When I tell you that today’s post is about bicycling the world’s longest highway, you will be correct in assuming I’m not talking about me and my brood. This month’s guest post is from Nancy Sathre-Vogel of Family on Bikes, who – along with her husband and two sons – traversed the western hemisphere on bicycles! Their unforgettable 17,300-mile journey took them three years (I’m tired just typing those words). Her twin sons, now 13, are Guinness World Record holders as the youngest people to cycle the length of the Americas.

The End of the World!

Almost unbelievable, right?! Here’s what Nancy told us about their journey:

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

We cycled the length of the Pan American Highway – the longest road in the world. It stretches from the northern edge of Alaska all the way down to the tip of South America. As far as being coerced??? Ummm… you can’t really coerce someone to pedal a bike 17,000 miles!

WHY did you go there, exactly?

Now THAT is a good question. Because we’re crazy, perhaps? Or because it’s there? Or maybe it was because we wanted time together as a family before the kids grew up and flew the coop and no longer wanted to travel with ol’ ma and pa.

Okay, what was so cool about it?

Read the rest of this entry »

This big, beautiful bovine isn’t the world’s largest, and she doesn’t even have a name. But we still love her, because she welcomed us to the Turkey Hill Experience in Colombia, PA!

They’re not excited at ALL.

Where we went, and who was coerced into going?
Heading to Pennsylvania Dutch Country was a “last hurrah” getaway before school started. I told the kids, “we’re going to learn how ice cream and potato chips are made, and then we get to eat them.” Not a tough sell.

WHY did you go there, exactly?
The Turkey Hill Experience was the last stop on a three-day tour of the “snack food corridor” connecting York, Lancaster, and Chester counties. We toured potato chip and pretzel factories, visited chocolate makers, and searched for whoopie pies. Both York and Lancaster counties have their own “sweet and salty” tour itineraries listing all the companies offering public tours and/or outlet shopping. We visited nine of them!

Even after gorging ourselves on all that, there was still room for ice cream!

Okay, what was so cool about it?

Read the rest of this entry »

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’re headed to Pennsylvania this weekend for one last getaway before school starts next week. As giddy as I am for the return to school days (cue angelic harp music), I’m sad that our traveling will be curtailed for the next several months. The Boy begins middle school, so it’s even tougher on him now to miss days and make up all the work.

So we’re going out with a bang and a BIG cow (or two)! The focus of our trip is the new Turkey Hill Experience in Lancaster County, an interactive, museum-ish tour that the ice cream company opened this summer. The kids will get to milk some (not real) cows, and we’ll all get to stuff our faces with ice cream.

Credit: TurkeyHillExperience.com

Speaking of face-stuffing, we’re also going to visit several other food factories in the area. York, Lancaster, and Chester counties are full of them; the area is known as the “snack food corridor.” So, Points Plus be (temporarily) damned, here’s the calorific countdown for the next several days:

Revonah Pretzel Bakery, Inc.

Snyder’s of Hanover

UTZ

Herr’s

Martin’s Chips

Wolfgang Candy

Turkey Hill Experience

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

Wilbur Chocolate Co.

Hey, on an unrelated but exciting note, have you seen us profiled on SecondAct.com? Please take a look at our Florida trip on the “My Vacation” page! Our photos of Splitsville and the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, the Mirror Lake Shuffleboard Club in St. Pete, and the Sea Screamer speedboat in Clearwater live on in this article on our road trip over the holidays. We were thrilled to be included, despite the fact that it’s a site for “Boomers.” I guess at 41, I’m encroaching on that phase, huh?

Remember our freezefest on the world's largest speed boat?

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?"

How to use a beach towel as a raincoat

I get worked up making sure we visit title-holding “world’s largests” for Go BIG or Go Home. I try to find a way to make all our travel fit in somehow. Usually, I can find some BIG link, however insubstantial. This time, we didn’t go to the world’s largest theme park. We didn’t even go the largest park within the world’s largest theme park chain. But we DID go to a Six Flags theme park — one within the world’s largest theme park company — so we’re counting it!

Where we went, and who was coerced into going:

On paper, it was a kid’s dream itinerary for a long weekend. Three days spent at the Six Flags Great Escape theme park in Lake George, NY , with its Splashwater Kingdom outdoor water park. Two evenings to enjoy the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge, which has the White Water Bay indoor water park.

Dreamy, except for the torrential rains and temps which never exceeded 65°F.

WHY did you go there, exactly?

