I need to stop looking at the brochure racks in hotel lobbies. I end up finding places we HAVE to visit on our trips which aren’t on our itinerary. These places usually involve retail, and they make Matt very nervous. Like our November detour to the world’s largest candle store in MA.

This time, it was the world’s largest shoe store, and I was able to convince him that it was on our way home from Pittsburgh. I wasn’t entirely truthful, but how could we NOT visit? I did it for YOU, dear readers. You’re here to read about world’s largest places, are you not? And so, we must make sacrifices.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

We headed north to Sharon, PA and spent an hour in Reyer’s Shoe Store. It was an add-on to our long weekend in Pittsburgh. Matt said he wouldn’t go unless I posted it on our Facebook page, and got at least 10 “likes.” We got 20 likes there, and another 17 on my personal account. Heh.

WHY did you go there, exactly?

The kids did actually need new shoes. Especially The Boy, who insists on growing. Rapidly. Matt needed sneakers. I needed nothing in the way of footwear, but that’s never stopped me before.

Okay, what was so cool about it?

At 36,000 square feet, Reyer’s Shoe Store is indeed BIG. The size doesn’t translate into the world’s largest selection, however. Although the brochure claims the store has over 100,000 pairs of shoes and boots, there was a lot of wide open floor space. The décor is a little timeworn, but The Girl was truly digging the pink shag carpet in the woman’s department.

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What passes for excitement in these parts is seeing not one, but TWO “world’s largests” in one day. In September, we went to the world’s largest DIY Festival, the World Maker Faire, held at the New York Science Center in Queens. It was A. MAZING. But this post is about globes.

On the walk from the parking lot to the main gate, we stopped by the world’s largest globe. The Unisphere in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was built for the 1964-1965 World’s Fair as a symbol of world peace. It is 140 feet high (that’s 12 stories) and 120 feet in diameter. Made of stainless steel, it weighs 900,000 pounds! It is stationery. It is beautiful.

Wearing our goofball T-shirts in front of the Unisphere

Of course, we’ve also seen another BIG globe, specifically, the world’s largest rotating globe, at the DeLorme headquarters in Yarmouth, ME.

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“I don’t like shopping. I don’t like candles. I really don’t like shopping for candles.” So proclaimed my grumpy husband upon exiting the Yankee Candle flagship store. I was on a “retail therapy” high, so I didn’t let it bother me.

Deceivingly small from the outside. 90,000 sq ft of shopping goodness on the inside.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

Earlier this month, we drove up to the world’s largest candle store to see the world’s largest candle. And, naturally, to part with some of our money. Matt needed the most coercion, especially since he would miss the Giants game, and would have to watch it later on the DVR.

WHY did you go there, exactly?

While in the Berkshires for a reunion, I picked up some travel brochures. The heavens parted, and a ray of sunlight shone down on the one for Yankee Candle. Though misty with joyful tears, my eyes focused on the words “world’s largest candle store,” and “world’s largest candle.” 90,000 square feet! 400,000 candles! 200 different scents!

DETOUR!

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Look who we ran into this weekend! This BIG stegosaurus sits in front of the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA. We were in the Berkshires for a reunion for the PR company where Matt and I both worked – and met – way back in the Jurassic Period.

Speaking of the Jurassic Period…this is Wally the Stegosaurus, so named because this creature’s brain was the size of a walnut. A life-size replica, he’s 26 feet long, 12 feet tall, and 7 feet wide.  Since he’s made of fiberglass, he only weighs 1,200 lbs, versus a real Stegosaurus weight of 6,000 lbs.

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World's largest shoe house! (And possibly the world's ONLY shoe house.)

There was an old woman who visited a shoe. It was closed and her children didn’t know what to do.

Sorry. I’ll stop mangling nursery rhymes now.

This is the Haines Shoe House in Hellam, PA. We found it while visiting the “snack food corridor” of York, Lancaster, and Chester counties in Pennsylvania Dutch Country last month. Built in 1948, it’s 25 feet high and 48 feet long.

It’s actually a house with several interior rooms, although it’s now operating as a museum of sorts. Guided tours are offered, but unfortunately, not when we were there!

By the way, the rest of this family  getaway along the “sweet and salty trail” was really entertaining! Several snack food companies, like Snyder’s of Hanover, UTZ, Herr’s and Turkey Hill Dairy are headquartered here, and offer free public tours.

