Georgia Aquarium

Sometimes, you get the best perspective about an attraction from a “local.” This month’s guest post is from an old college friend, Tina. “Old” as in, I’ve know her for over 20 years. Not ancient. In fact, I recently saw her at our 20^th reunion (same trip as the World’s Largest Rotating Globe), and now think she’s made some sort of youth-extending deal with the Devil. Yet, I still like her. She took a Seussical approach to naming her sons Boy #1 and Boy #2 for the purposes of online embarrassment. I dig it.

Tina doesn’t live far from the world’s largest aquarium in Atlanta. The Georgia Aquarium features more animals than any other aquarium, in more than eight million gallons of water. Her report:

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

I went to the incredibly large, exquisitely fish-filled Georgia Aquarium, which has the largest tank in the world. I took along my 4 1/2 year old son on his maiden voyage. We made it a playdate with my neighbor Carla and her 7 year old.

Read the rest of this entry »

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

Wichita Vacations

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

Knoxville Vacations