Smith River, California: Grounded Ship, Former Museum

This free museum is in the hold of a beached ship below the "Pirates Den" gift shop that features nautical and pirate kitsch. Ship Ashore is surrounded by a RV park resort. In addition to pirate costumes, WWII artifacts, well-preserved biological and anthropological curiosities, and a VERY LOUD dime-operated musical donkey, visitors will find a diorama of the local fauna rendered in stuffed Beanie Babies with interpretive labels throughout.

The owner indicated that the ship was formerly used as an on-shore restaurant and was converted into its present state in the 1960s.

Ship Ashore is a huge old ship plunked down right next to Highway 101 and turned into a fantastic kitsch museum/ gift shop. The museum has no discernable theme; there are displays on pirates, local history, military artifacts, marine oddities (a whale eyeball in a jar!!) and stuffed animals. Best of all, admission is free.

"Ship Ashore" is a real ship, 156 feet long, which still has its rudder and propeller shafts (but no propellers). It once served in the navy as USS Garnet. There's a free museum downstairs containing all sorts of junk curiosities, everything from the foetus of a whale to homemade guns confiscated from the Viet Cong and WWII Nazi memorabilia. Upstairs is a gift shop.