I wrote a two-part series for FamilyVacationCritic.com about our trip; check it out for more details if you’re interested in planning a trip!

Pennsylvania’s Snack Food Corridor: The Sweet Side

Pennsylvania’s Snack Food Corridor: The Salty Side

We haven’t had a Where is it? Wednesday in a while! This time, we have a guest contributing to the fun! Many thanks to Sarah at Wandering Off, a family travel blog which focuses on offbeat adventures, like seeing the world’s largest pecan! (See, I’m not the only one who likes the BIG stuff!)

Behold…the world’s largest cowboy boots!! Sarah tells me that these 40-ft tall cowboy boots were built in the 70’s, but were moved to their current home in 1980.

World's Largest Cowboy Boots!

HINT #1: They can be seen from I-410.

HINT #2: Mr. Go BIG was supposed to get this photo himself when he was there this summer on a business trip. He didn’t. Said he was too busy working. Whatever.

So, where are they?? Ten points to the first person to get it right!

I hear you gasp. Yes, the photo quality is…well…not great. But it’s scanned from a 35mm print taken five years ago and unearthed from an old scrapbook, so cut me some slack.

Meet "Big Blue." the world's largest crayon

This week, my baby started middle school, so this “Photo Friday” is about The Boy and our visit to The Crayola Experience™ in 2006 to see the world’s largest crayon.

He was just a sprite back then, and The Girl wasn’t even in our realm of contemplation. (Two kids? Crazy talk!)

When we were three.

The Crayola Experience in Easton, PA is not the real crayon manufacturing plant. It’s more like a children’s activity and discovery center, with plenty of hands-on activities. The world’s largest crayon is actually in the gift shop.  Fifteen feet long and 16 inches in circumference, “Big Blue” was created in 2003 to reflect America’s favorite color. It weighs 1,500 lbs, and is the equivalent of 123,000 blue crayons.

The gift shop, by the way, is awesome! I remember it the most, mainly because it offered such an extensive range of Crayola products you just can’t find in the stores. “Santa” had a field day stocking up in advance of Christmas that year!

It should be noted that we were in PA last week, and I floated the idea of returning to the Crayola Experience to get an updated photo. The Boy, now 11, wanted none of it. Sigh. He’s actually starting to outgrow certain travel destinations and attractions. I guess Sesame Place is also out!

See Photo Friday posts from other bloggers on DeliciousBaby.com.

It’s no secret that I ♥ NY; my family calls it “home.” It’s been so disheartening to learn of the destruction caused by Hurricane Irene in many parts of New York, but particularly here in the Hudson Valley. Hundreds of homes and working farms have been washed away by flooding. Last week I dedicated a blog post to Vermont, which also suffered incredible damage. This week, I wanted to do the same for my Empire State.

Doesn't get much bigger than dinosaurs!

(I also made a donation to the Red Cross, which has been working tirelessly in the affected areas. If you’re interested, here’s the link.)

There are a lot of BIG things to love in New York (state income tax not included). Over the past several years, the “Go BIG” family has traveled far and wide looking for the world’s biggests, longests, and tallests in NYS.  Why not go see these entertaining sites and attractions for yourself?

Here’s what we’ve found so far, beginning in New York City, with links to our posts.

The World’s Largest Dinosaurs– an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. (Open only until January!)

The world’s largest toy store — the Toys R’ Us store in Times Square, AND the world’s largest Disney store, also in Times Square.

The world’s largest indoor theater — Radio City Music Hall.

The world’s largest public collection of video games — at the International Center for the History of Electronic Games, part of The Strong and the National Museum of Play in Rochester

The world’s largest collection of glass – within the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning

The world’s largest pancake griddle –– Penn Yan, NY

The world’s largest premium outlet shopping center-– Woodbury Common, in Central Valley

The world’s longest elevated pedestrian bridge – The Walkway Over the Hudson, which links Poughkeepsie to Highland over the Hudson River.

The world’s largest kaleidoscope–– located within the Emerson Country Store in Mt. Tremper

The largest Buddha statue in the western hemisphere — located within Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, NY

And my personal favorite:

Chomsky is the DEAL!

The world’s second largest garden gnome—  “Chomsky,” on Kelder’s Farm in Kerhonkson, NY.

