Food Feature: Weird, wacky tourist sites
SOUTH CAROLINA
THE PEACHOID — We’ve all seen it. The big orange butt in the sky, just over the South Carolina state line. Rumors have circulated that in the early ’90s, civic authorities demanded the water tower be repainted so it would not resemble a tush. It was repainted, but from the right angle, the 1-million gallon tank still looks like a gigantic ass in the sky. Butt-like qualities aside, it took five months to design and mold the steel used to create the Peachoid. A local artist, who studied peaches for many hours, used 50 gallons of paint in 20 different colors to paint the sphere. The leaf placed on one side weighes seven tons and is 60 feet long. In Gaffney on I-85 near the exit for S.C. Highway 11, the Cherokee Foothills Scenic Highway. Call the welcome center at 864-839-6742 for more info.
SOUTH OF THE BORDER — About 120 billboards for the neon pink and yellow Tijuana dot the landscape for 200 miles. Once the sky-high sombrero is visible from the highway, you’ll know you’re in Dillon. The sombrero marks the Sombrero Tower, landmark of the South of the Border tourist complex, where 97-foot-tall Pedro stands, straddling the entrance. Drive between his legs to find Mexico Shop East, which offers souvenirs aplenty; Pedro’s Rocket City, where visitors can load up on M-80s and rat chasers; and the Sombrero Room, a restaurant serving what’s touted as the best Mexican food in northern South Carolina. A glass elevator takes visitors to the top of Sombrero Tower, where the piney woods and desolate terrain can be seen cut in two by the interstate. In Dillon on I-95, just south of the South Carolina/North Carolina border. Call 800-845-6011.
NORTH CAROLINA
WORLD’S LARGEST TEN COMMANDMENTS — Elderly folks won’t need their reading glasses for the 300-foot-wide tablet displaying God’s laws displayed on a mountainside in Murphy. The Church of God of Prophecy made the Commandments the centerpiece of the Fields of the Woods, which also includes Prayer Mountain, the World’s Largest Testament and a replica of Jesus’ tomb. Visitors can take a journey up the 350 steps between the tablet to the Testament and its observation deck. At the gift shop, T-shirts, trinkets, videos and even backscratchers are available for those who need a reminder to honor thy father and mother. East of Turtletown/Ducktown on Highway 294; about 6 miles east of the Tennessee/North Carolina border. 704-494-7855.
BELHAVEN MEMORIAL MUSEUM — Compared to the late Eva Blount Way, most Americans can’t be considered packrats — or if they are, the things they stow away are probably pretty normal. Way died in 1962 at age 92 and her belongings were moved into the museum three years later. The exhibits speak for themselves: three pre-natal babies in jar (given to Way by the town doc); pickled tumors from the local hospital (the largest fills a 10-gallon aquarium and weighs in at 10 pounds); a one-eyed fetal pig, a two-headed kitten, a harelipped dog; a dress worn by a 700-pound woman; 30,000 buttons; a flea bride and groom (viewed with a magnifying glass); ingrown toenails and cataracts; and jars of 30-year-old canned products including one labeled “chicken fat.” 701 Baxter Ave., Belhaven. 252-943-3055.
FLORIDA
LARGEST GATOR EVER BUILT: SWAMPY THE GIANT — Weighing in at 200 feet and one inch, Christmas’ Swampy beats the previous title holder (located in front of Kissimmee’s Gator Motel) by almost 74 feet. The huge gator houses the gift shop, ticket counter and offices of Jungleland, an amusement-type park featuring gator-rasslin’ every two hours, the largest gator farm in the Sunshine State, a tour of an Indian village and native Florida bears (as well as other injured or neglected exotic animals). And you can bet some gator paraphernalia is available at the gift shop. 26205 East Highway (S.R.) 50 (7 miles west of Titusville, 17 miles east of Orlando), Christmas, Fla. 407-568-2885.
FLIPPER’S GRAVE — Grassy Key, a subtropical island in the Keys, boasts a 39-foot statue of a mother and baby dolphin. Located at mile marker 59, the monument marks the entrance to the Dolphin Research Center and most importantly, the grave of Mitzi — better known to film and TV viewers as Flipper. Mitzi died of a heart attack in 1972 and was buried beneath the statue. Mile marker 59 on U.S. 1, Marathon Shores, Fla. 305-289-0002
TENNESSEE
CRYSTAL SHRINE GROTTO — Southerners in the Bible Belt just can’t get enough of God’s word. Visitors can cleanse their souls at this Memphis attraction, which was completed in 1938 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Artists Dionicio Rodriquez built the handmade cave of Bible scenes hidden in the interior of Memorial Park Cemetery. 5668 Poplar Ave. (at Yates), Memphis. 901-767-8930.
