The adventures of Kealoha, an American Travelling Doll

  • Published
  • By Robin McDaniel
VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Military bases all over the world host hundreds of distinguished visitors every year, but this year some bases will be hosting a DV unlike any other. Her name is Kealoha, she is 18 inches tall and is an American Girl Travelling Doll.

Kealoha belongs to my daughter, Katherine McDaniel, age 7. Her father is Tech. Sgt. Kenneth McDaniel, assigned to the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance AFB, Okla. Kealoha left Vance AFB last March on a trip that will last until the end of this year. By the time she returns she will have visited hosts in 12 states as well as England. Six of those hosts are fellow military families.

American Girl travelling dolls originated with the Society of American Girl Doll Collectors. The idea is simple. A collection of "hosts" welcome a doll as a guest in their home and community. The visiting doll takes part in daily family life - outings, dentist appointments, school, parties, etc. - which is documented with pictures and often commemorated with small souvenirs. At the end of her visit, usually about two weeks long, the doll is shipped on to the next host.

The idea of sending Kealoha out on the road came up when we had been here at Vance for a year and though my daughters, Brittany, 12, Marie Nicole, 10, and Katherine, loved it here, they were still homesick for Hickam AFB in Hawaii. Katherine, in particular, missed her best friend, Alex Gardner. I wanted to do something to reconnect them to "home."

I figured we couldn't go back to visit but a small part of our family could. I asked Katherine if she would like to send Kealoha out as a traveling doll to visit Alex. She loved the idea so I offered to see if there were any other people who would be interested in hosting Kealoha.

I originally planned to just send a post to one of the American Girl collector's message boards but Katherine really wanted Kealoha to visit other military kids like her. I posted a host request on the AFCrossroads.com's Spouse's forum.

It turns out there were quite a few military kids interested in hosting Kealoha. The trip started at Hickam, carefully timed to arrive the day after Katherine's best friend, Alex, saw her father depart for a 15-month remote tour in Korea. We hoped it would cheer up Alex.

Kealoha's journey has so far included stops at: Twentynine Palms Marine Base, Calif.; Cannon AFB, N.M.; Keesler AFB, Miss.; and Robins AFB, Ga. She is scheduled to make a visit to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, this fall.

All the hosts have been wonderful. We've learned so much about each of the places and bases Kealoha has visited. Most of the bases are places we may live some day. Now that the girls have seen pictures and met someone there through Kealoha, those places don't seem as strange and far away as they did a few months ago.

All the hosts and our friends look forward to updates of Kealoha's blog site, http://kealohasadventures.blogspot.com. I have a big list of people I have to e-mail when new pictures and blog entries are posted.

The host families seem to be enjoying Kealoha's visits. At Cannon AFB, she was hosted by Lt. Col. Sean LeRoy, his wife Rebecca and their children Maeghan, Kaylin and Iain. Kealoha accompanied them to gymnastics and swim tournaments and got to ride the Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque.

"We really enjoyed being a host family," said Rebecca. "I doubt we would have gone up the Tramway in Albuquerque if Kealoha hadn't been with us. My younger daughter really enjoyed posing her for pictures."

Kealoha's host family at Robins AFB, Staff Sgt. Scott Allwein, his wife Dani and daughter Maggie, couldn't wait for Kealoha to arrive. "Maggie was so excited, she told everyone she knew that she was going to be hosting a traveling doll, including cashiers, the bus driver, the mail man, and anyone that pretended to listen," said Dani.

Kealoha will be traveling across the Atlantic this fall when she visits RAF Mildenhall. When I asked Katherine if she'd like Kealoha to visit there, her immediate response was, "Yes! Kealoha can have tea with the queen!"

Katherine will be happy when Kealoha finally gets back to Vance at the end of her travels. She bought Kealoha a new leather flight jacket and hopes someone will take her up in a T-1.

Kealoha will be back on the road again in a year or so, visiting more bases and making new friends. After all, Kealoha belongs to a military family, and that's what we do.