Chomsky’s fifth anniversary at the farm is being celebrated this weekend! If in you’re in the Hudson Valley, stop by for some fun! It should be noted that the farm was under ten feet of water following the hurricane, but it’s drying out, and they are determined to party! Hooray for them!

These are places we’ve been, but are returning this month to “research” their “world’s largest” claims:

85th Annual Feast of San Gennaro

Who knew it was the world’s largest outdoor religious festival? The Go BIG or Go Home family will go to this street festival in NYC’s Little Italy for “research”… which in my mind means zeppole and sausage and peppers.

Bronx Zoo

I always knew it was big, from our inability to walk the entire thing in one day. But it’s actually the world’s largest urban zoo, and features the world’s largest man-made rainforest, the Congo Gorilla Forest.

New Yorkophiles, what BIG things have we missed?

Where we went, and who was coerced into going: I admit, the initial lure to Vermont was Ben & Jerry’s factory tour. And while we did go there, while staying at the amazing Smuggler’s Notch resort, we also stayed in Burlington for four chock-full days of fun. I learned about the world’s tallest filing cabinet after the trip was already planned, but naturally managed to squeeze it into our Burlington itinerary!

Rocking the rust!

 Okay, what was so cool about it?

The cabinet was built in 2002 by local artist Bren Alvarez. The 40+-foot cabinet is actually a stack of 11 metal filing cabinets, in different colors, welded together. The elements have obviously taken their toll, so the rusty tower can’t be long for this world. There’s a total of 38 drawers, on purpose. Alvarez was commenting on the number of years that bureaucratic paperwork accumulated by a proposed beltway project that would have run right through the neighborhood where the cabinet stands.

We didn’t stay to see the filing cabinet for very long. In fact, the kids didn’t even get out of the car. (This was a year before the Go BIG fever infected our household.)

Besides, we had too much other fun stuff to do in Burlington! Our favorite places:

North Beach, even though the waters of Lake Champlain were chilly. The kids will swim in water at any temperature, and the sandy beach was warm.

The ECHO Lake Aquarium Science Center, which sits on the waterfront. ECHO (Ecology, Culture, History and Opportunity) features over 70 live species of marine life, more than 100 interactive experiences, seasonal exhibits and participatory events.

A unique perspective of a fish tank at ECHO

A lake cruise aboard the Ethan Allen. We enjoyed a buffet lunch and a 90-minute narrated tour which brought us to the central and deepest point of the lake, and along Burlington’s coast.

Lake Champlain Chocolates factory tour, where we enjoyed divine hot chocolate at the café. We left with factory seconds of broken chocolate-covered pretzels. (Not surprisingly, they just as good when they’re broken.)

"I can't see anything through this thing!" No one can, sweetie.

 The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, which is technically in Shelburne, just south of Burlington. The tour guide explained how teddy bears are made, from cutting fur, sewing, stuffing, to dressing. Of course we ended up in the gift shop making our own customized bears, which were presented with a birth certificate, bow tie, and travel box.

Watch out...sometimes, we're all in a cheesy mood at the same time.

 How it rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = snoozefest, 10 = add to your bucket list): 9

The filing cabinet in itself only rates a 4. But as an all-around family vacation destination, Burlington is a 9!

Hey you! Go BIG!:

The world’s tallest filing cabinet is on Flynn Avenue in Burlington between Pine Street and Foster Street. But whatever…just go visit Vermont!

For tourism and trip planning info, visit:

Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce

Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing

We made it out alive. We went into New York City this week and stopped at the Toys R’ Us store in Times Square; the world’s largest toy store. And while my statement about making it out alive is meant sarcastically, we were in the store at the same time the 5.9 earthquake — which originated in Virginia — was felt in Manhattan.

Many buildings were evacuated after the shock was felt. All we felt were the vibrations of the 20-foot animatronic dinosaur in the Jurassic Park section of the store.

The Girl kinda freaked when he started growling and moving

It was surreal, getting frantic texts from concerned friends and family while standing in the two-story, 4,000-sq ft Barbie dollhouse, waiting for The Girl to make her selection between the fairy Barbie with pet unicorn and the mermaid Barbie with pet dolphin. (She chose the mermaid).

Decisions, decisions

"Does Barbie live here?"