when you are an international monkey of mystery.
He knows all 4,000 beers on tap at this Belgium watering hole, but he prefers Dos Equis.
One of the great wonders of the modern world. Also pictured is Cologne Cathedral.
Enjoying a bure on a deserted beach in Fiji, and in Tahoe for the 4th of July.
At the ancient city gates in Kotor, Montenegro.
Relaxing on his cruise stateroom patio.
In Oregon, he takes in a river raft near Bend.

On the Oregon coast, he tries his hand at a rail bike.

Surveying the floodplain 40 years after the Mt. St. Helens eruption. The top of the mountain is missing…
At the rodeo in Jackson Hole (before Yellowstone became a hipster show).
Taking a break from a work trip to enjoy Prague, Czech Republic.
Szechenyi Baths, Budapest.
Barcelona. No, this thing will never get finished.
Mallorca. Ibiza is so last year.
A cruise stop in Nice, France.
Having a cultural moment at the beer garden at the Vienna film festival
The Blue Lagoon, Cyprus
He knows you know this one.
He is surprisingly adaptable with climates. Here he is near the Arctic Circle on a boa heading up the Norwegian Coast.
Keeping up with his beers-around-the-world theme, he stops in Tromso, above the Artic Circle.
A visit to the all-ice SnowHotel in Kirkenes, Norway
Mushing with the sled dogs in Kakslauttanen, Finland
Waterfalls in Iceland.
Keeping with the chilly theme, but much more domestic, he hikes to Glacier Lake within Glacier National Park.

Who is responsible for this? Well, that would be me. And for God’s sake, why? It all started with a stupid television ad several years ago. The Pentium III chip featured a series of dancing animated toys to show off the power of their graphics processor. In the ad, the Sock Monkey danced toward the screen waving his arms about wildly to the tune of Jorge Ben’s Ponte de Lanca Africano (Umbabarauma). It really was quite catchy. I suggest checking the tune out.

Cindy thought this was the greatest, most ridiculous thing she’d ever seen, so I went out and bought a sock monkey for her next birthday. And for reasons neither of us can explain, we’ve taken this thing along with us whenever we’ve travelled since then.

And yes, we know it’s weird. But c’mon, you read down this far, so you think it’s kinda fun, too.