Comments (0)

By Doug, January 22, 2010 22:03

Do you love clowns or hate them?  What about dolls, like those creepy ones in movies?  What about clown dolls!?  It’s enough to send shivers down your spine.

The Klown Doll Museum in Plainview (its full and proper name) houses a collection of 4,500 nightmares-in-waiting that’ll provide you with countless sleepless nights.  If you like clowns and you like dolls then the Klown Doll Museum (in Plainview) will satisfy your horribly strange and spooky obsession.  I mean, seriously, can you imagine walking through this place at night with nothing but a wax candle to light your way?  Can’t you just hear the pitter-patter sounds of those grotesque clown dolls as they move through the shadows, lurking, ready to pounce?  All those creepy dolls staring at you through those messed up, unblinking eyes looking straight into your soul?  How could you turn your back on any of them—they’d drive a butcher’s knife right through you!  Over and over and over again. 

Sorry, my mind drifted again, but those things are really bizarre.

Oh, and why do they call it the Klown Doll Museum (in Plainview) instead of the Clown Doll Museum (in Plainview)?  Apparently there was a Klown Band in the town 50 years ago and the unusual spelling stuck.  Klowns or clowns, if you want to see them, go to Nebraska.  Happy dreams.

The Klown Doll Museum of Plainview

Comments (0)

By Doug, December 5, 2009 20:45

The Mona Lisa, made from Legos, at the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum in Bellaire, Ohio.

The “Toy and Plastic Brick Museum” in Bellaire, Ohio houses the world’s largest collection of Lego building sets.  So, why isn’t it called the Lego Museum?  Ask a lawyer.  Apparently, Lego didn’t appreciate anybody else using its name for profit.

Sure, you can go to Legoland in California or see great Lego displays at Disneyland or Walt Disney World but that would be mundane.  Why not spend just 10% of the price to get into Disneyland and see a bunch of old Lego building sets!?  Uh, maybe you shouldn’t consider that value proposition too closely…

I think Legos were my favorite toy as a kid.  How about you?  What was your Lego masterpiece?

Toy and Plastic Brick Museum

Comments (0)

By Doug, July 18, 2009 02:44

The Hobo Museum in Britt, Iowa.

Believe it or not, there’s a difference between a hobo, a tramp and a bum.  Basically, a hobo travels in order to work (a migrant worker is a type of hobo) and a tramp travels but doesn’t do work.  A bum doesn’t travel around and doesn’t work, either.

The Hobo Museum, in Britt, Iowa has photos, various contraptions used by hobos, railroad memorabilia, etc.  There’s also a hobo cemetery one can visit to pay their, well, respects to various hobos of note.  A visit to the gift shop is a must; one can buy various hobo-made oddities like wood carvings, “monkey fists” (apparently the symbol of all official hobos) and more.

Each year, the town hosts a Hobo Convention where folks come by the thousands to do what it is hobos do.  There’s a parade, flea market, concerts and Mulligan Stew to serve 5,000!

Comments (0)

By Doug, July 16, 2009 03:25

W'eel

Looking like something out of a 1950’s “B” horror movie, W’eel is a giant turtle statue situated comfortably near the Turtle Mountains in Dunseith, North Dakota.  It was erected in 1982 by George Gottbreht to draw people to his nearby store.  It’s made entirely of wheel rims, welded together and the head is mounted on a pivot so it can bob up and down.

Comments (0)

By Doug, July 15, 2009 04:41

Houdini's Milk Can Escape

The American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan is a collection of entertainment magic props, books, posters and so forth. Housed in two buildings, the collection includes more than 15,000 books and 20,000 photographs in its library.

One of the more popular pieces in the collection is the actual “milk can” made famous by Harry Houdini. Houdini would fill the can with water and then he’d have himself handcuffed and lowered into the can. The audience was invited to hold their breath just like Houdini was doing inside the can while it was sealed shut and Houdini performed his escape. The popular act was only done for four years but it’s one of the stunts most associated with the famous magician.

Comments (0)

By Doug, July 5, 2009 03:12

Steamboat Arabia

Picture it in your mind. You’re traveling from St. Louis to Kansas City in 1856. It’s nighttime, the air is sticky, crickets are chirping, fireflies light up the shores and someone is playing a banjo in the distance. No, you aren’t in a scene from Deliverance and you aren’t going to be made to “squeal like a pig!” You’re on the steamboat Arabia, cruising up the mighty Missouri river on your way to a new life way out west in Missouri!

