The World’s Largest Bat~ Louisville, Kentucky

Roadside attractions remind me of my childhood days when I’d travel with my grandparents to Port Clinton, Ohio to see the now closed Prehistoric Forest and Mystery Hill or the Blue Hole in Castalia, also now closed. 

I don’t know what thrilled me about these attractions, but the fascination has continued into my own adulthood. Now with children of my own, I still find myself like a giddy little girl when we travel and pass by the unusual. And the excitement is contagious as my own children now point out the extraordinary sites that we encounter. Whether it is the Big Chicken in Marietta, Georgia, the Field of Corn in Dublin, Ohio or the Dolly Parton statue in Sevierville, Tennessee, Roadside Attractions never fail to catch my eye.

In fact, I’ve been known to seek out a roadside attraction a time or two, which was the case on our recent Ohio Road Trip when I planned to stop in Louisville, Kentucky with the sole purpose of viewing the World’s Largest Bat with my own eyes.

Leaning against the Louisville Slugger Museum, you’ll find the 120 foot tall, 34 ton, hollow carbon steel baseball bat that has been on display since 1995 as you cruise down Main Street.   

And while you’re there, make sure you keep an eye out for another roadside attraction which just happens to be another of the World’s Largest Bats, but this one happens to be the nocturnal, blood sucking variety which is only three blocks down the road.       

What's your favorite Roadside Attraction?

Things To Do
Louisville

Dolly Parton Statue: a Roadside Attraction

No need to drive three hours out of our way to find a roadside attraction on our recent trip to East Tennessee- we nearly drove right past one.

When I asked for suggestions of things to do in the Sevierville/ Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area, @SevierFun recommended that we have our pictures taken in Dolly Parton’s home town with her life like statue which is located on the courthouse lawn. It sounded like just the thing my family would be interested in, and @SevierFun wasn’t even aware of our love for roadside attractions! How could we resist?

The bronze statue of this larger than life, local legend was created by an artist from the area by the name of Jim Gray. He captured a young Dolly, barefoot and laughing with her arms lovingly wrapped around her guitar.  Somehow the statue wasn’t quite as… ummm…large…as I’d expected it to be.

If you find yourself near downtown Sevierville, why not swing by for a peek of the   superstar yourself?

You’ll find the statue located at 125 Court Avenue on the Sevier County Courthouse Lawn.

Sevierville

Field of Corn: An Amazing and Quirky Roadside Attraction

On the return trip to Alabama I decided to stop by the Field of Corn in Dublin, Ohio. The kids and I had discovered this unique roadside attraction many years ago when my husband was working on a huge project right down the road. Initially, I'd read about it in a FamilyFun Vacation Guide and knew it would be something my family would enjoy seeing. I was right. The kids thought it was hilarious!

Right in the midst of corporate America stands a field full of 6 foot tall ears of corn. 109 to be exact. You may be tempted to think that this field is simply art, but it's not. There is an underlying political message. Can you guess what it is?

I thought I'd share this video- it's not very long, won't offer any additional information on the structures, but does give you a fun up close and personal view of this amazing but quirky corn field.



Want to plan a visit of your own? You'll find this unique park at 4995 Rings Rd, Dublin, OH, minutes from 270 and the Tuttle Crossing Mall.

Columbus

Nashville, Tennessee

This week has been a bit different in our camper. My husband is in North Carolina undertaking a week long training session for his job. Originally we thought we’d tag along with him but the company wasn’t paying for us to go…so here we sit…at home in the camper. Well, not really. This past weekend we took off and drove to Nashville for a day of fun. We’d also planned to visit Chattanooga, but I kind of spent all my mad money during our Nashville excursion. Hmmm…bad…I know! We are still working really hard to get out of debt so a trip to the bank was really not the direction I wanted to take. So, the kids and I made a tough decision and cancelled out Chattanooga trip for now. I can’t say that the kids were terribly disappointed. They weren’t. After making the return trek from Ohio last week, they weren’t looking forward to spending anymore time in the car than was absolutely necessary. Besides, they’d much rather run around with Daddy than run around without him.

It’s not like we didn’t have plenty of fun in Nashville, we certainly had a great time!

Our first stop was to Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art. We were there for hours and had such a great time! We only left when my daughter’s flip flop broke, making it hard to continue walking along the trails. I’m going to save the details about this trip for my Field Trip Friday post, but let me just say that this was certainly a thumbs up for all of us! I can't wait to share the details and pictures of this amazing place with you so make sure you stop back tomorrow.

Next stop was to the Parthenon in Centennial Park. This attraction is actually closed on Sunday and Monday, which I knew before visiting but we couldn’t resist driving by and taking a peek anyway. Apparently something was going on and it was very crowded, which my kids can’t stand. So we just drove by and snapped a picture. We’ll add this to our collection of Roadside Attraction pics.

Our last stop of the day was to the Rainforest Café which you've already read about at Opry Mills. Who could resist? We had an incredibly fun day and can't wait to visit Nashville again.

Have you been to Nashville? Tell me what you liked...or didn't...

Bonjour from Paris

If you've poked around this blog for awhile, you may remember my daughter's infatuation with all things Paris. I mentioned it awhile back in the post For the Love of Paris when she painted her own picture of the Eiffel Tower. Well, after our trip last week, I think she'll have even more inspiration.

We drove hours out of our way just to see Paris. Well, Paris...Tennessee, that is. Home to the World's Biggest Fish Fry, which was not happening last week, in case you were wondering, we were a few weeks early. No, we planned our trip only to see the 60- foot tall replica of the Eiffel Tower in Memorial Park.

My daughter could not have been happier. I must admit, it was pretty neat. Smaller than I expected. But neat nonetheless. Even the boys enjoyed stopping. Kind of... We stopped at Walgreen's on the way out of town to purchase postcards (did you know you could find them there?) so she could mail one to some of her friends and one to herself...post marked Paris, of course.

So, was it worth it to drive three hours out of our way just to see this Roadside Attraction? I guess that depends on who you ask, but my daughter would wholeheartedly reply, "Oui!"

Now I have a question for you...do you make it a point to visit Roadside Attractions? If so, what has been your most memorable so far?

Legend, Landmark or Roadside Attraction? Say Hello to the Big Chicken

On one of our trips to the Atlanta area, we drove by this huge eye-catching structure, known by the locals as a landmark and by passers-by as a roadside attraction, legend has it that planes to the nearby air force base have used it to navigate. I wanted to take a picture, but that was one of the times I'd left my camera in our hotel room. I vowed that on our next visit, I'd be sure to drive by and photograph this 56-foot tall fowl, with rolling googly eyes and a moving beak, known by locals as 'The Big Chicken'.

Though the attached restaurant is now a KFC, the original eatery began as a hamburger joint. When the owner began selling chicken and needed publicity to get his diner noticed, he had the chicken idea. The landmark became so loved by the community that when it was damaged by a storm in1993 and rumored to be torn down, the intense public outcry encouraged KFC to repair the chicken for a cost of $700,000. Today you’ll find the chicken near the intersection HWY 41/North Cobb Pkwy and HWY120/Roswell Rd. If you're in the city, make sure you drive by. It's not to be missed!

We love to visit roadside attractions...how about you? Any cool sites in your neck of the woods?

Atlanta