Finding Things to do Part II - Finding the Quirky Stuff

It is virtually a cliche that roadtrips include stops to see the world's biggest rocking chair or windchimes or whatever (for the record, both of those items can be found in Casey, Illinois, which prides itself on having "the biggest" of twelve different everyday items).  While many roadtrippers are often travelling in search of more substantial destinations, this country is chock-full of strange, unique, and simply interesting sites that may not make for a full day activity but certainly qualify as bonafide photo-ops.

But how does the adventurous roadtripper find such oddities?  The old-fashioned way is to simply keep your eyes open.  We have chanced upon all sorts of intriguing sites or road signs that were clearly written by someone with a sense of humor.  Occasionally, there is a site notable enough to make it onto a map or be rated by Trip Advisor's band of reviewers.

However, if you are really looking for the odd and obscure, then Roadside America is the site for giant Muffler Men to semi-notable graves to a town dedicated to the memory of the creator of Popeye.  While the site is a bit busy, it is overloaded with information and reviews, and has a five-level rating system letting you know if each site is worth its own trip, if it's worth a stop if you giant cross in Effingham, Illinois).  The home page even has a random destination button to help you find things that you never knew existed but absolutely, positively, must drive to as soon as possible.
happen to be in the area, or if you should just whizz past it at 70 miles per hour so you can tell people you were near it (that's our approach to the
you.  It catalogues everything from

For those who live on their phones (which I assume is most of us at this point), Roadside America has an app (not free) for the iphone, and a fun Instagram page highlighting all sorts of random sites.  Their site also includes information on hotels, but it pales in comparison with what you can find on larger travel sites or TripAdvisor.

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A second site that covers the offbeat attractions is Atlas Obscura.  In some ways, this is a bit more of a highbrow site, if such a term can be applied to a site that features things such as egg vending machines.  The site is slicker and more professional-looking than Roadside America, and sees itself as a real travel guide, albeit to out-of-the-way places.  It has more in the way of written material and
feature stories, and advertises that there are Atlas Obscura books and trips that one can join.  Their eponymous book was a NYT best-seller and they cover locations across the world, not just across America.

That said, if you are trying to maximize roadtrip fun, this site should be added to your bookmarks as well.  You never know when you'll have a hankering to see the Museum of Clean or, even better, the Lunch Box Museum.