Two-headed Tara is showing you the Atomic Tour map after mapping all the sites we are looking forward to seeing.
As you can see it is westy. We have a couple stops in Ohio then we’re going to spend some time in South Dakota and then figure out the best way to hit all the parks and whatnot down the coast and into the desert. After that we’re into Texas (howdy Omar!) and then onto Louisiana (hello AB!).
We’re thinking of hitting Graceland after that but then we’ve got a huge chunk of America between Memphis and New York without any post-it flags! We’re going to do some research on the best route for this leg but if you have any suggestions we’d love to hear them because the ideas posted in the original thread have been awesome — Americans know America. The only qualifier is that we’re going to bypass Washington D.C. because we’ve been there before and we’ll wait until Linda is there and settled before hitting it again.
We’re going to try to do a short podcast each night about our travels and post it on Overwhelming Positivity so we’ll keep the map point details private for now to keep it a surprise.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Tara 06.08.08 at 11:05 pm
I just want to assure the Glark.org readership that, despite appearance, I was not naked behind the map.
Kim 06.08.08 at 11:10 pm
Well, it looks like you could head northeast through Virginia, but I think you’d be better off heading due north out of Memphis and going through Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — Amish country! Not really in the Atomic tour theme, but a beautiful part of the country and you could also hit Louisville (Louisville Slugger museum!), Cinncinati (the Creation Museum), Pittsburgh (coal mines), etc.
Do you know what part of the country you’ll be in around the 4th of July? Because you should plan something SUPER AMERICAN! Like if you could be in Philadelphia or something.
Glark 06.09.08 at 12:00 am
I think we’re going to be back home or close to it by then. We might find we marked out too many places for our time (but it’s open-ended right now) but a good portion of the markers on the map are quick stops.
Kim 06.09.08 at 12:14 am
Knowing how much Tara loves Americana, I just think you will find a lot of it in the week leading up to the 4th of July. But you will find it in NYC too — probably just not as earnestly presented.
Tara 06.09.08 at 1:03 am
If we did end up in Philadelphia, we could re-enact the Stations Of The John Adams. (Everything I know about American history, I learned from HBO.)
M 06.09.08 at 1:50 am
After Memphis, take I-40 straight out through Tennessee! You could stop in Nashville, if you want, to check out stuff like the Country Music Hall of Fame (which is pretty interesting, and I’m not even a country music fan), then come out to Knoxville/the Smokies. The scenic drives through the national parks (Cades Cove, the parts outside Gatlinburg, etc.) are really beautiful, and the New York Times actually just did a pretty nice write-up of stuff to see/do in Knoxville. http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/travel/08Hours.html?8dpc# (Disclaimer - I don’t know where she came up with these stupid nicknames like “Knoxpatch” and “the couch” - I’ve sure never heard them before, and I’ve lived in this area nearly my whole life.) If you’re into Americana, you really ought to check out the Museum of Appalachia - it’s mentioned in the NYT piece, too.
I bet you’d like Asheville, NC, also. They’re known for having a cool arts community, and I’m a sucker for Biltmore Estate (fantastic gardens and mountain views, a really good vineyard, and the house is super-impressive if you’re into that sort of thing).
Glark 06.09.08 at 2:04 am
That museum is actually already on the list! :) Thanks for the link to the NYT piece — I think a stop in Knoxville is in order!
Kel Varnsen 06.09.08 at 8:08 am
If you go to Knoxville, be sure to check out the sun/wig sphere. Sorry couldn’t resist.
mtvcdm 06.09.08 at 8:57 am
For this tour, I would designate the Memphis-to-New York leg the Roadside Attraction Leg. Pigeon Forge, TN has Dollywood, which is a good start, but from there what I suggest is you keep an eye out for any billboards promising something unusual. Then follow them wherever they lead you. Sometimes you will find something awesome, sometimes you will not. But as far as America goes, it doesn’t get more Atomic Ageier than random roadside crap.
