Help me help me

[Eireann]

I really like the direction this thread is taking. Okay, how about the offbeat? We're already discussing ghosty tourism, so what about other strange and unusual places to visit?

Also, if anyone works in a haunted restaurant/hotel/etc., please feel free to mention it. I know someone here works in a haunted hotel; I just don't remember who it is. This doesn't necessarily mean I'll stay in the hotel or eat in the restaurant, or what have you, but I can always pay it a visit.

[BookstoreEscapee]

You mean you didn't before? I feel vaguely insulted!

I visited Jester once...neither one of us knew it at the time, though

(It was years before I found this place, but in another thread a while back it was confirmed that he was there at the time. So who knows, maybe I saw him..!)

[Jester]

The Landmark Luxury Hotel I used to work at in Key West is very haunted....PM me and I'll give you more details.

As for offbeat, I already mentioned the Corn Palace is SD and the Maze in Rapid City, SD....I think I may have mentioned Taliesin West in Scottsdale, AZ (Frank Lloyd Wright's former winter retreat), as well as the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix.....Provincetown in Cape Cod is very offbeat, in so many ways, as is Key West, and New Orleans.....I am sure there are other offbeat places I've been, but either I'm not very awake or I don't quite know what you're angling for here.

[Solumina]

Offbeat is kind of a general idea, what are you really looking for?

[Eireann]

I'm looking for the things that aren't the usual tourist attractions. One important thing is, I'm going to stay away from the places that attract people with children. I don't have children myself, so there's no point. I will make exceptions for certain places, such as Disneyland, but overall, I want the off-the-beaten-track kind of stuff. Panning for gold; prospecting for gems; antique train journeys; murder-mystery evenings; Mardi Gras-type shindigs; ghost towns; places where unsolved disappearances have occurred; houses like Lizzie Borden's; remote and beautiful towns.

[Treasure]

Austin TX - Live music capital of the World (or so we claim)
We have 3 walking haunted tours, http://www.austinghosttours.com/and lots of odd history - like that swat depts of the police were started b/c of the madman at the top of the UT Tower....
we have a lot of "Off Beat" type stuff - the cathedral of junk for example,

i dunno what all to offer, b/c i haven't explored my hometown that much, I do know we have Stubbs BBQ - where Janis Joplin played, and you can see a number of celebrities randomly, we have a bronze statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn, the South Congress Bridge Bat Colony,(summer) but if you don't like crowds avoid Austin during March - esp the week that St. Pat's falls during - we have like 8 things going on its madness!!!

[bookworm]

Guthrie, Oklahoma has 3 or 4 hotels that do the murder/mystery weekend deal. I can find you some links if you're interested. I've never been, we got one for our boss several years ago, but they never bothered to use it (hate when they do that).

Prospecting - Arkansas has a number of places where you can dig for gems, crystals, etc. Also, the Salt Plains in Oklahoma is the only place in the world you can dig for Selenite crystal. (At least according to my husband, the website I found doesn't mention that part). If I remember correctly, pioneers used this crystal to make "glass" out of. You can split it into fairly thin sheets to fill in a window.

[Eireann]

And food. Favorite restaurants, cafes, truck stops - I have to eat along the way - plus great lodging tips.

[bookworm]

And food. Favorite restaurants, cafes, truck stops

Ever watched that Food Network show Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives? (I have a small crush on Guy ) I've thought about taking a road trip and hitting some of the places he's featured on that show. Just seems like a fun and delicious reason to travel.

[Jester]

I may have already mentioned some of these already, but here goes:

Tombstone, AZ. Home of the "Gunfight at the OK Corral," which of course didn't occur AT the OK Corral, but in the vacant lot BEHIND it.

Pike Place Market, Seattle. Yes, tons of tourists. There's a reason.

Stinkin' Rose, San Francisco. It's a garlic restaurant. 'Nuff said.

Numerous restaurants in Chinatown, San Francisco.

The Magic Castle, Hollywood. (But you have to somehow get invited by a member, as it's a private club.)

My problem is a lot of offbeat places that I might suggest are bars or distillieries or breweries, and you don't drink.

The Airplane Graveyard near Tucson, AZ.

Sleepy Hollow, New York. Yes, THAT Sleepy Hollow. Where Washington Irving wrote that creepy story. It used to simply be North Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow was the cemetery, but apparently in 1996 residents voted to change the name. Spooky residents, it sounds like.

Salem, Massachusetts. I should not have to explain this one at all.

Georgetown, D.C. If you're a fan of classic horror movies, find the stairs that were featured prominently in "The Exorcist." Standing at the top of them is a real trip if you're a fan of that movie. I speak from experience.

Blacks Beach, San Diego. Possibly the best-known and most prominent legally clothing optional beach in the U.S.

[Exaspera]

Roadfood is a great book. They also appear on NPR.

I can't get the link to work, but Google Weird U.S. It's a great book that focuses on out of the way sites.

Salem, MA has gotten very commercial, unfortunately. A lot of New Age stuff had moved in when I went 2 years ago.

[Eireann]

I have been to Tombstone already, and the O.K. Corral, but I do plan to return. I also like interesting museums (not sports-related, though). I like the idea of riding along at least part of the old Route 66.

Pike Place Market; been there, will return.

The Exorcist steps: Great idea!

I'll look up Weird U.S. I already have a book called Weird Europe - and it certainly lives up to its name!

Keep 'em comin', folks.

[Eireann]

Oh, and though this is in Europe, not the States, I want to get involved, sometime, in the tomato-throwing festival in Spain, and the Running of the Nudes in Pamplona.

[Solumina]

If you go to DC there is a lot of great stuff to do right there but you really owe it to yourself to spend at least a day in Baltimore (though you don't need to step outside the Inner Harbor cuz that is where about 90% of the cool stuff to do is and the other 10% should really only be seen if you have a local to aid you). The aquarium alone is worth the trip as are the blue crabs but it is really just a super quirky city with loads of oddball things to do. Just wouldn't want to stay there because either you would pay an arm and a leg for a hotel in a good place or you wouldn't be anywhere near anything good.

As for DC itself there are plenty of non-touristy things for visitors to do. Most of the federal buildings are open for touring, personally I like the Library of Congress the best and the crowds there are way smaller than what you find at the Capitol or White House (which isn't even worth touring anymore because they let you see so little of it). The Spy Museum is a bit out of the way and isn't free but that doesn't matter because the thing is awesome. I'm also a big fan of going to the various art galleries because they are usually pretty empty, especially some of the smaller ones (that is small in relation to what is around them as most are really quite extensive). To be perfectly fair all of the museums in DC are worth visiting but you have to pick and choose unless you plan to be there for a month because there are just so many of them.

If you're in that general area then I'd also recommend a trip to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. It's very haunted, very old, very picturesque, and very quirky. They don't get a lot of real tourists, most of their visitors are people from the surrounding areas who are there for a day/afternoon. It is along the Potomac River, right near the Va/Wv border and it is just so quaint and awesome, one of those places that words can't really do justice because it is so very much more than the sum of its parts. Also there is a haunted house where you can learn about paranormal investigating and you can even stay overnight, which is something that I have wanted to go and do ever since I found out the place exists, I believe it is called the Haunted Cottage, or something like that.

[Magpie]

My problem is a lot of offbeat places that I might suggest are bars or distillieries or breweries, and you don't drink.

Non-drinkers like breweries too! They have all sorts of cool vats, and piping and industrial-scale chemical processes and... I'm geeking out here, aren't I?