Who needs a little levity today? Something to brighten their day? MEEEEEE! And so, I present you with “Where is it? Wednesday.” Yes, it’s almost Thursday. I should be nestled in bed, reading Real Simple magazine. But Go BIG fans need a hit of something big! And so, better late than never…
Who can tell me where this pink pachyderm is perched?
Thanks to Julie from Road Trips for Families, who submitted this from her home state (hint).
A fun little game this week, to distract you from the wait for a longer post. It’s…“Where is it?” Wednesday!
Left or Right?
Do you know where this literal fork in the road is located? Be the first to identify its location, and win a “Go BIG” note pad and pen!
Two hints:
Across the street is an oil tank painted to resemble a giant Prozac pill
Chelsea may have encountered this fork. Naturally, she chose to go left!
If you come to a fork in the road, take it. - Yogi Berra
It hit me like a thunderbolt today. Why not feature a guest post once a month? That’s certainly doable, provided I can find people willing to submit reviews (ahem…Tina). It gives me the opportunity to provide you with sites I can’t get to easily. Still biding my time until they put the finishing touches on the Transporter teleportation machine. Can I get a witness, fellow Trekkies?
Remember when satellite dishes were this big?
So it began last month in the southeast, at the world’s largest Rubik’s Cube in Knoxville, TN. This month, I’m thrilled to present our first foray into the midwest, provided by one of the region’s most prolific and well-known family travel bloggers, Jody Halsted. Jody is the founder of Family Rambling. Her family recently visited Lucas, Kansas, where they saw the world’s largest Souvenir Travel Plate. And then she tweeted me to offer to write a guest post. I nearly fell off my chair, thinking “who, me?” while concurrently typing “thank you!”
Here’s what I love about the subject of this post. Lucas is a town with a population of just 400, yet it has a website and a Facebook page! Also, it’s really close to Lebanon, KS, which is the geographical center of the contiguous United States. Look at a map and see what I mean. Nifty.
I also think this souvenir plate, made from repurposed satellite dishes, is an über-cool example of recycling. I’m not exactly Mrs. Green, but I do shut the lights off when leaving a room — regardless of whether others are still there. This tends to bother Matt when he’s watching his DVR’d episodes of The Closer.
Now, back to Jody in Kansas…
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
We found the World’s Largest Souvenir Travel Plate on the outskirts of Lucas, Kansas. My family was on a whirlwind tour of North Central Kansas, which is not complete without a stop in Lucas, home of the Grassroots Art Center. On this trip was myself, my husband, Doug, my daughters Brenna, age 5 and Caelan, age 3, and my mother, Chris.
WHY did you go there, exactly?
We stopped in Lucas because of the Grassroots Art Center and the Garden of Eden, both of which have to be seen to be described; words just can’t do justice to them. We were told by so many people the town was not to be missed.
Okay, what was so cool about it?
Lucas is one of those original towns that is just quirky enough to be cool. This plate was a city-wide effort. It is constructed from two satellite dishes, the largest 14’. It just really gives you a feel of what you will encounter in Lucas – from pop tab motorcycles to limestone houses.
How it rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = snoozefest, 10 = add to your bucket list): [rating=7]
The plate itself isn’t terribly exciting; alone I give it a 3. But if you add it with the town of Lucas I would up that to a 7 or 8. Interesting just doesn’t come close to describing what you will see.
A little background info about the place:
Lucas, Kansas was voted one of the “8 Wonders of Kansas Art,” and is known for being a center of grassroots art. The plate is painted to completely represent Lucas, including wheat, the local meat market, and the art that has made it famous.
Our midwest correspondent!
The dish itself is 14’ in diameter, formed from a large fiberglass satellite dish with another, smaller dish mounted inside as the center medallion. Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, the plate was installed and painted by Erika Nelson in 2006, alongside state highway K-18. Here’s more detail about the artwork on the plate.
Hey you! Go BIG:
World Largest Souvenir Travel Plate
More about Lucas, Kansas
NOTE: We don’t limit our Go BIG adventures to just the world’s “largest.” We also have room in our hearts for the world’s longest and tallest! Cause they’re big too, in their own special, linear way.
