The Top 10 Wacky Attractions in America

TripAdvisor, one of the best travel websites in my opinion, has announced the ten wackiest tourist spots in the United States, according to its travelers and editors.

1. Toilet Seat Museum, Alamo Heights, Texas

Barney Smith's unusual museum holds the top spot for the most wackiest tourist attraction.  His collection of over 700 decorated toilet seat lids is displayed in his oversized garage and attracts over 1000 visitors a year.  But don't ask to go to the bathroom, there isn't one available. 

2. Carhenge, Alliance, Nebraska
England has Stonehenge, we have Carhenge.  Basically it's a collection of old cars that have been painted grey to look like stone and arranged like the massive structures in Stonehenge. 

3. Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas
And to truly convince the foreigner that we are a car-crazy nation, we point to this car-centered wacky attraction.  It's ten half-buried graffiti-covered Cadillacs where the visitor is invited to spray paint on these colorful cars.  It's a way to express your own artistic talent using old Cadillacs as your canvas.

4. Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia
I want to go to this museum!  Two room house a huge collection of Pez dispensers through the ages; from the very first Pez that was sold in the 1950s. It even has the world's largest Pez dispenser (a snowman that stands seven feet, 10 inches tall).

5. Gatorland, Orlando, Florida
If alligators are your thing, then you can't miss this place.  There are over 1000 alligators for you to enjoy and you can even feed them raw hot dogs or take a picture sitting on an alligator; that's something you don't get to do in Disney.

6. The Paris Texas Eiffel Tower, Paris, Texas
This other Paris has a tower that's 65 feet tall topped with a cowboy hat on top.

7. House on the Rock, Spring Green, Wisconsin
I guess it's the only museum sitting on top of a rock that's 60 feet tall that has an eclecting collection of stuff  like automated musical instruments.

8. Stonehenge II, Kerrville, Texas
This tourist attraction not only has a replica of the original Stonehenge in Britain, but it even has a replica of the Easter Island statues. Who says you need a passport to visit ancient sites?

9. Extraterrestrial Highway, Rachel, Nevada
After years of reports of bizarre extraterrestrial behavior near top-secret government base Area 51, a stretch of Nevada State Route 375 was deemed the Extraterrestrial Highway. Be prepared and make sure that you bring a videocam when you ride on this highway.

10. Minnesota Twine Ball, Darwin, Minnesota
Remember that old I Love Lucy episode when the Ricardos and the Mertzes went on a cross-country car trip, got involved with a local situation and was rewarded with a huge ball of aluminum foil? Well this place actually has the world’s largest ball of twine, weighing 17,400 pounds and measuring 12 feet in diameter. Creator Francis A. Johnson worked on the creation for decades before he died and left behind a now-beloved landmark, housed safely in a gazebo for travelers to see. One TripAdvisor traveler said, “The very nice man opened the gazebo and let us take in the whole experience — the smell and touch of the ball.”

From PRNewswire

Portland Chinese Classical Garden

This block long garden is modeled on the estate of a retired scholar/administrator during the Ming Dynasty in Suzhou, one of the oldest cities in China. Portland is a sister city of Suzhou and received a lot of help from its artisans in transforming an old parking lot into a retired scholar's estate complete with gardens and man-made lake. It is literally an oasis in the middle of an urban jungle. The details are breathtaking. The overall effect is soothing and a Sunday afternoon can't be better spent.

There are guided tours that are included in the entrance fee which gives you some information on how and why things were constructed the way they are. There is also a tea house in which you can enjoy a cup of tea and some munchies.

Hidden mini-waterfall behind the willow tree.

Covered bridge leading to the living quarters from the Main Hall

Portal leading to the Scholar's Study

Entrance to Scholar's Study

Hanging lanterns in the Sitting Room

Mid-lake Pavillion

Portland Japanese Garden Part 3: The Rest of the Gardens

As you stroll through the rest of the Garden, your heartbeat slows and you know that there is more than enough here to discover for a whole afternoon.  And I would suggest just that you do take a whole afternoon to savor this very pretty place.

Moon Bridge and lower Strolling Pond

Lower Strolling Pond

Heavenly Falls

The Natural Garden

The Sand and Rock Garden

Portland Japanese Garden Part 2: Strolling Pond Garden

You walk towards the Strolling Pond Garden and you can smell (in this case) wonderful, natural things.  I don't know what it is but it would come from a combination of fragrant flowers, plants and trees.  The moon bridge which crosses the pond is so romantic, you can't help but linger for a long while.

Portland Japanese Garden: The Flat Garden

It was brutal. Portland was suffering through an atypical hot summer week that was registering 95 degrees and above. My friend and I decided to come around 5PM when the day should start getting somewhat cooler. I wasn't sure about spending some time in the garden. I wanted shade, will there be shade, please let there be shade. We were waiting at the parking lot for the open air shuttle bus to bring us to the garden entrance, otherwise it would be a 10 minute climb up in very hot weather. I consider myself a delicate, hothouse flower, I am waiting for the van. We paid our $8 entrance fee, got a map and walked in. The very first building we saw was a small gift shop. Okay, keep walking. We walked to our left to look for the Pavilion typically made of wood and Shoji screens and it has a verandah. Inside was another gift shop, forget that, because in front of the pavilion was The Flat Garden.

Now to me a garden has lots of flowers and bushes. But looking at The Flat Garden, your eye looks first at the sand design and then you notice how the shrubs and small trees and additional sculptures frame it. The sand is raked smooth except around some bit of ground which has some shape. You are immediately made to ponder over this garden in serenity. You just can't help it. It's stunning. The Pavilion provided some shade and there were chairs on the veranda to encourage you to sit and contemplate. In the heat, the white sand got me thinking about vanilla ice cream.

I'm not sure that was what the gardeners had in mind, but I thought that eating an ice cream cone on a hot day looking at the garden was a nice way to spend a few minutes.

From there I sauntered over to the other gardens.  This five acre park seems so secluded.  You wouldn't know that you're in the middle of the city.  Granted, Portland is not urban by New York City or Chicago standards but it is still a city of some size.  Approximately 200,000 people live here.  traffic is not bad at all.  You can go from one end to the other of the city in approximately 20 minutes.

There are four other parks within this enclave.  I've attached pictures which of course doesn't do justice to it but it gives you a good idea of what you can find which I hope will encourage you visit Portland's Japanese Garden.