An whole generation grew up with the beat novels of Jack Kerouac inspiring a love of travel and the 'dusty Americana' of the roadsides - whether or not they are seen by driving, hitchhiking, or even plain old walking. USA travellers are spoilt for selection these days if they program to follow in Kerouac's footsteps and carve out a path to see the special attractions of the American roadsides for themselves. Here are some you may possibly in no way have heard of, but which are nicely worth the journey.
Vulcan, God of the Forge
On the summit of Red Mountain, overlooking Birmingham Alabama, there stands a 56-foot tall statue of Vulcan, blacksmith of the Roman Gods. Originally designed for the 1904 World's Fair, he personified Birmingham's pride in its iron industry, weighed almost 51 tonnes, and remains the largest cast-iron statue in the globe. Those walking USA roads in Alabama will possibly be in a position to spot this pagan landmark from a long way off.
The Home of the Temple
Neo-classically majestic and menacing, the Home of the Temple in Washington D.C. looks as if it's stepped straight from the pages of a thriller novel (and indeed makes appearances in various recent Dan Brown thrillers). Modelled immediately after the Mausoleum of Maussollos, one of the seven wonders of the ancient globe, its guardian sphinx statues (named 'Wisdom' and 'Power') each weigh 17 tonnes. The Home of the Temple is the museum, library, and clubhouse of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. If you're interested in walking, USA history, and the likelihood to discover a lot more about a historically semi-secretive organisation, there is no superior place to be.
Globe War 2 Monument
If you're walking USA soil with an eye on its military history, it might be worth stopping in Savannah, Georgia, to see their Chatham County World War 2 Monument. Officially titled 'A World Apart', it characteristics two halves of a 20-foot-high globe split straight down the middle, to symbolise a globe divided by war. The globe is steel, and capabilities bronze oceans, and copper continents.
Unofficial Lego Museum
Here's 1 museum to visit to satisfy the child in all of us: originally a school built in 1930, it has considering that been adapted to develop into the house of three-and-a-half floors worth of Lego statues. It houses every little thing from images of Harry Potter and the Mona Lisa, to the undeniably awe-inspiring life-sized replica of an eighteen-wheeler truck that was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. Icons such as Darth Vader and Spider-Man can also be discovered painstakingly reconstructed from millions of Lego bricks within the museum.
0 comments:
Post a Comment