We’re excited to announce the winner of first anniversary giveaway prize!

There were three ways to enter this contest. Our winner, Elizabeth F., entered by posting a photo of a BIG attraction she’s seen. (the world’s largest wind chimes in Eureka Springs, Arkansas) on our Facebook page. Read more about her adventure here.

Congratulations, Elizabeth! You’ve won two pre-paid Go City Cards for the city of your choice, courtesy of Smart Destinations!

I just had to look up more info on the wind chimes! Technically holding the record as the World’s Largest Tuned Musical Wind Chimes, they’re located outside of Celestial Windz Harmonic Bizaar, an art gallery and store. The chimes weigh 782 pounds, and the longest one is nearly 36 feet long!

Elizabeth's photo of the BIG chimes! Love it!

Thanks again to Smart Destinations for donating the prize for this travel giveaway!

Speaking of travel, if you’re headed to Florida or Vermont anytime soon, please check out my recent guest posts on some of my favorite family travel blogs, which provide information on Clearwater Beach, FL (TheVacationGals.com) and Burlington, VT (FamilyVacationCritic.com).

We’re back from our Virginia road trip! And – five loads of laundry later – ready for a week at home, then a new adventure! This weekend, we’re headed upstate to the Six Flags Great Escape in Queensbury, NY!  Six Flags is the world’s largest regional theme park company, and we’re going to be checking out just one of their 21 theme parks!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our giveaway promotion to celebrate the start of “Road Trip Season!” We have two copies of the new CD Road Trip by Hullabaloo, an award-winning kid’s music duo. Our randomly-chosen new subscriber is “dorindahd!” And the second winner – who I chose because I liked his scary-fun road trip story — is Jeff, who blogs at KiscoDad.

So, on our drive home, we made a pit stop in Dover, DE to see the world’s largest monster. The Girl, who was engrossed in a DVD when I announced what we were about to see, naturally voiced her concern. “No monster!!!!”

This is Miles, the 46-foot, 40,000-lb. beastly mascot of the Dover International Speedway. I’m just glad we weren’t there at night, because his red eyes glow in the dark. Ever since I watched the Michael Jackson Thriller video alone — while babysitting in a dark house — when I was 13, I just don’t cotton to glowing eyes of any shape, size, or color.

The Monster Monument, presented by AAA, is erupting angrily (or maybe just triumphantly?? So hard to read him…) from within Victory Plaza, outside of Turn 4 of the racetrack. He holds a full-scale stock car in his right hand. There are some fun facts on this site, including the size of his bicep (27 feet), and chest (67 feet, or size 191XL shirt!)

Even larger in Matt’s eyes was the Dover Downs casino next door. Race cars and poker. He secretly hoped we would forget him there.

As you can see from the disheveled appearance of my kids, we had been in the car for hours, and needed any excuse to stretch our legs. We drove as close as we could, snapped some photos, then got back in the car and wearily headed home.

He's not so scary from a safe distance, like 500 feet.

We’ve been visiting Virginia this week, and I will have some great intel to share with you over the next few weeks! But for Photo Friday, I chose this image of Isabel, a 60-foot long sea serpent crafted from driftwood, with coconut shell eyes.

She lies in the front yard of a rental home right on Sandbridge Beach, which is about 15 minutes south of Virginia Beach. A local sculptor, Scott Dilatush, created her in 1999.

When we found her, it was somewhat serendipitous that we discovered a public access path to the beach just to the left of her yard. And a (free) street parking space. The four of us had a glorious day on that beautiful, uncrowded beach, wading over the sandbars, looking for shells, flying kites, building the requisite sandcastle, etc. I’ll remember it for a long time.

First, a big thank you to everyone who helped get the Go BIG or Go Home blog to the #1 ranking in the “Reader’s Choice” category of Travel Blogs for Families on Babble.com! We’ve fallen slightly to the #2 position, which isn’t as BIG a position as we would like. We would appreciate your vote if you haven’t yet had a chance to show your love with a click on the thumbs-up icon!

Erica in front of the World's Largest Pineapple!

There are a few reasons why the “Go BIG” family doesn’t do a lot of international travel. So we leave the finding of the BIG stuff to helpful guest contributors, and live vicariously through them!

Like Erica and Cassi, the enthusiastic bloggers at Nonstop World Travel. They get to explore far and wide, free from the burden of having to locate rectangular chicken nuggets for crabby youngsters. Sigh.

In this month’s guest post, these insatiable travelers tell us about the BIG things they’ve seen in some intriguingly remote locales.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

We’ve gone to a few of the biggest and baddest places around the globe, but our favorites would definitely be…

●     The world’s largest Pineapple in Nambour, Australia,

●     The Great Wall of China — the world’s largest man-made structure

●     The Amazon — the world’s largest rain forest and highest flux river

●     El Gigante — Easter Island’s and the world’s largest Moai

No coercing was necessary; although, the Pineapple may have gotten cut if it hadn’t been en route down the coast of Australia.  Thankfully, we got to thoroughly enjoy the giant tropical fruit.

