Road side attractions>>>> EXIT NOW!

You can't go on a good road trip without stopping at a few road side attractions. They add color to your story with their unusualness. Can I recall all of the arts and craft shops that I walked through in Gattlinburg, TN while vacationing in the Smokies? No. But I do clearly remember the ridiculous woodcarving shop. We're talking about the kind of stuff that is typically mostly large logs caved with a chainsaw and painted to look like black bears or eagles etc. Or walking sticks with small carvings of old bearded men. These places get to be as frequent as gas stations. But once I stopped at a very unusual woodcarving shop in Townsend, TN. What was so different that I had to stop? How about a wood carving about the length of a car of a blonde biker chick - big boobs, a thong, the "ho" works - riding a hog. No. not a motorcycle, a real hog that had  wheels attached to the front and back feet. There was also black bears but instead of the typical poses like standing or climbing a tree, one was sitting on a toilet next to a bear using a urinal. WTF! Inside I found other oddities like busty mermaids, a winged pig, and more busty women. My theory is that the artist is a lonely mountain man with a subscription to Maxium Magazine and he is grossly overestimating the market for poorly carved busty women statuettes.

 

See, i cant make this stuff up. and if you look in the background you can see the bear using a urinal.

Now, I already have some stops planned like art museums, friends, and site seeing. But here are a few that I'm really looking forward to:

Ikea 

Atlantic Station

441 16th Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30363

(404) 745-4532

ikea-usa.com/atlanta

Heck yeah! My first Ikea experience. It's going to be epic. I have all sorts of things marked in my catalog at home for the house and the studio. The key will be to not fill up the car so early in the road trip.  

Cheap Joes Art Store

Open 10 - 7 Mon.-Sat.
Phone: 704 - 333 - CJAS (2527)
4420 Monroe Road, Charlotte, NC 28205

I love their online catalog and order supplies from there all the time. I hope to find all kinds of deals while I'm there and stock up. 

Buffalo Trace Distillery 

located in Frankfort, Kentucky just off I-64 at:
113 Great Buffalo Trace
Franklin County,
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

Trace Tour Hours
Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. departing every hour
Saturday: 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. departing every hour

Buffalo Trace is a favorite bourbon whiskey of mine. And this distillery make all three of my favorite brands - Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare - a 10yr old single barrel bourbon whiskey, and Sazerac Rye Whiskey. Yum. They better have tastings as part of the tour and the gift shop better have awesome deals on the whiskey. I want to get a special glass for drinking whiskey too. 

I prefer mine straight over ice. Not a shot or mixed drink. Just something to sip. I dont recall exactly how i ended up drinking whiskey. The choice may have been influenced by watching Deadwood episodes. I think I just decided that the times called for something STRONG and HARD, and whiskey seemed like a pretty hard-ass drink. Also, it went well with cigars and gave you a nice warm sensation, but i found that out later. Anyway, now I just enjoy the taste and have tried quite a few brands. I'm sorta a whiskey connoisseur now.