Guidebooks are annoying. Just because some editor who doesn’t know me tells me which restaurant is the best or what attraction is a must-see doesn’t make it a must-see attraction. Sightseers’ Delight is dedicated to the weird, the quirky and the fun. After all, traveling is fun.
If it’s not, you’re doing it wrong.
All of the places highlighted in this ever-growing database are great. Sightseers’ Delight has visited them all. We think you should make a point to see every one of them. But, this is not a guidebook. Just a webpage to help you plan your next adventure.
The Berlin Wall exhibit in Memorial Park was installed in 1996. It was originally part of a traveling Berlin Wall exhibit that visited the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus. The exhibit features two panels of the wall along with two tank traps. It is surrounded by informative plaques detailing the history of the Berlin Wall.
The story of Betsy Ross is one of the great American legends. As the story goes, Gen. George Washington approached Ross and asked her to make a flag. She obliged, and the rest is history. While it’s a great story, it’s most likely just a legend. Still, a visit to the Betsy Ross House is a worthy trip to learn more about Ross, a seamstress who died in 1836. The house dates to 1740 and is said to be Ross’ residence from 1776 until 1779. However, there is some debate about whether this is actually the house in which she lived.
19106
The Big Chicken, located along Cobb Parkway in southern Marietta, is a true Atlanta landmark. Motorists reference the 56-foot-tall big chicken when giving directions. Radio stations mention it when describing traffic. Airplane pilots even use it as a landmark for navigation. Today, the Big Chicken is a bit of an anomaly, something unique at a fast food restaurant. Cobb Parkway is a string of urban sprawl, one fast food joint after another. Originally built as more or less a marketing gimmick, the chicken has been embraced by locals and has remained a landmark for more than 45 years. After it was damaged by a storm in 1993, KFC debated whether to rebuild the Big Chicken. The community seemed to be in agreement: The Big Chicken was a local landmark, and it needed to remain; KFC shelled out $700,000 to rehabilitate the restaurant and return the giant bird to working order. Today’s incarnation of this local icon features a moving beak and rotating eyes.
30062
By the 1920s, apples were becoming an important crop in parts of the state, including Cornelia. Because of the crop diversification, Habersham County skirted the devastating effects of the boll weevil’s destruction of the cotton crop. In 1925, Southern Railway donated to the city a monument dedicated to the fruit that helped save their community. The seven-foot- tall, 5,200-pound apple statue was molded in Winchester, Va., and sits atop an eight-foot- tall concrete pedestal next to the train depot. The apple was dedicated on June 4, 1926, and a number of dignitaries, including U.S. Sen. Walter F. George attended the event. By the mid 1930s, the apple crop nearly spelled doom from the city, but the statue remained as a reminder of the city’s past.
30531
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park is located on the southern portion of the island of Key Biscayne and is home to Cape Florida Light, which is said to be the oldest standing structure in the Miami area, except for St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church. The lighthouse was initially built in 1825 and was reconstructed in 1846, according to Florida State Parks, which owns the structure today. In addition, the state park offers ample beach space for those who want to take a dip in the water while avoiding the city’s other busy beaches.
George Vanderbilt began building the 250-room Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, in 1889, a year after he traveled to the city on a family vacation with his mother. Roughly 1,000 people worked on the project, ranging from local laborers to internationally known artists. Indiana limestone, Italian marble and other supplies were shipped into Asheville by rail. Vanderbilt built a private railroad track from the village depot to the construction site, while an on-site kiln produced up to 32,000 bricks daily, and a woodworking factory supplied oak and walnut for the house’s floors and walls. The house was completed in 1895 and opened to the public in March 1930.
28803
The Bird Cage Theatre was a theater, saloon, gambling parlor and brothel. It operated from 1881 to 1889. Of the theatre, someone once called it “the wildest, wickedest night spot between Basin Street and the Barbary Coast.” Stepping into this said-to-be-haunted theater is like stepping into a time machine. When the establishment close in 1889, its doors were sealed until 1934. The old theater remains riddled with bullet holes. One of the more interesting artifacts is a poker table that hosted a game that allegedly lasted for more than eight years, five months and three days. Doc Holliday (the legendary dentist) and Adolphus Busch (who created some beer or something) were among the famous people who participated in the game.
85638
The Bluegrass Railroad and Museum is a railroad museum and heritage railroad located in Versailles, Kentucky. It was established in 1976 by members of the Bluegrass Railroad Club, a model railroad group, and started acquiring equipment from local railroads. The museum offers 11-mile round-trip excursions to Tyrone passing picturesque Kentucky horse farms. During the journey, the train stops at Young’s High Bridge, where passengers can disembark and marvel at the stunning views of te bridge and the Kentucky River. The railroad utilizes diesel locomotives and has an impressive collection of about 40 pieces of rolling stock.
40383
Hugh Davis built the Blue Whale of Catoosa, a waterfront structure, in the early 1970s as an anniversary gift to his wife, Zelta, a collector of whale figurines. Since then, the whale has become one of the most recognizable attractions along Route 66. The pond surrounding the whale was initially fed by a spring and intended only for family use. However, it was later a popular swimming spot for locals and passersby, though today, swimming is prohibited. The Davis family closed the landmark to the public in 1988, but it has since been restored and re-opened.
74015