Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Only In America


I just stumbled, as it’s easy to do in cyberspace, a site worth a visit - whether or not you intend a holiday in the USA. It’s called Roadside America - Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions. Click HERE for a nation’s worth of whacky travel.

Amongst the huge number of attractions listed are Chainsaw Massacre Tours - Jousting Hall of Fame - Elvis is Alive Museum - Booger Hollow (possibly visited by Gordon Brown) - UFO Welcome Center and the Fake Berlin Wall.

The Wall is in Dixon, Illinois - the childhood home of Reagan, and in appreciation of his speech demanding the Berlin Wall be torn down, a Bulgarian artist fashioned this fake Berlin Wall. It is accompanied by a statue of a dove and three murals depicting Reagan being President. An interesting site, it is officially called the "Wings of Peace and Freedom Park.

Something similar for Scotland? Suggestions please.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

America is filled with these cultural icons (what some would call tourist traps). I have always enjoyed them, and sadly, they are becoming a thing of the past.
As to Ronald Reagan's wall replica in Dixon, I like it. It's a fitting tribute to a small-town American boy who went on to help dismantle the largest totalitarian regime in the twentieth century. I know not everybody is a Reagan fan, especially abroad, and I don't suggest he was perfect, but his legacy is undeniable with respect to the fall of communism.
I salute the Bulgarian artist who made it--it is obviously a labor of love from someone who knew the realities of living in a communist system.
So, Scottish/British bloggers, do you have similar tourist sites in your fair land?

Richard Havers said...

I told a friend of mine at the BBC in Scotland about this site and I think they maybe doing something on radio next week looking for the Scottish equivalents. I'll keep you posted so you can listen on line.