WHY did you go there, exactly?

If there’s an opportunity to travel, we’ll take it.  The idea of traveling to the Amazon was co-opted from a cousin who ended up backing out on the adventure, and the Great Wall was an add-on to a wonderfully free grad school trip to a conference in Suzhou.

We also have a serious love for the quirky corners of the world, so Easter Island had been on the short list for a while.  When we found the time to head down to South America, there was no resisting temptation.  Next thing we knew, we were face to face with El Gigante and the rest of the Moai. Similarly, when we found the world’s largest pineapple as a spec on Australia’s map, we had to pay it a visit.

Okay, what was so cool about it?

Read the rest of this entry »

So, I was going to color Easter eggs with a “Go BIG or Go Home” message, similar to what I did with the Christmas cookies and the Jack O’Lanterns. I would like partial credit for the idea. The wrinkle in that plan is that the eggs would be colored on Thursday, and they would have to stay fresh until Sunday.

I’m happy and relieved to have found something MUCH better to share with you for our Easter post! A really BIG basket! This is the Lorain Easter Basket in Ohio.

Many thanks to Dominique King for sharing her photo with us! Dominique is the blogger behind Midwest Guest. A travel writer at heart, Midwest Guest allows her to share stories about the often underappreciated Heartland region of the U.S.

Dominque reports that Lorain’s big Easter Basket draws scores of visitors to the park on Ohio’s Lake Erie shore each spring to take photos of their families in their Easter finery. City parks employee David Shukait created the 7-foot-tall concrete sculpture, and the City of Lorain installed it as part of a public works project in 1941.

See more photos and get more info on her blog today.

Happy Easter!!

Sometimes I enjoy planning our travel more than actually traveling. Mainly, because I’m usually alone, in a quiet place, reading and putting together our itinerary. I get my (temporary) fill of omnipotence without any complaints from the smaller people in our household about 1) being shortchanged of pool time, or 2) the unavailability of rectangular chicken nuggets.

Credit: Rochester Lilac Festival

And, by the way, I prefer the old school method of looking through glossy travel guides, as opposed to navigating through flash-ridden websites. Don’t look for my picture next to the definition of “early adopter.”

Our Go BIG plans for this spring and summer are coming together nicely! Now if only the price of gas would stop its precipitous climb.

These are the adventures we’ve planned so far:

APRIL:

World’s largest indoor theater – Radio City Music Hall, NYC

World’s largest hot dog stand – Nathan’s Famous, Brooklyn

MAY:

World’s largest collection of lilacs – Rochester, NY

World’s largest collection of electronic games – Rochester, NY

Frying pan used to make world’s largest pancake– Penn Yan, NY

World’s longest pleasure beach – Virginia Beach, VA

World’s largest gorilla – Virginia Beach, VA

World’s largest living history museum – Colonial Williamsburg, VA

Virginia Beach. Credit: CameronDavidson@CameronDavidson.com

JUNE:

World’s largest regional theme park company – Six Flags (Queensbury, NY location)

World’s largest Uncle Sam – Lake George, NY

AUGUST:

World’s largest cowboy boots – San Antonio, TX

We need something for July! Suggestions?

What do you think? If you know of any other BIG things in these areas, please comment and give us the scoop!

Shopping is one of those beloved hobbies of my past, b.k. And by shopping, I mean thrilling, all-day adventures in search of bargains and perfectly-fitting jeans for ME. Not quick Target run-throughs, throwing any shoes in the cart which may fit the kids’ feet, only to be tried on at home and inevitably returned.

Matt and I do sometimes get out to do grown-up stuff, like when we had a date night at the world’s largest Spanish restaurant, The Columbia, in Tampa. And occasionally, I still get to shop without the kids!

Woodbury Common

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

Luckily, it takes little to convince my cousin-in-law Stephanie to join me at Woodbury Common Premium Outlets in Central Valley, NY.  She was our intrepid travel companion to Montréal, and is not intimidated in the least by the crowds and lines at this shopper’s paradise.

WHY did you go there, exactly?

Woodbury Common is the world’s largest premium outlet shopping center, which means two things in my favor. The first: there are 220 stores. The second: there are 220 stores all in one place. Which means a lot of walking is involved, but also – literally — one-stop-shopping! A much more efficient way to dispose of my money!

Plus, I needed new shoes.

Okay, what was so cool about it?

Yes, there are some fantastic brands at Woodbury Common, offering discounts so good the result is usually lines and controlled entrance times:

Is this the line for the Toy Story Mania ride?

