Cheshire, Connecticut -
Barker Character, Comic & Cartoon Museum

For kids of all ages. 3 fold adventure. First outside are dozens of wooden cutouts of cartoon characters from all times- Grinch, Snoopy, Simpsons, Nancy, Taz, Bugs, Daffy, Woody Woodpecker, Popeye, etc etc. Then there's the museum, which began as a private collection of Mr. Barker. It is jam packed with lunch boxes, toys, Pez, dolls and memorabilia. Adults are reminded not to touch, because it is irresistable to touch the Howdy Doodie string marionettes. Third part is the art gallery which sells high end cartoon cell art and other objet's d'art by great American animators. These are pricy ($100-$5000). Very irresistable to anyone who came through the fifties sixties or seventies. No entry fee, there's a cartoon theatre open in the summer, and the museum is year round with a really nice curator the day we were there. [Alph Winter, 02/10/2002]

[RA: We zoomed past this heading for Cheshire's Muffler Man... thought it might be an animation cel store disguised as a museum.]