Then, you hit a submerged log, the boat sinks and all of a sudden it sucks to be you. You’re on one of more than 300 steamboats that have met a similar fate. The Missouri river is tough to navigate.

The steamboat Arabia was a side-wheel steamer built in Brownsville, PA in 1853. She measured 171 feet long and was capable of carrying 222 tons. Against the Missouri’s swift current, the twin 28-foot tall paddlewheels could push the steamboat upstream at a speed of over 5 miles an hour. The Arabia was considered a dependable vessel and soon gained a reputation for speed, safety and comfort.

More than 130 years after the wreck, David Hawley, along with his father Bob and brother Greg went looking for the remains of the steamboat and found them in a field, nearly ½ mile from the present day riverbank. The crew was able to salvage parts of the riverboat, personal belongings of the passengers (no passengers died during the accident), cargo and other treasures. Those treasures are now on display at the Steamboat Arabia near Kansas City, Missouri.

Comments (0)

By Doug, July 2, 2009 11:04

Lincoln Pioneer Village and Museum

The Lincoln Pioneer Village and Museum in Rockport, Indiana doesn’t have a whole heck of a lot to do with Abraham Lincoln himself, other than a hutch made by his father. But, the name sells and this IS the “land of Lincoln!”

So, the attractions don’t have much to do with Lincoln and the log cabins aren’t original. The museum has a lot of old “stuff” you see in other museums. This is just basically someone’s dream to milk your tourist dollar. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t interesting or worth a stop if you’re in the neighborhood.

Honig met many obstacles. But he persisted, saying: “The citizens of Spencer County will see the vision, then we will build a historic memorial to Lincoln that will visualize the Spencer County environment in which Lincoln lived during the 14 formative years of his life, from 1816 to 1830.”

Honig made the blueprints for the buildings after long and careful research, then superintended the construction of the village.

Comments (0)

By Doug, June 28, 2009 04:47

The Batmobile from Historic Auto Attractions

Historic Auto Attractions in Roscoe, Illinois doesn’t really sound that interesting. It doesn’t look very interesting from the outside, either. So, why would anybody go inside? Because it has some of the coolest cars ever created inside it, that’s why!

Check out this small sample of the eclectic collection:

• The Batmobile from the 1960s TV show and the one from Batman Returns
• Sanford and Son’s truck
• Limos from world leaders: U. S. presidents to Adolf Hitler
• The station wagon from National Lampoon’s Vacation
• Various racecars driven by famous drivers
• The ambulance from Ghostbusters
• The DeLorean from Back to the Future
• The car from the Flintstones movie
• Andy Griffith’s police car
• The Grateful Dead’s tour bus

The 36,000 square foot museum has a world-class collection, started by an autoworker turned businessman who uses his business to finance this fine collection. There’s something for everyone here; if someone in your family doesn’t care about cars, he or she may enjoy some of the other displays like Jackie Kennedy’s dresses, actual White House furniture and the JFK assassination display. But if you’re a car buff, this is a must see location!

Comments (0)

By Doug, June 19, 2009 21:09

The Mitchell Corn Palace, South Dakota

Back in 1892 the folks of Mitchell South Dakota wanted to tell the world “Hey, South Dakota IS a great place to live! In fact, our soil is so fertile we can decorate our buildings with our surplus corn!” And so the Corn Palace was born. Today, visitors can see the third incarnation of the Palace, stripped down each year and completely redecorated with murals made from several colorful varieties of corn.

Inside, it’s just a high school basketball gym (home of the Kernels) but you can find pictures of all the previous Corn Palace decorations so it’s worth a look inside. And, just in case you’re wondering, the Palace requires 275,000 ears of corn each year, each color planted in a separate field to ensure the color remains true. But don’t worry about waste; the birds and squirrels eat well in Mitchell!

Comments (0)

By Doug, June 18, 2009 20:20

Big Brutus (photo by Mike Isakson)

Big Brutus put the oooohs and aaahs in the backyard of the Heartlands!!! Miles before you reach this retired giant — you can see it on the horizon south of West Mineral, Kansas. Standing beside it makes one aware of how fragile he or she is.

Never mind the fact that Kansas is so flat that, on a clear day, if you look out on the horizon with a good pair of binoculars, you can see the back of your head! Still Brutus is impressive and it’s a great display showing exactly what it takes to give Kansas some change in elevation here and there. Plus, think of the climbing opportunities for the toddler in your group!

Speaking of family fun, the grounds have lots of things to do. They’ve filled the pits with water and stocked them. And, bring your guns, there’s game at that RV park so be sure to get you some! Yeeee Hawww!