holy crow, does the lincoln highway know how to do roadside weirdness. at the suggestion of devlin from athen, georgia, we stopped by roadside america today. it's a not-so-little miniature village in the heart of pannsylvania dutch country. we came by just around closing on our way to new york and vowed to make a real visit before this big trip was through. roadside america does not disappoint in spite of the hype.
clearly, someone's massive labour of love, this miniature marvel presents an interesting selection of educational side notes, while at the same time putting very little emphasis on uniform scale. this latter element is what i found most marvelous. it sort of presents the idea that giants and normals coexisted together in harmony from pioneer times through the 1950's; that ducks and people can be the same size. but in all of this, spectators are also taught valuable lessons about coal mining, the development of america and the dangers of children playing with fire, among many other things. and you get to push buttons and make things move!
we arrived just in time for the half-hourly night time pageant wherein the sun sets on this tiny collection of towns and then something that involves jesus and america happens.
i don't think it's possible for these pictures to spoil the fun of actually experiencing this yourself. you should go. i got the feeling that i might be in the purest place on earth.
i almost don't want to sully the sanctity of roadside america with our next stop, but it is a place aitor and i have had a mild obsession with since our last tour. in the mountains, a few miles outside of breezewood, pennsylvania, is the creepiest looking clapboard srtip club one could imagine. aitor saw it out the window on our last tour but couldn't remember where...and then we drove by it again on our way out of ligonier a few weeks ago. this time we finally had the nerve to stop and take pictures.
we assume it to be called 'artistry in motion' but can't be entirely sure. we momentarily debated staying until it opened, but i was getting a real black lodge feeling about the place and for some reason passing cars were honking at us wildly. one does have to wonder what goes on in those outlying shacks, though. i probably don't want to know, anyway.
6 comments:
This post took tourism to the extreme! From pleasant town USA in miniature to "holy f**k, let's get out of here before somebody kills us" strip bars! Those shacks next to the big "sexy" shack are really, really terrifying!
That strip club looks like a perfect backdrop for some kind of horror movie!
It is definitely creepy looking!
Did you gett he impression that someone was watching you from inside with a shotgun? haha
I saw that place this weekend. Almost had the balls to stop just to see what this place entailed.
I imagine a drunk hillbilly calling his daughter down from up stairs. "mary jean get ur ass down here we gots customers"!
Looks like the setting for Wrong Turn 3. Strippers without alcohol? That's like church without communion. I passed Roadside America today going to Cabela's; the place looks musty and rundown. Maybe another time.
wow, this old post is sure getting some action.
and if anyone does go for a visit, i would like a full report.
who knows? maybe it's a real posh place.
I was just there this weekend... Don't be fooled by the outside, the gold is inside. I've never seen anything like it, anywhere. Truly amazing, and I recommend it to anyone that I know will be passing through that area. Everyone should experience it for themselves.
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