A short trip was taken to Georgia’s second largest city. Not impressed, but unwilling to write it off completely. It paled in comparison to New Orleans, my home for 7 years. But two really good meals held out the hope that future visits will be more promising.
Assorted pictures from the trip… a huge dog, a welcoming church, The Scottish Rite Temple at Madison Square, and a detail shot at the Gryphon Tea Room.
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Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum Panorama
Originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.
After all this time of thinking about tiny-car goodness in nearby Madison, GA, all 6 rechargable batteries that I took on my roadtrip were pretty much dead. So when we got to the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum that meant fewer pictures than hoped for.
But it also meant I actually looked at all the candy-colored motorized treats. Bruce Weiner, former owner of Double Bubble Bubblegum (seriously!), is spending much money on a larger and still growing collection of microcars. Much in the same way that a puppy is cuter than a grown dog, these miniaturized-but-roadworthy cars are seriously charming. Retro fantastic and beautifully restored, this museum is a worthwhile and cheap roadtrip from Atlanta.
Little did I know when we moved to Atlanta that we would be moving to a state chock full of strange museums, roadside attractions and other cultural eccentricities. Just my kind of state!
Spending many hours (ask my wife) I have accumulated hundreds of places on Google Earth that meet the criteria to make them worth a future visit.
Some we hit during our Summer Roadtrip (pictures), like the RV/MH Heritage Foundation with its huge collection of historic travel trailers, Carhenge, and the historic Blue Swallow Motel on Rt. 66, amongst other places. If it weren’t for Google Earth and my compulsive collecting, I don’t think we would have known about or thought of visiting these places.
While amassing the growing collection of Google Earth sites, I was pleased to see a large collection of places in Georgia or in nearby states.
Already we made the trek to the Georgia Guidestones in Elberton, GA. This week, it may be a trip to The Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, GA. Eventually, we hope to go to the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum, Leslie, GA.
Just unveiled this evening on FlickrBlog is a newly added geotagged photos on a map feature. I found it while editing some pictures, and it is great! I like the intuitive interface — it is very easy to add my pictures to the map. I don’t like the map itself; it’s modeled on Google Map but just not as slick and the imagery doesn’t have the resolution that Google has. So, I now have started adding roadtrip pictures to my map. I am curious to see if Google Earth/Google Map has a project that is similar, because I’d love that.
And in a triumph, I have even converted my wife to the pursuit of weirdness. I came home to have her tell me that she recorded a local PBS show about Joni Mabe and Everything Elvis. Now if I can get her to break into abandoned buildings and let me fly this thing…
… I don’t know what else I could ask for.
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Anyone who wants my collection of Google Earth sites (in .kml format), just leave a comment.
More pictures -> August 2006 Roadtrip
Additional Georgia Guidestone pictures on Amber Rhea’s Gallery
Tony Quinonez as Tom Cruise , photo copyright 2004 Les Freres Corbusier, Ltd.
My post-musical-theater-work surfing has me finding a strange assortment of musicals. I would go see A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant if it were to show in town! Les Freres Corbusier produced this children’s show to some pretty great reviews and the soundtrack will certainly be appearing on my christmas list. A trip to the label that is selling the cast recording also offers a discounted bundle of “A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant” and with the musical Debbie Does Dallas.
Please, please, please, someone in Atlanta do these shows. And hire me to do… something.
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Previous web surfing had me checking out some strangeness in the form of circus freaks. Ironic Sans posted an article titled Freaks stay at Marriott? which provided a link to the Johnny Ecks Musuem. Dedicated to the man, who when not being a circus attraction, drove around Phili in a specialized car, photographed friends and his loving family, and maintained a small fleet of rideable scale trains.
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Also recently found, the American Dime Museum. Based in Baltimore, this museum is the last remaining of its kind; a celebration of people’s desire to see the odd and freakish in a place where the items may not be all that they seem. Many of the exhibits in old dime museums were just fabricated oddities to attract people that would otherwise not put down the 10 cent admission. Based on differing reports, due to funding issues it may or may not be open.
I don’t know if this will be a place visited on the summer roadtrip, but it’s another reason besides John Waters that makes us want to go to Baltimore.
Neon Poisoning 