But even at “discount” prices, I’m still not in the market for Jimmy Choos (although they do have a store here). My eyes were on a different prize: Crocs. Go ahead, apply the suburban hausfrau labels to me. I can stand up to any insult…as long as I’m wearing my comfy shoes.

Read the rest of this entry »

I love that my friend Patty T. was on another continent, touring her husband’s “ancestral home,” when she heard that this is the largest building in the world covered in delft tile. She thought of me and this blog, and took this photo for our enjoyment!  She’s just SWELL!

So today is an ultra-obscure “Where is it? Wednesday!” Anyone know where this building is located? And perhaps, the name of it?

If YOU have a photo of a BIG attraction – anywhere in the world – that you would like to contribute for “Where is it? Wednesday,” please contact me at Traci [at] GoBIGorGoHomeBlog [dot] com. I ♥ shared photos!

ANSWER: This building is called the Stadshaard. It’s located in Enschede, the Netherlands, and serves as a gateway building for the district of Roombeek.  And — get this – it’s a power station! Amazingly attractive for a public utility building. More information and photos — with detailed looks at the tiles — can be found here.

I don’t mean to send my friends out on bad “Go BIG” assignments. It’s just coincidental that our last two gracious volunteer correspondents got stuck with duds. First, Sandra spent a small fortune on the cheesefest that is Santa’s Enchanted Forest, the world’s largest Christmas theme park. Now, Tom has submitted this report from his visit to the world’s largest candy store. This place, you will note, has been awarded the lowest score in “Go BIG” history. Even though I’m a raging chocoholic, I think even I would have scored it low.

Looks nice enough from the outside...

I appreciate Tom’s relative restraint, and the humor he found in the situation. He presents more humorous slice-of-life tales in his blog, and on his new site, Creature Banter. If you’ve ever laughed at the naïve yet absurd utterances from the children in your life, you’ll appreciate his collection.

His report:

After a post-holiday week-long trip back to my East Coast roots, we were facing a 14-hour drive to our Indiana home. Connecticut to Indiana. Just typing it makes me shutter.

“We” included me, my love Rachel and her 9-year-old daughter, who informed me prior to our excursion that “long car trips aren’t my thing.”

So we were thrilled to hear that our reward for the 300-mile trek through the state of Pennsylvania was a visit to Daffin’s, which calls itself the world’s largest candy store. The store resides in Sharon, PA, a few miles off Interstate 80. The store’s website boasted of Daffin’s Chocolate Kingdom – including chocolate villages and a 400-pound chocolate turtle.  This was not to be missed.

So we were excited to bribe the child with candy, and what would surely be a visit to paradise.

The location was a bit hard to find, as its location was a few miles from the highway, but we were determined to find it, and indulge in some chocolate and candy.

We finally arrived…or did we? Is this the place? Or is this a pharmacy?

Read the rest of this entry »

A few years ago, the Las Vegas tourism board launched a campaign to promote Sin City as a family destination. I think it was before the whole “What happens in Vegas…” concept became a regrettably overused part of the vernacular, along the lines of “Got milk?”  I’m not sure how successful the family branding was, but I might consider bringing the kids there if I found enough for them to do. Have you been there with kids? If so, I would love to hear your comments below. I put the question out there on Twitter, and @dgcampagna told me she likes bringing her kids to the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum and the Ethel M Chocolates factory tour, among other places.

Vegas is on my bucket list. I’m not much of a gambler, but Matt likes a poker game. His dream is to enter a tournament and become the next World Poker Tour champion. Sorry, we don’t have an extra $10K lying around for the buy-in. Regardless, we hope to get there someday.

This month’s guest post was written by someone who did get there recently. I met Lexy at the 2010 BlogHer conference. She’s a super-friendly, travel-savvy blogger over at KissMyCountry.com. During a girlfriends’ weekend, she discovered Bonanza Gifts, the World’s Largest Gift Shop. I can only imagine the delightful, large-scale cheesiness of this Vegas souvenir store, but she experienced it firsthand! Lucky.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
During our recent Girl’s Weekend in Las Vegas, my friend Ursula and I visited Bonanza Gifts, located on The Strip across the street from The Sahara hotel and casino.  Ursula actually volunteered to come along to buy gifts for her children– no coercing.  I was glad for the company.  We took a cab and arrived pretty quickly – the Strip was empty on the Saturday morning we’d earmarked for our visit.

Why did you go there, exactly?
I know Traci from BlogHer ’10, love her blog, and since I was headed to Vegas I asked if there was any “largest whatever” in Vegas that I could visit on her behalf.  Traci came up with the gift shop and the World’s Largest Gold Nugget at the Golden Nugget Casino.  I chose the gift shop because I’m a gift shop fanatic, leaving the Nugget for another fan.

What kid doesn't need a slot machine squirt toy?

Okay, what was so cool about it?
Read the rest of this entry »