Playing to the tourists, no doubt. She looks happy though...maybe if they had fed 'em ice cream 325 years ago there would have been fewer trials.I don't know if I'd name my ice cream place what he did, however, he is in Salem, Mass.
[emoji16] [emoji14]I would've put the great Margaret Hamilton with a catchy phrase...
View attachment 120354
“Eat up my pretty.....I’m melting’'
Been to most of those myself. The dinosaur world in Cave City is a particular favorite of my kids. Of mine, too.
Roadside General Stores selling trinkets and cheap souvenirs.
Old West Towns in the mountains featuring gunfights in the streets and public hangings...
Dinosaurs!
Historically themed attractions
Natural Wonders
SEE SEVEN STATES!
Things you just can’t do anywhere else!
My family has stopped at all of these wonderfully unique spots at least once, they are often the most memorable parts of any road trip.
Yep. Many of the "exhibits" had signs such as this, with the overall "The Thing" theme worked into the wording somehow. Hey, what do you expect for a buck? As we neared the end of the third shed, we saw this...
Several years ago on a return trip from Tombstone, Arizona, my wife and I saw a few billboard signs like this on the side of the highway:
We had some time to kill and knew what we were in for, but decided to check it out anyway and followed the signs until we encountered this:
Ooooookay, we're here. Let's go see The Thing. In the back of this souvenir/gift shop one of the first Things we saw was this:
Two bucks later we were allowed to pass through this doorway and instructed to follow the big yellow footprints painted onto the sidewalk, which led to the first of three corrugated tin sheds that contained a number of "exhibits" such as wood carvings, painted driftwood that kinda' resembled animals if you squinted hard enough, saddles, rifles, a covered wagon, and several vintage automobiles like this one:
The sign says, "1937 - Rolls-Royce. This antique car was believed to have been used by Adolph Hitler. The Thing is, it CAN'T be PROVED."
...except when we were there, that banner wasn't--just the brick display case with the glass top and no signs whatsoever. In fact, we arrived at the end of the exhibits and came to the conclusion that the gag was that "The Thing" was whichever item you wanted it to be. The only thing missing were signs that said, "This way to the Egress!"
Oh, that brick display case? It held this:
A mommy mummy and her mummy child. And yes, they're as fake as they look. The "mummies" were created by Homer Tate, famous for producing sideshow gaffes (items manufactured to be passed off as genuine) such as "Feegee Mermaids" and "shrunken heads" in the late-1930s and 40s.
Roadside General Stores selling trinkets and cheap souvenirs.
Old West Towns in the mountains featuring gunfights in the streets and public hangings...
Dinosaurs!
Historically themed attractions
Natural Wonders
SEE SEVEN STATES!
Things you just can’t do anywhere else!
My family has stopped at all of these wonderfully unique spots at least once, they are often the most memorable parts of any road trip.
That was the fun thing about it. If we'd gone to Arizona just to see this it would have been a serious letdown, but because it was a spur-of-the-moment side trip (that took us about 20 miles out of our way) we went in knowing it would be hucksterism at it's finest, and it didn't disappoint. I mean, look at that first sign; the only way it could have been cheesier was if it had been made from real cheese, but it did it's job and drew us in. The fact that it only cost a dollar to see this random collection of stuff was the icing on the cake.
I absolutely would. My wife, on the other hand, would probably complain about the lack of seating.
I absolutely would. My wife, on the other hand, would probably complain about the lack of seating.
On the one hand, it makes me a little sad to see these wonderful *vehicles relegated to nothing more than someone's idea of lawn/community art. On the other hand, their beauty is on display for all to see, which I suppose is better than being crushed and sold for whatever the materials are worth.