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
My parents and brother’s family lives in the Tampa Bay area, so we visit regularly. Generally, there is an understood Florida embargo in place for us between the months of April and October, when the average temperature there hovers around 170 degrees. At least, that’s what it feels like to us. We are heat wimps. We wilt and grow increasingly cranky with the humidity levels.
Drama Girl, still not over “The Sunscreen Incident.”
However, our February ’10 trip was cancelled due to a huge snowstorm in NY, so we rescheduled for late April to coincide with a school holiday. So the four of us, along with my parents, decided to take a stroll along Bayshore Boulevard, the world’s longest continuous sidewalk, on a hot, sunny day.
WHY did you go there, exactly?
This wasn’t my first time on Bayshore, but it was for the kids. I lived in Tampa during my high school years, and have been back many times. I’ve driven along the boulevard many more times than I’ve actually walked it, however, so it was time to experience it on foot.
We almost didn’t get there, actually. The Girl, who I had slathered liberally with sunscreen prior to leaving the house, had accidentally rubbed some into her eye. A 30-minute drive filled with wailing and crying set our nerves on end, even before we stepped out into the unforgiving heat. But it was also exactly the excuse we needed to cut short our “Walk on the Surface on the Sun.”
Okay, what was so cool about it?
I’m very excited to introduce our first guest blogger, my friend Fiona. She qualifies to write a post because she lives in the same “small” town as we do, and recently visited the World’s Largest Rubik’s Cube, as well as the World’s Steepest Inclined Passenger Railway (which will be featured in a future post). Not that I’m a stickler for qualifiers. I welcome any guest blogger with a BIG story to share.
These sites are in Knoxville and Chattanooga, TN, respectively, and a LONG way from where we live. But Fiona was traveling to Baton Rouge, LA with her husband K. and son C. to visit the University of Louisiana. Background: at the tender age of ten, C. already knows he wants to attend LSU, pretty much because the school’s mascot is a tiger named “Mike.” He’s had a thing for tigers since before he could walk. His pet cats Anakin and Luke are sorry substitutes.
Knowing about their trip, I asked Fiona if she was willing to accept a “Go BIG” assignment. Actually, I cajoled, and kinda guilted her into it. But Fiona’s game for just about anything, especially where playthings are concerned, since she used to own a toy store. (Now, she’s training for a 5K, living the Tao, and planning our next scrapbooking weekend. She’s multi-faceted, that one). I forced the address details upon her, and they were off. Good thing Knoxville was actually on the way to Baton Rouge.
Today's talented guest blogger!
Fiona is also the talented designer behind the delightful “Go BIG or Go Home” banner. Want to contact her and get her mad skills working for you? Her company is Enlightened Solutions.
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
Driving to Lousiana for vacation, my husband, son and myself decided to break up the drive, and spend the night in Knoxville, TN. We stayed at the Holiday Inn, which is home to the world’s largest Rubik’s Cube.
WHY did you go there, exactly?
We chose Knoxville because we had never been there before, and it was about half way on the drive. (And Traci left me no choice).
Okay, what was so cool about it?
My husband and I are both from the era of the Cube of Rubik, so we were jazzed to see it and tickle our childhood funny bone. It’s located on the top floor of the hotel, at the entrance to the Knoxville Convention and Exhibition Center.
Solved! Beat my best time, too!
While it was fun to say we saw it, it did not live up to expectations. We hoped that this icon would have been given more respect. The Rubik’s Cube enjoyed a resurgence on its anniversary a few years ago when I owned a toy store. Seems like a missed marketing opportunity, if you ask me.
Ask the front desk for its location, and they will answer half-heartedly. Sadly, the cube is shoved in a corner of the hotel, not plugged in, and dusty. The puzzle is in the “solved” position, and one of the levels is twisted apart from the other two, as if in mid-turn. It was, at one point, electrified into motion.
