10. Moulton, Alabama
Celebrating all things POULTRY! Really? That is exactly what happens at the Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival. It is an interactive agricultural experience offering old-fashioned fun, food vendors that feature chicken entrees prepared in a variety of way. There is live entertainment by popular regional bands and local favorites. The ninth annual event is scheduled for April 12-14, 2013. Highlights include a chicken clucking contest, an egg toss competition, a chicken wings and hard boiled egg eating contest, egg roulette competition, Motorcycle Chicken Run, and Little Chick Pageant, a preliminary to the Little Miss Alabama pageant. More information click here.
9. Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Standing proudly before the Great Smoky Mountains is the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers open every day from 10 am to 4 pm. For $3 (kids under 12 are free) you can peruse the 20,000 shakers from around the world. The displays feature shakers in all shapes and sizes from telephones, a rabbit and a piano to a pair of pandas. Gatlinburg also offers shopping, hiking, horseback riding and ziplining (my personal favorite). And because Gatlinburg is located near the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, there are great lodging options like hotels, motels, quaint bed & breakfast establishments and beautiful, rustic cabins. Now through February 28 the city is in the midst of its Winter Magic, where thousands of colorful LED lights are illuminated every evening it is a fantastic sight.
8. Bismarck, North Dakota
Hop off Interstate 94 at exit 72 (the Gladstone exit) and before you stretches 32 miles of the Enchanted Highway featuring folk art figures, ranging in height from 35 feet to 70 feet tall. The drive will lead you to the Enchanted Castle, a newly transformed 1960s-era schoolhouse that boasts a castle and royal theme. Stopping along the way to snap pix with the figures makes this a great afternoon adventure. You and your family can lodge at the Enchanted Castle or at hotels in the nearby cities of Bismarck and Dickenson. While in Bismarck keep driving northwest to Theodore Roosevelt National Park (the only national park named after a U.S. President).
7. Independence, Missouri
Independence is the home of Leila’s Hair Museum. Leila believes she is the only hair museum in the nation and possibly the world. Boasting over 500 hair shadow boxed hair “wreaths”, more than 2,500 pieces of hair art or jewelry (think buttons, brooches, earrings, rings, necklaces, watch fobs, etc.) and framed hair of famous celebrities like John Lennon, George Washington, Elvis, JFK, Marilyn Monroe and more, this is wacky list topper.