angillusion 06.09.08 at 8:58 am
Not to just pimp my own city, but the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is pretty awesome (www.childrensmuseum.org/index2.htm). Not only is it the largest Children’s Museum in the country, it’s also got an exhibit on superheroes and one on animation right now, as well as a permanent Dale Chihuly installation. And you so don’t need kids to go. I don’t have any! Plus, the Indianapolis Zoo just got koala bears (which I’m excited about) and has a beautiful underwater dolphin observatory, and a shark petting exhibit. And the IMA (www.imamuseum.org/) is also pretty nifty, and has summer movies outside, this summer featuring The Big Lebowski, among other things.
I like it here. Except the weather right now, it sucks balls.
Bunting 06.09.08 at 10:10 am
Pennsylvania-wise, I can suggest 1) the mushroom museum in Kennett Square, PA (mushroom capital of the U.S.!). Film-strip entertainment, the most monomaniacal gift shop ever, and it fits with the mushroom-cloud theme. Kennett Square is near the border of Maryland, near Oxford, ancestral home of the Buntings.
Lots to do in Philly, but I always liked the Franklin Museum, which had a giant heart you could walk through, and of course the Mutter Museum, but I think you’ve already been there.
kazoo 06.09.08 at 10:25 am
You should check out Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. It is the world’s longest cave system, plus the temperature in the cave stays in the 50s year-round. Kentucky is also home to The Louisville Slugger Museum, Maker’s Mark distillery, National Corvette Museum and Cumberland Falls, which boasts a ‘moon-bow’. In Cave City, KY you can visit the cheesy Guntown Mountain and Dinosaur World, which is not worth paying to go to, but does have awesome giant dinosaurs on the side of the road. And the 70 year old Wigwam Village Inn is in Cave City.
solaana 06.09.08 at 10:33 am
I second the Dollywood, highly highly recommend Williamsburg, Monticello, and anything along the Appalachian trail period…Asheville, NC…Harper’s Ferry is KICKASS. Please please please make a point to float down the Shenandoah River in an inner tube because it is a lot of fun, and while you’re at it, you can take fly-fishing lessons there too…West VA is pretty cool, and then hit the Eastern Shore of Maryland and eat crabs somewhere in Chesapeake Bay (if you want to be a big nerd you can head to Crisfield or any of the other places mentioned in the Dicey’s Song books) and Baltimore, as awful as it can seem in The Wire, is awesome too.
Do those count as being between Memphis and NY - Tennessee and Kentucky always get mixed up in my head.
Emily 06.09.08 at 10:45 am
If you are going to hit the East Coast, I would strongly suggest the Outer Banks (North Carolina)–you could visit the Lost Colony, several light houses, wild ponies (OMG ponies!!!1!), the Wright Brothers museum where the first flight took place, Jockey’s Ridge (where you can hanglide off of gigantic sand dunes), and miles of excellent beaches.
Also, driving over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge is cool, too.
radiana 06.09.08 at 11:01 am
How about Pittsburgh? It seems to be kind of on your route and believe it or not there are interesting things to see there. For a summer road trip I would suggest Kennywood - the best old fashioned amusement park in the country. Mmmmm……potato patch french fries with cheese sauce.
maryann 06.09.08 at 11:44 am
If you’re in the Cincinnati area, you should try to drive past Giant Zombie Jesus on I-75 about 30 miles north of Cincinnati. (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9786) It’s really, really something to see. A 62 foot tall bust of Jesus made of styrofoam and fiberglass facing the interstate.
The Creationist Museum is nearby as well. Then you can go to Rabbit Hash Kentucky (the town that elected a dog mayor, twice) http://www.rabbithashusa.com/ and hit Big Bone Lick State Park (http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/bb/). Big Bone has some fantastically graphic plastic wooly mamouths dying painful deaths, in addition to just the name factor. Between Rabbit Hash and Big Bone, you drive through Sugar Tit and then the next town between Big Bone and the interstate is called Beaver Lick.
