Vacation Collection: World's Largest Things

Some people collect souvenir shot glasses from their travels, or tribal masks, or maybe refrigerator magnets. Our friend Rachel's vacation collection consists of photos of her and her travel companions posing with the World's Largest Things. If you've ever been on a road trip, you've probably come across the World's Largest Something-or-Other along the way: the World's Largest Taxidermied Jackalope, perhaps, or the World's Largest Statue of Paul Bunyan. Well, Rachel seeks out these landmarks on her travels, and for Escapes month we thought we'd share a bit of her collection with you...

Rachel has stood beneath the imposing bulk of the World's Largest Hammer. She's shared an intimate moment with Chatty Belle, the World's Largest Talking Cow, and contemplated the grandeur of the World's Largest Cheese (okay, so it was a replica, but still—pretty grand). Perhaps her greatest discovery was a fellow collector, Erika Nelson, the curator of the World's Largest Collection of the World's Smallest Versions of the World's Largest Things. Erika has transformed a bus into a traveling roadside attraction and museum (see the last photo above), which tours the country, displaying her collection to the public.

What's been fun about watching Rachel's quest over the years is how it has taken her off the beaten path. She's visited all 50 states and seen more of this country, I would guess, than most of its citizens have.

Tell us the stories of your road-tripping adventures! What are your favorite memories of roadside attractions?

(Images: Rachel Oppenheim)

Comments (8)

love the giant artichoke in castroville! the deep fried artichoke hearts are amazing. yuuuum. :) it would be nice to know where these other pics are from, though.

posted by travelingrory on July 22nd 2009 at 1:06pm
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It makes any roadtrip more fun! On our way to Cincinnati last month my aunt & I visited the largest horseshoe crab in Ohio!

posted by belgiumifye on July 22nd 2009 at 1:06pm
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Alberta has some of the strangest "world's largest" attractions.
We have the world's largest pyrohy on a fork, malard duck, sausage, mushroom, cowboy boot, Ukrainian easter egg... the list goes on.

It's great to take a road trip in search of these attractions! So many strange things to see!

posted by revolution9 on July 22nd 2009 at 1:46pm
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revolution9 - I am so glad you pointed out the odd and amusing attractions we have here in Alberta. I have not seen that many of them yet, but I do plan to take a road trip someday where my sole purpose will be to see and photograph as many as I can!

http://www.swankydigs.blogspot.com/

posted by Tara77 on July 22nd 2009 at 3:12pm
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There's the world's largest basket in Ohio near Columbus!

posted by lolax on July 22nd 2009 at 4:16pm
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My gosh... my grandparents live just around the corner from that giant potato in Blackfoot, Idaho! Lemme tell you, when I visit them in August, I probably won't be touring the potato museum (again).

posted by shockthebourgeois on July 22nd 2009 at 5:30pm
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Roadside America is a terrific planning source for any road trip, long or short. One favorite is Car Henge.

posted by dianalily on July 22nd 2009 at 6:14pm
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I laughed when I saw the sumaid raisin box. It's located in the small town of Kingsburg, CA where I'm from. Happy travels.

posted by ADodson on July 22nd 2009 at 8:29pm
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