Cadillacs are one of the motoring icons of America and in Amarillo Texas they are a tourist icon. Cadillac Ranch is a project by a San Francisco art collective called Ant Farm who have buried 10 Cadillacs halfway into the ground back in 1974. The Cadillacs are buried nose first and are some of the more classical models from 1949 to 1963 and look like a metal Stone Henge or something. Cadillac Ranch has been embedded into American culture, you might remember seeing them in the Pixar Disney classic Cars and even features in one of American rocker Bruce Springsteen’s 1980’s hits and plenty of other places in the US are jumping on the band wagon and making their own version. Read the rest of this entry »
On May 9 1950 Sam Walton opened a variety store in Bentonville Arkansas, 50 years later Sam became the richest man in the world and now his three sons are in the top 10 richest people in the world owning the huge Walmart variety stores. Exactly forty years after opening the Bentonville store the WalMart Visitors Centre was opened by then Governor of Arkansas former President Bill Clinton. The visitor centre attracts in the vicinity of 60,000 people a year and traces the amazing story of the Walton family and their stores. The centre has thousands of pieces of history from the retail giant’s history and quiet an insight into the Family including Mrs Walton’s wedding dress.
The Library Hotel in New York is kind of a theme hotel based on the dewey decimal system where each of its 10 floors is catergorsied into one of the standard library catergories with each room devoted to a particular subject. An example is that the room one on the seventh floor would have an “architecture” theme while the second room would have a “paintings” theme as the seventh floor is part of “the arts” catergory. The book Lemony Snicket’s The Penultimate Peril had a hotel in it called the Hotel Denouement that was modeled after the Library Hotel. Interestingly the owners of the Dewey Decimal System trademark once sued the Library Hotel for trademark infringement, now the Library Hotel is allowed to use the system in its hotel and marketing in exchange for making a donation to a nonprofit organization promoting reading and literacy among children. Read the rest of this entry »
You might remember we did a story on Dolly Parton’s Dollywood themepark at Pigeon Forge a few days ago, well we found another great attraction at Pigeon Forge- The world’s largest private collection of Elvis memorabilia. Founder Mike Moon has been collecting Elvis stuff since the king himself gave him a belt. The museum is jam packed full of great Elvis memories, theres cars, clothing, jewellery even Elvis’s guns and a orange toilet seat cover which Elvis once owned. The guy has everything, he even has his swim trunks and a set of Elvis’ bibles and encyclopedias and even some bottles of his aftershave and cologne plus his final set of sunglasses and even his last tube of toothpaste. There’s hours of kitsch fun here and guess what the exhibition has a great gift shop where you can buy your very own Elvis memorabilia. The Elvis Museum is at 2638 Parkway, Pigeon Forge in Tennessee.
Jack Daniels is a American as apple pie and is also the country’s oldest distillery beginning way back in 1866. Producing sour mash Tennessee Whiskey which is loved all around the world. The tiny town of Lynchburg in Tennessee is home to the distillery and has under 400 residents. The distillery has a fantastic tour of their facilities which includes a guided tour of the slow process to produce this fine whiskey which is made from cave spring water and sour mash then charcoal mellowed in special oak barrels. Tours take a little over an hour and start every 15 minutes between 9 and 4. They operate every day except some holidays. Interestingly the county is a dry county and no liquor can be purchased but the White Rabbit Bottle Shop is just down the road and they have some great Jack Daniel’s merchandise to purchase.
You might not recognize the name Toms Restaurant but I’m sure the picture looks familiar, does Monks Cafe bring back memories. Well Toms or Monks was the restaurant used in the hugely successful Seinfeld TV show of the 1990’s It is actually a real restaurant and can be found at 2880 Broadway in Manhattan, New York on the corner of 112 street. The outside street scape was used in the TV show but a studio was used for the inside shots. Now Seinfeld wasn’t the first time Tom’s Restaurant became famous, it featured in a Susan Vega song a few years earlier, and has since appeared in a novel and is often seen in some of the New York police dramas shot in the city. The restaurant has been ran by the Minasizoulis family since the 1950’s.
Las Vegas’ Stratosphere is the tallest free standing structure in Nevada at at 350m high its home to 3 thrill rides for those that have no issues with vertigo. The Big Shot is the highest ride in the world and shoots people up and down the towers mast. Insanity the Ride, opened in 2005, is the second highest ride in the world and dangles people over the edge while spinning them forcing them up and looking down to the ground. XSCREAM is the third highest ride in the world and it is like a rollacoster car that travels a short distance and gives you the feeling its going to keep going straight over the edge. A rollacoster once wound its way around the tower but was removed in 2005 to make way for Insanity the ride. Read the rest of this entry »
We have done a lot of great amusement park stories like Disney, Seaworld and zoos and stuff so we thought it was about time we told you about a really crap one. This one’s called South of the Border and its on US interstate 95 in South Carolina. It’s called South of the Border not because its Mexican like Pedro it’s poncho and sombrero wearing mascot it’s because its just over the border from North Carolina. The attraction if we should call it that features a gas station and road house restaurant, a motel and a small amusement park and some shopping but we will come to that a bit later.
The whole complex is a bit kitsch and tongue in cheek, the owners really must know its bad, and having a bit of fun, everyone does, but they do a pretty good job promoting it for what it is- crap. It is well worth a look if traveling down Interstate 95, but don’t spend the day getting there, there are so many other things to do. And as for the shopping there, well they sell fireworks and adult items- as you would expect- not sure if you could buy guns and liquor there but I’d expect so. For the newly weds they have some lovely hotel rooms too, $99 gets you married, a night in an “heir-conditioned” honeymoon suite champagne and even breaky the next morning for both of you if you are still together, probably good if your trailer park isn’t romantic enough for the big night.
The beautiful Chrysler Building on the corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan New York is one of the finest examples of art deco architecture. Designed by William Van Alen and built in 1930 the building was the tallest building in New York until the Empire State Building stole its crown a year later. The building’s beautiful metal upper cap were designed inspired by the Chrysler vehicle of the day, while hood emblems and radiator cap designs inspired gargoyles and other designs on the structure. Today the Chrysler building still holds the crown for the worlds tallest masonry building, and should probably also hold if for the most beautiful skyscraper, shining gracefully into the New York Skyline.
Right in the centre of Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida there are snow capped peaks (well plastic snow) and an adventure water park like no other. Blizzard Beach is one of Disney’s water parks and it is a great place to get away from the big theme parks for a day and enjoy some sun, surf and snow. The park is set up like a ski resort complete with huge ski-jump which is actually a breathtaking waterslide and there are chair lifts, toboggan rides and the 90 ft Mount Gushmore slope. There’s a surf beach and even some freezing ice caves to explore on the Cross Country Creek which circles the park. There’s plenty of places for food and of course those Disney souvenirs and even a Polar Pub for the grown ups to enjoy a few quiet beers while the kids are playing. When planning your Disney adventure to Orlando factor in an extra day to enjoy Blizzard Beach.
