TOP TEN FAVORITE ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS!

Ok, I have a confession… I’m a complete sucker for any photo opp. I LOVE visiting every single roadside attraction, and I’m totally proud of it. Why? As Albert Einstein said, one picture is worth a thousand words. So, I guess I have a lot of words or I can just call them memories. Are you a fan of roadside attractions?

So, how do we find these road trip stops? One day while planning, I came across Roadtrippers. When I found this website, I finally felt like the trip I was planning came together. It allowed me to see a visual of where I was going, and it recommended places close to our route to stop. I also use Roadside America. Roadside America has a full list of roadside attractions in each state.

Throughout our travels around the United States, we have visited many roadside attractions. I am going to list our top ten favorites throughout this post!

10. Lombard Street (San Francisco, CA) – Lombard Street is the crookedest street in the world. It is a blast to drive or walk down and offers amazing views. But, don’t try to walk up – it’s steep! I have visited this street multiple times throughout the years, but we visited most recently during my Dad’s 60th birthday celebration!

9. Pinkie the Pink Elephant (DeForest, WI) – Pinkie is a large pink elephant with glasses. In the 1970’s, this elephant was a landmark for the ARCO gas stations, and this statue is the only one left. The girls, my Dad, and I were thrilled to visit Pinkie on our summer road trip this past year.

8. Peachoid (Gaffney, SC) – This landmark is a water tower that resembles a peach! We visited this sight on a quick overnight road trip to Greenville, SC with friends. It is also mentioned in the Netflix series, House of Cards.

7. Love Statue (Philadelphia, PA) – This sculpture was created in 1976 by Robert Indiana, and it is located in John F. Kennedy Plaza, which is better known as LOVE park. The first picture of the statue was taken the day after our wedding (June 2009) while we were walking around Philly. And, the second picture is of Emma about five years later while I was walking around the city with her!

6. Welcome to Las Vegas sign (Las Vegas, NV) – The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was erected in 1959, and it is always a must stop sight when in Vegas. My sister and I took this picture in November 2013 during our Thanksgiving trip. Fun fact – I was pregnant with Olivia.

5. Hershey’s Chocolate World (Hershey, PA) – Hershey, PA is the best smelling city ever. Why?? Well, you can smell chocolate throughout the town! Gregg and I both grew up close to Hershey, and we make sure to visit anytime we are driving through the area. There is a fun, free ride inside the building that goes through the chocolate making process, and you even get a free piece of chocolate on the way out!

4. A Christmas Story House (Cleveland, OH) – I’m not sure about your family, but we watch A Christmas Story every Christmas Eve. It is probably my father-in-law’s favorite movie, and this year, my kids even watched some of it. While in Cleveland during our summer road trip, we decided to check out this attraction. It was used for exterior and some interior shots for the 1983 film. In 2004, a fan (Brian Jones) of the movie purchased the home on eBay for $150,000 and restored it to its prior glory. Our favorite part of this attraction was seeing the leg lamp.

3. World’s Largest Chest of Drawers (High Point, NC) – High Point, NC (about 30 minutes from us) is known as the furniture capital of the world. It is also has some of the world’s largest furniture so the girls and I recently ventured to check it out. We all fell in love with this sight, especially the socks!

2. Leaning Tower of Niles (Niles, IN) –  About 20 miles north of Chicago, in Niles, Illinois, there is a replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This tower was built in 1934 by a businessman named Bob Ilg to honor Galileo. It is now on the property of a YMCA, which is named Leaning Tower YMCA. I think it would be pretty neat to go to the Y each day to workout and see this replica. It is definitely worth the stop!

1. Lucy the Elephant (Margate City, NJ) – Lucy was built in 1882 out of tin and wood by James V. Lafferty. The world’s largest elephant lives in Margate, NJ. Throughout her time, she has served as a restaurant, home, and tavern. I grew up going to Margate every summer, and Lucy was my favorite place to go. Visiting my summer home does not feel right without a trip to Lucy, and the view of the ocean is just gorgeous from the top.

It was so hard to pick just ten! We cannot wait to explore more exciting roadside attractions! What is your favorite roadside attraction? Thank you for wandering along with us!