Tag Archives: weird shop owners
The Not-So-Healthy Benefits of Walking
Live longer, feel better and perhaps even keep your original knees and hips…blah, blah, blah. We’ve all heard the healthy reasons we should get off our rumps and out in the world.In case your joints aren’t that important to you, here are some not-so-healthy rewards that might inspire you to take that first step.The GypsyNesters are glad to share some of the reasons that walking is such a substantial part our lives (in the ever popular… CONTINUE READING >>
Our Quaint Bohemian Village
Klatovy, Czech Republic, a quaint Bohemian village, was just what we were looking for after the hustle and bustle of Prague. We found a rare Baroque Pharmacy (with leeches!), ate fried pork neck, saw a weirdly adult looking “baby Jesus” and were introduced to Sgraffiti, an amazing way of decorating buildings… CONTINUE READING >>
‘Hog Wild in Punxsutawney
Are they crazy about groundhogs in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania? You betcha. The place is lousy with them.Groundhogs adorn homes and businesses like the Baby Jesus does at Christmastime in most other places. We landed in the “Weather Capital of the World” in mid-December and found the good people of “Punxy” also know how to inflate a holiday decoration — and park it next to a giant fiberglass woodchuck. Not counting groundhogs (real, wooden, fiberglass, bronze, or welded metal) the town of… CONTINUE READING >>
Easy to be Hard
While we are firm believers in a “take it easy” philosophy, we have never been standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona before. Call us wacky, we were pretty stoked about it.
The town of Winslow is pretty stoked, as well.
They built a little monument to the lyric, complete with a mural of a girl, my lord, in a flatbed Ford slowing down to take a look at the statue named “Standing On The Corner.” It’s painted as if it is a reflection in a plate glass window and really works. The mood is captured.
Cool as it was to climb inside an Eagles song, we… CONTINUE READING >>
In Dry Heat
There seemed to be a crossroads to our Arizona fun, Tucson. We kept passing through on our way from one place to another, so we decided to stop and check it out.We started our excursion at the Garden of Gethsemane. This odd collection is the work of Felix Lucero and some divine inspiration. Wounded in World War I, Felix thought he was dying and he called on The Virgin Mary to make a deal. If she would save his life, he would dedicate it to creating Christian art. Mary held up her end and so did Mr. Lucero.
Times were… CONTINUE READING >>
What Do You Want on Your Tombstone?
We hitched our wagon in Tombstone, Arizona and had a rip-roaring time! A reenactment of the Gunfight at OK Corral, a historama narrated by Vincent Price (sounds like the “Thriller” Video!), Boothill Cemetery (No Les, No More ) and a night of music and authentic frontier gibberish at Big Nose Kate’s Saloon… CONTINUE READING >>
Vincent Price Narrates Tombstone’s Historama
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The best attraction ever in the history of the Wild West, Tombstone’s Historama. A technological marvel appeared before our eyes. Scenes from… CONTINUE READING >>
Close Encounter of the New Mexican Kind
Alien City, The UFO Capital of the World, Home of the Annual UFO Festival. This is NOT the kind of place that The GypsyNesters can just pass by. Oh no, we had to stop and investigate.The first stop of any trip to Roswell has got to be The International UFO Museum and Research Center on Main Street in the middle of town. Since opening in 1992 the museum has outgrown two locations and has plans to expand yet again.
Before the center came to town, little was known about “The Incident.” As their website proudly proclaims… CONTINUE READING >>
I Love LA
“I love LA” certainly has a better ring to it than “I love El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de la Porciúncula.” Maybe that’s why the name has been shortened over the years to the point that now it’s just two letters. This gives Los Angeles… CONTINUE READING >>Keep Portland Weird
P-Town, Bridgetown, Little Beirut, Stumptown, Rip City, The City of Roses, Beervana or Beertown, what is this all about? Let’s see… it starts with the letter P, has a lot of bridges, protested the visits of the first President Bush so much that his staff compared it to Beirut, grew so fast that the cleared trees left stumps everywhere, had a play-by-play announcer named Bill Schonely who used odd phrases, has a lot of roses and a ton of micro breweries… must be Portland, Oregon.So with all of these informal handles, how did the official name come about? How about a flip of a… CONTINUE READING >>
Which Witch is Which? A True Salem Story
Salem, Massachusetts and witches are nearly synonymous but, in reality, it is highly doubtful there was any broom-flying, cauldron stirring, pointy hat wearing witchcraft actually going on back in 1692.
It seems a few young girls began to act strangely in what was one of America’s busiest port cities and a hotbed of religious fundamentalism. Whether they were sick, drugged by fungus tainted grain or just looking for attention — we’ll never know. The convulsions they suffered could only be caused by witchcraft according to the Puritan minds of the late seventeenth century. Time to round up some of the usual suspects.
On March 1st, a beggar woman, a slave girl and a lady who dared not to regularly attend church services were… CONTINUE READING >>
The Fiberglass Menagerie
Nothing lifts the spirits of a weary traveler quite like the sight of a fiberglass colossus looming in the distance. Through the shimmering heat off the blacktop a form begins to take shape. A skyscraping Abe Lincoln, a Paul Bunyan the size of a small office building, a life-sized brontosaurus or a fish that could swallow an airliner — all have great power to inspire, or at least attract attention… CONTINUE READING >>Major in Mustard at Poupon U
Having just seen the movie “Sling Blade” on video with its classic line “Mustard’s good on ‘em to me” we simply could not resist a trip to Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin and its world famous Mustard Museum. Much to our delight, what we discovered was a confluence of cheesy tourist diversions. A veritable treasure trove of camp with metal monsters, trolls, the great outdoors and of course, mustard.
Before we even made it into town we… CONTINUE READING >>
Rockin’ and Rollin’ Down Route 66
It is the Mother of all Roads. The escape route from the dust bowl. It is the 1950s American Dream come true. Inspiration for songs and shows. It is legend. It is Route 66. She served as America’s Main Street from 1926 until 1985, then was sadly… CONTINUE READING >>
Sign Language – I Love NY
This sign was found outside a posh shop in Manhattan. Not exactly something you would see in say, Sheboygan.
The best part?… CONTINUE READING >>
Traveling Low To The Ground
Traveling low to the ground is our style of getting around. We’re not big on throwing money into all inclusive resorts, hate being told what to do and enjoy meeting the “real people” at our chosen destinations. It’s all about discovering things for ourselves and jumping into the culture at hand. No set plans.
We love to be afoot, seeing everything from ground level. You’d be surprised at how much you miss whizzing by at 60 miles an hour (though we have found that the best way to find out about a place is from a good taxi driver–the true ambassadors of the world–and the snarkier they are the more we love ‘em!). Street food”>, weird shop owners and cheesy tourist… CONTINUE READING >>