BIG MARY — Evidently, the residents of Kingsport forgot to visit Rodriquez’s holy place before they hanged Big Mary, a circus elephant gone bad. After the 4-year-old mammal stomped her trainer to death, the circus thought it was bad business to keep a killer elephant, so the crew wanted to get rid of her publicly. No one in Kingston had a big enough gun to kill Mary, but the town of Erwin had a railroad yard with a crane. Erwin asked the town to hang Mary with the crane. She is buried in a big pit in front of the railroad shop doors, but the grave is unmarked (Erwin residents would rather not be known as “the town that hanged the elephant”). The Unicoi Heritage Museum has many articles on the hanging. 1715 Old Johnson City Highway, Erwin. 423-743-9449.
ALABAMA
BIG CHAIR — The obese in Anniston don’t have to worry about their wide backends fitting in this seat. Years ago, a 33-foot-tall office chair was built by Miller Office Supply in a vacant lot next to their store. It took 10 tons of steel to build the chair and it could withstand winds up to 85 mph. Unfortunately, the office supply store moved across town and put the chair’s empty lot up for sale. The spiral staircase that once led to the seat was taken down from what once was the city’s pride. 625 Noble St., downtown Anniston. 256-237-1641.
UNCLAIMED BAGGAGE CENTER — In essence a large thrift store, the center is the country’s largest final stop for lost luggage. If you’ve ever been without undies for a two-week trip, this is where you should look. Original paintings, worn baseball caps, clothes, electric guitars, orphaned remote controls, CDs and cassette tapes are arranged on shelves and tables for perusers. But beware, prices may not be as low as you expect. 509 W. Willow St., Scottsboro. 256-259-1525.
GEORGIA
WORLD’S LARGEST PEANUT — Jimmy Carter would be proud of the residents of Ashburn. Built in 1975 by A.R. Smith Jr., the statue is still in good condition. The bicycle reflectors at the tips of the crown on which it sits catch the sun during the day and floodlights illuminate the peanut at night. In addition, a tour of the World’s Largest Peanut Shelling Plant still might be available. How nutty can you get? In Ashburn, visible from I-75; 1/2 mile south of exit 28 on the west side.
HITLER HEAD TRASH CAN — Well, it really was used as a trash can. Now, the upside-down bronze Hitler head is in the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. The bust was taken as war booty from the veranda of Hitler’s mountain retreat and was welded to a metal plate and used as a garbage receptacle for many years. Baltzell Avenue Building 396, Fort Benning. 706-545-2958.
KENTUCKY
WIGWAM VILLAGE MOTEL — One of only two teepee-style motels left in the United States, this Cave City attraction was completed in 1937 and has been placed on the Kentucky and National historic registers. Complete with a gift shop, where you can buy a replica of your wigwam, the motel offers 15 rooms with private baths. The furniture, circa 1930s, is made of cane and hickory. Frank A. Redford built the chain of Wigwam Villages starting in Horse Cave, Ky., and continuing in Alabama, Florida, New Orleans, California and Arizona. The only other village still operational is in Holbrook, Ariz. 601 N. Dixie Highway, Cave City. 270-773-3381.
FLOYD COLLINS MUSEUM — He was called America’s greatest cave explorer by many, but most of us probably have never heard of him. Legendary spelunker Floyd Collins died in 1925 in Cave City while exploring Sand Cave to find a major passage to the massive Mammoth Cave system. (The Wigwam Village is close to this attraction.) The museum chronicles the rescue attempt and ends in a chamber containing a chained coffin (Collins’ body first was displayed in a glass-topped coffin in Crystal Cave until someone stole it. It later was found in a nearby field, missing a leg). Guests can sign the register near a replica of his tombstone. His real grave can be seen in a cemetery on the National Park grounds, next to the old Mammoth Cave Baptist Church. The Wayfarer, 1240 Old Mammoth Cave Road, Cave City. 270-773-3366.
Check out the 6-foot bronze statue of Popeye in Chester, Ill., Mini Graceland in Roanoke, Va., Mammy’s Cupboard in Natchez, Miss., or other weird and fascinating places at www.roadsideamerica.com.