How it rated on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = snoozefest, 10 = add to your bucket list) [rating=1]
I would rate it a 1. If you are a Rubik fan and happen to be near the hotel, stop in. Otherwise, keep on driving.
A little background info about the place:
The cube was a gift from the Hungarian government for the 1982 World’s Fair, which was held in Knoxville.
It was displayed at the entrance to Hungary’s pavilion, to commemorate its invention by Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik in 1974.
The cube is motorized, though presently the motor is not used. It is ten feet tall, and weighs 1,200 pounds. The panels each weigh about 300 pounds. The central section of the cube, containing the motor which turns it, weighs about 600 pounds.
The Rubik’s Cube is the world’s biggest-selling puzzle game, having sold in excess of 350 million units worldwide. The cube has 43 quintillion different possible configurations (that’s 43,252,003,274,489,856,000), and only one solution.
Hey you! Go BIG:
Holiday Inn, 525 Henley Street, Knoxville, TN, 865-522-2800
Official Rubik’s Cube Factoids
Hungary's contribution to the world of playthings
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
I couldn’t wait to try out our new, matching Go BIG or Go Home T-shirts, which I purchased in a frenzy of blind gooberness while ordering business cards on Vista Print. It didn’t matter where we went, so long as we could wear the coordinated attire which would brand us fools.
Our gooberifically matching Go BIG T-shirts. I still owe The Boy $2.00 for agreeing to wear it.
The shirts arrived just in time for our trip to Maine, both to attend a college reunion and to see “Eartha,” the world’s largest rotating and revolving globe in Yarmouth. As an added BIG bonus, we also went to the L.L.Bean flagship store in neighboring Freeport. Outside the store stands a 17-foot boot.
Happily, no coercion was necessary to get the four of us psyched for the trip. Matt got to take the new family roadster, a Mazda CX-9, on the open road for a little zoom, zoom, zoom. The Boy got to miss a day of school. The Girl was very excited to stay in a “soyal.” This is the word she’s decided to use instead of the widely-accepted “hotel.” We don’t know how and where she picked this up, but she’s quite certain that this noun describes a place offering overnight lodging.
Our trip to a “soyal” actually became a nifty bargaining chip the week before the trip, as in “If you don’t let me brush your teeth, we’re not going to the soyal.” She’s three. There’s a lot of negotiation happening in the course of a normal day.
WHY did you go there, exactly?
I attended Bates College in Lewiston, ME, and my 20th reunion gave us the perfect opportunity to visit the “Vacationland” state together as a family. As well as distract me from the unsettling fact that it’s been two freakin’ decades since I was a college-aged student.
Conveniently, Yarmouth is on the way to Lewiston, and is also the home to the DeLorme Map Company. The 41-foot globe sits in the company’s glass-enclosed lobby.
Okay, what was so cool about it?
Eartha!
Eartha is immense, so regardless of your age, your first reaction is “Wow!” To even see the northern hemisphere, you have to take the stairs or elevator to the second and third floor observation balconies.
Where we went, and who was coerced into going:
Sometimes a little persuasion (okay, bribery) is needed to convince the kids that a day trip to see one of these sites is worth their while. When I planned a NJ day trip to see the World’s Largest Light Bulb and the World’s Tallest Water Sphere, I told The Girl we would stop at the IKEA in Elizabeth to get her “big girl” bed. She was nearly three, and while we loved the containment her crib offered, it was time to “Go BIG.”
WHY did you go there, exactly?
World's Largest Light Bulb
Light bulb:
It was a doable day trip to the Thomas Edison Center at Menlo Park, and the photos of the light bulb intrigued me. A monumental replica of Edison’s first practical incandescent bulb, it’s nearly 14 feet of Pyrex glass segments. It sits on top of the 117-foot concrete Memorial Tower, which was built in 1937 by Edison’s employees. It’s an homage to both the light bulb and another key Edison invention, the phonograph.
Any grade schooler can attribute the invention of the light bulb to Edison, but did you know he also invented the phonograph, motion picture camera, dictaphone, mimeograph, storage battery and much, much more? I guess I missed that day of school. Visiting the adjoining museum set me straight.
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