Have you seen the Six Flags commercials imploring you to “Go Big, Go Six Flags?” For some reason, the slogan resonated with me. 🙂  Actually, I had an assignment to write this review for FamilyVacationCritic.com, so we were going regardless. But some quick research lead to the discovery that Six Flags is the world’s largest regional theme park company, based on the quantity of properties.  I didn’t realize that there are 19 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

We’ve now added Six Flags Great Adventure in NJ to our bucket list, because it’s the largest Six Flags in the country, and it’s home to some BIG attractions: Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest roller coaster; the world’s largest drive-thru safari outside of Africa; and one of the world’s largest adventure rivers.

Okay, what was so cool about it?

Read the rest of this entry »

Have you heard about the “7 Links” meme going around among travel bloggers? It’s a Tripbase project to share some of our previous posts, with the benefit of hindsight. If you’re new to Go BIG or Go Home, I’m about to highlight the seven posts you should read to get caught up on all this quirky insanity.

I was nominated by the lovely ladies at Road Trips for Families, who share my compulsion for quirky travel, with no qualms about forcing their kids to visit retro roadside attractions.

So, here I go:

Most beautiful post:

The Alpine Garden

There’s not much tear-jerky, emotional “beauty” going on here. I’m saving that for the moment I cast eyes on the world’s largest ball of twine…sigh. But in terms of physical beauty, it doesn’t get prettier than Montreal’s botanic garden. It’s the world’s second largest botanic garden, with many smaller themed gardens within. This post described the day we played explorer in the Alpine, Chinese, and Aquatic gardens, rode the tram, ate lunch al fresco, and enjoyed a low-fi visit on a perfectly sunny and cool day.

Most popular post:

When I look at this blog’s traffic, I always get a giggle when I see what posts are getting the most visits. That’s because two of the most popular posts are about the world’s largest toilet and world’s largest Rubik’s Cube. Both were guest posts, because I send my minions out for all the “choice” assignments. And I’m guessing the term “world’s largest toilet” is an “SEO” bonanza.

Because I know you want to see it again.

Most controversial post:

There was quite a heated exchange of comments following this guest post about the world’s largest candy store. This was also the first time an attraction scored a lowly “2” on our ten-point scale, where 1 equals “snoozefest,” and 10 equals “add to your bucket list.” Our guest reviewer Tom thought Daffin’s Candy Store was sorely lacking appeal, although he did give props to the taffy selection. Candy afficionados weighed in to defend this long-standing institution.

Most helpful post:

With our aforementioned scoring system, we try to steer you toward – or away from – each of the BIG places we visit, so you don’t waste your time. But this recent post went a step further, describing great, affordable places for families to eat on the road instead of traditional restaurants. We visited the world’s largest Wegmans supermarket, which has an amazingly extensive food bar and seating area. Other road warrior family bloggers offered their suggestions, as well.

A post whose success surprised me:

Second to the About Us page, the single page which gets the most traffic on this blog is about our short walk along the world’s longest continuous sidewalk, Bayshore Boulevard in Tampa, FL. I need a professional SEO analyst to tell me why this post, which appeared over a year ago, still attracts so much traffic. Any takers?

The source of most visits to this page is via Google, so I guess there are hundreds of people every month searching for info on the “world’s longest sidewalk?!” It wasn’t even that great a story. Our walk was cut short because 1) It was 210 degrees that day; and 2) The Girl got sunscreen in her eye, a drama which rendered her unable to stand upright on her own two feet.

A post which didn’t get the attention it deserved:

I would like more eyes to see these posts on the world’s largest collection of glass at the Corning Museum of Glass, and the world’s largest light bulb at the Thomas Edison Center. Because we’re not JUST about BIG toilets, ya know! These were visits to places with educational value, where my kids experienced “hands-on” science and history. And we have fun video clips on both posts, so there’s that!

The post I am most proud of:

I get nostalgic for historic sites which are still open to the public, keeping their story alive. The Mirror Lake Shuffleboard Club in St. Petersburg, FL is not only the world’s largest shuffleboard club, but also the nation’s oldest. We were fortunate to have a “behind-the-scenes” tour from the president of the club, which works to not only preserve it as a historic site, but also promote the sport. Shuffleboard Friday nights are now popular events for local families, who come for a night a wholesome fun. We learned to play shuffleboard the right way. I’m ready to go pro.

Recently, the city of St. Petersburg accepted bids from restaurants to come in and take over the 1923 Art Deco clubhouse. I would hate to see this charming spot taken over by a capital venture, especially when there’s no lack of restaurants in St. Pete! The locals have been vocally opposed, so hopefully there will be a positive resolution.

So much fun...such a wonderful place.

The bloggers I’m nominating for the next round are equally enamored of offbeat road trips; some with kids in tow, some without. They’re all really groovy!

Tina at Ploho on the Road

Dana at Feasting on Americana

Carly at Bloggin’ America

Elizabeth at Livin’ to Drive

Tanya at Driving and Dining