Driving through Kentucky, you’ll have lots of opportunities to tour a bourbon distillery. Woodford Reserve in Versailles (just outside of Lexington) or Maker’s Mark (just outside of Louisville) are both good tours.
Mamoth Cave is also more or less on the way to Memphis from Cincinnati (http://www.nps.gov/maca/). And so it My Old Kentucky Home http://parks.ky.gov/findparks/recparks/mo/.
cotterpinx 06.09.08 at 3:30 pm
Here are somewhat random thought for things that might fit:
* Rock City! This is in northern GA, very close to the TN border. It looks to be about 2 hours south of Knoxville so it might be on your way. I remember visiting this when i was in 8th grade and thought it was fun for a kitchy 50s-flavor attraction. (http://www.seerockcity.com)
* In Virginia: Luray Caverns. This is a fairly impressive set of caverns, done very much in the 50s/60s style of attractions. Ex: A former cavern owner carved stalagtites into a pipe organ and used to give concerts on it… (www.luraycaverns.com)
* If you make to that area, you must definitely head on to Shenandoah National Park/Skyline Drive. Lots of Scenic Vistas to pullover and admire and very nice even if you don’t have time to stop and do anything else. If you do have some time, there are a number of relatively short hikes accessible directly from the main road. I’d recommend something like Dark Hollow Falls (short trail to falls, but steep. Beware the trip back!) Because it’s so short, it’s a very popular trail, lots of crowds. Also, i have fond memories of a Rock Scramble trail. Doesn’t go anywhere in particular though it does have a fairly scenic view at the end, but lots of fun rock climbing (no equipment required) “scramble” is a pretty good description of it.
* I’ll second the recommendation to look into the national parks pass (guess it’s called America the Beautiful Pass these days) if you’re going to hit more than one of the “biggies” like Yosemite/Yellowstone. In addition, there is a National Parks Passport thing you can do if you get into collecting. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_park_passport_stamps) Each park has at least one unique (inked) stamp. You can stamp it on any paper you like, but of course there is an official passport book you can buy. There’s a small group of folks who attempt to acquire ALL of the stamps from all the parks. That’s a bit extreme for me, but i do get a kick out collecting as many as i can. There’s even an annual convention for passport stampers. :-) (http://www.parkstamps.org/)
* Yosemite: yep, pretty much the most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen. We visited right around Labor Day — “the worst time of the year” according to nearly everyone who worked in the park. This was because at that time of year most of the falls had dried up to trickles but it was still incredible. And slightly less crowded. I also 2nd the Glacier Peak idea. If you’re up for it/have the time, you can take a bus to the peak and hike back down. Awesome! We’re not super experienced hikers so this took us something like 6 hours or so, but most of it is downhill. A great sense of accomplishment, too.
Back east —
* Johnstown Flood Museum (http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/oklahoma.html) in Johnstown, PA is surprisingly interesting for a small museum in a small western PA city. Features a documentary narrated by David McCullough. (Or just read his book about it.) There’s also an inclined plane in Johnstown, but if you’re stopping in Pittsburgh I’d go with that one instead. Great views of the 3 rivers area.
* If you’re at all interested in railroads — the Horseshoe Curve (and possibly the railroad museum in Altoona, PA) (http://www.railroadcity.com/index.php)
* Into architecture? Head over to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater (http://www.paconserve.org/index-fw1.asp)
* Another fantastic old school amusement park is Idlewild Park near Ligonier, PA. (http://www.idlewild.com/) Very relaxed feel, old school admission prices. I will admit, it may be more fun with kids. They have a huge kiddie ride area (mostly separated from the rest of the park) and the incredibly kitchy but adorable Storybook Forest. We go every summer. My 4 year old loves it, and so do i! Another major bonus — this place has been an amusement park since 1878 so it has many huge TREES and lots of SHADE. :-)
I think that’s probably enough for now! Hope this is helpful!
