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Tips, leads, stories from travelers, plus Roadsideamerica.com Team reports on quirky museums, ironic monuments, and must-see oddities! Trip planning caution: Some tips may not be verified. Over time, attractions change, move, burn down. What's a vacation without a little risk? Submit your own tip.
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Falmouth, Kentucky - Punkyville Since 2003, Charles "Punky" Beckett has been building his own retro town on the land next to his house. Gas station, water tower, church, hardware store, jail, a bank -- the list is similar to other home-built towns that dot the landscape, built by similar men with similar excess time and energy. Punky has filled his buildings with period items, and can tell visitors where and when he acquired each of his thousands of things. The full-size caboose serves as a museum where Punky puts the stuff that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else.
[Byron Bell, 05/17/2013]- Address:
- US Hwy 27, Falmouth, KY
- Directions:
- On the west side of US Hwy 27, either 1.5 miles south of Falmouth or 20 miles north of Cynthiana.
- Admission:
- Free
- RA Rates:
- Worth a Detour
Dayton, Ohio - Grave of Agnes Moorehead, Doomed "Bewitched" Actress In the large Memorial Abbey building at the back of the Dayton Memorial Gardens lies the vault of actress Agnes Moorehead (of Citizen Kane and Bewitched fame). Decorations left around the vault lead one to believe that she acquired quite a camp following as Bewitched's "Endora" -- the vases are festooned with feather boas, plastic beads, and a mysterious set of what appear to be antique handcuffs dangling from a length of leopard-print fabric.
Agnes Moorehead is one of the many actors affected by the "Conqueror Curse," named for the movie The Conqueror that was filmed on a freshly-used atom bomb test site. A disproportionate number of the cast and crew of that film fell victim to untimely cancer deaths, even accounting for the heavy smoking habits of the day.
[Kitsa, 05/17/2013]Dayton Memorial Park
- Address:
- 8135 N. Dixie Drive, Dayton, OH
- Directions:
- Dayton Memorial Park. North side of the city. I-75 exit 59. Turn west onto Benchwood-Wyse Rd. Drive a half-mile. Turn right onto N. Dixie Drive. Drive a half-mile. Turn left into the cemetery, near the pond. Follow the widest road past two smaller mausoleums toward the back. The Memorial Abbey is the one you're looking for. Enter through the front doors and go up a short flight of steps toward the receiving area; it is (I believe) the first hallway on the left, on the left-hand side, about midway up. She is buried next to her parents, who lived in Dayton.
- Hours:
- Dawn-dusk
- Admission:
- Free
- Dover, Delaware - Amish Man Gone
The big Amish man that stood guard over Shireys Used Auto Sales is gone -- as is Shireys. I wonder where he has wandered to now?
[Pam, 05/17/2013]Shirey's Auto Sales
- Address:
- 1800 S. DuPont Highway, Dover, DE
- Directions:
- US 13 southbound. On the south side of the building; this is just south of Ollie's/Rodney Village Shopping Center.
- Hours:
- May 2013: Reported gone.
Emerald Grove, Wisconsin - Serial Killer Ed Gein's Second Grave Marker Hidden in a small corner of a cluttered antique store lies a gruesome piece of history: the second grave marker of ghoul Ed Gein. After thieves stole the first marker, a second, less expensive marker was made. This was apparently later removed to reduce the popularity of the site, and then sold. So here it lies, inside the "General Antique Store" in the tiny town of Emerald Grove. The shop owner will happily show you the marker, and answer any questions you may have about this macabre object. Open hours are quite spotty.
[Ron Renken, 05/17/2013]The crazy-cluttered exterior of the General Antique Store suggests that it's a place with many odd treasures.
- Address:
- US Hwy 14, Emerald Grove, WI
- Directions:
- I-90 exit 175B. Drive east on Hwy 11 for 1.5 miles. Turn right to merge onto US Hwy 14. Drive east another four miles to Emerald Grove. You'll see the store on the left.
- Hours:
- T-Su 12-5, but hours may vary.
- Admission:
- Free
Rutherfordton, North Carolina - Mimi's Dairy-O Pizza Man An old-fashioned pizza/snack/ice cream drive-in with a pizza man statue outside.
[Marty Whitney, 05/17/2013]- Address:
- Chimney Rock Rd, Rutherfordton, NC
- Directions:
- East of town on US Hwy 64/74A. On the north side, at the intersection of Westbrok Drive.
- Admission:
- Free
Page of 10 [Next 5 items]
The hand configuration of the Amish Man suggests possible lineage to the Big Friend statues. Everyone please keep an eye out for him!