M 06.09.08 at 7:08 pm
Oh, one thing you’ll definitely want to be aware of, whether you stop in Knoxville or just pass through - right now, a 1-mile segment of I-40 is shut down in both directions. It’s not messing up traffic too badly at all - the locals adjusted quickly, the detours are really well-marked, and in fact, whatever directions you get from AAA or Google Maps will probably be fine as-is. But you’ll want to call your hotel the day before and just confirm that your directions will get you there. (Or feel free to email me, if you’d rather - I’ll send you my contact info just in case. Detour planning is such a hassle.)
Seriously, if you really do come to Knoxville, I can’t recommend Tomato Head highly enough for lunch or dinner. Everything I’ve had there is great!
maryann 06.09.08 at 11:14 pm
I almost forgot the Beringer-Crawford Museum in my list of Cincinnati-area sites. http://www.bcmuseum.org/bcmuseum/default.aspx It’s quite a place, and I believe they still have the biological oddities in addition to all the fancy new historical displays…
twirlpenguin 06.09.08 at 11:29 pm
Are y’all already going to see the St. Louis Arch? (I couldn’t tell from the mappy) If you are headed that way, you should probably check out the awful spectacle of Branson, Missouri . There are gospel shows and Dolly Parton shows and Andy Griffith and all sorts of Americana for the young Christian family and the geriatric set. It’s mesmerizing in its insanity.
anotherkate 06.10.08 at 1:04 am
If you go to Baltimore, go to the American Visionary Art Museum
http://www.avam.org/
It’s a museum for self taught/non-traditional artists. I’m pretty sure part of their current exhibit is unpublished Post Secret postcards, and their permanent collection is cool too. Plus their cafe does some pretty awesome guacamole, which they make at your table.
giddygirlie 06.10.08 at 2:47 am
I can’t tell from the picture where you’re planning to go in California, but someone suggested taking Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) which is really gorgeous and a nice, leisurely drive. If you’re coming through the desert in Calif, there are some neat things to see (like between SoCal and Vegas is the ,a href=”http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2893″>World’s Biggest Thermometer and Alien Fresh Jerky) and even in places you wouldn’t expect, like Los Angeles. A good guide for LA would be some of Charles Phoenix’s tours - just pick and choose something awesome. I recommend the Bob Baker Marionettes and Clifton’s Cafeteria.
Central coast California, Pismo Beach has Monarch Butterfly groves and a GIANT clam shell and you can ride ATVs on the beach, which is awesome. Further north is Hearst Castle which is cool for gawking and in that area, you can watch the sea otters in the waves right from the beach.
I also second the suggestion for Shady Dell in Arizona, where you can sleep in an airstream or in a docked boat (and I just got confirmation that YES they have air conditioners).
Glark 06.10.08 at 10:29 am
I promised The Wire I’d never go to Baltimore :)
Kay 06.10.08 at 7:06 pm
Maybe this book?:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1596913789/boingboing0e-20
Looks perfect for your trip.
Too bad they blew up the cooling tower out at the Trojan plant outside of Portland. There is a very nice park there, and it was quite interesting to picnic in the shadow of the tower.
Glark 06.10.08 at 9:35 pm
Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions! We’ve added a few things to the tail end of the tour even though we are not 100% sure what route we are taking home. Options — we got ‘em.
We’re leaving tomorrow (Wednesday) for a half-day of travel which should get us out of the immediate area and near Pittsburgh or so.
I’ll update the blog of course and we are going to try to do a (probably small and roughly produced) podcast each night we have net access along the way and those will go up on Overwhelming Positivity.
Woooooooo! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
kab 06.10.08 at 9:56 pm
Awesome! Can’t believe how excited I’m getting about this trip, and I’m only going to be reading about (and listening to) it! So cool.
Safe travels, bon voyage, and all that good stuff, you two.
MilaXXX 06.18.08 at 2:58 pm
I’m late to the part, but here’s another vote for the come to Philly train. You need to see the Mutter musuem. Where else can you see the big colon?
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2207