Passions and hobbies come in all shapes and sizes, including toilet seats. Barney Smith decorated and customized toilet seats for over 50 years, passing away at 98 years old in 2019. His life’s work is currently on display at the Truck Yard beer garden in Houston, Texas, carefully relocated from his garage in San Antonio, Texas.
There are unique living spaces, and then there’s Bruce Campbell’s humble abode. Nestled deep within the expansive forests of Hillsboro, Oregon, resting atop the nettled-strewn ground, sits a massive airliner. No, it’s not just the hollowed-out hull of some twisted fuselage from a bygone crash landing. This airplane is supposed to be there. Well, maybe not supposed to be there, but its presence in the woods is definitely by design.
The city of Amarillo sits squarely in the wide, open spaces of the Texas panhandle. Aptly known as the “Yellow Rose of Texas,” Amarillo boasts plenty of cattle ranches, beautiful scenery, and world-famous museums. One of its lesser-known attractions, however, has long drawn attention from locals and tourists alike. Although christened the “Dynamite Museum,” the project isn’t a museum at all; instead, it’s a vast urban art installation of nearly three thousand distinct road signs.
Life moves at a frenetic pace. It often feels impossible to hit pause on the obligations and distractions that come with modern life. One 92-acre village in the heart of Indiana is just the place to change all that. With its authentic Amish food, hospitality, and culture, Gasthof Amish Village is the perfect place for a weekend getaway to recharge and refresh.
Florida has a long and storied association with aquatic life. It is, after all, one of the few U.S. states almost entirely surrounded by water. For decades, people have flocked to Florida’s shores looking for magic in one form or another. And many of them have their sights set on something greater than your average aquarium. For those visitors, there’s Weeki Wachee—a throwback resort featuring, among other things, performing mermaids.
Big Major Cay is one of the many uninhabited islands within The Bahamas. Uninhabited by people, that is. The locals, roughly 20 pigs and piglets, populate the area’s plentiful beaches and routinely cool off by swimming in the turquoise waters. Sounds adorable, right? Well, best of all, they love visitors.
In Cincinnati’s Hyde Park neighborhood lies a building that looks like it came right out of a children’s storybook. This is Ohio’s very own Mushroom House, also known as the TreeHouse.
As sanctions continue to lessen and physical distancing rules are easing across the globe, many people are eager to get back to some semblance of routine. The fact remains that a post-COVID-19 world will not look the same no matter how quickly we return. And in no aspect of social life is that harsh reality felt greater than in the hospitality industry. However, one “restaurant” in Sweden is taking a unique approach to dining—an approach that may well become the new normal.
Russian architecture is a sight to behold, no matter the context. However, if you happen to find yourself along the banks of the Volga River in the proud republic of Tatarstan, you’ll be sure to notice an imposing and colorful building, festooned with balustrades and steeples, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. And that’s as it should be. Because, quite simply, there is no building in the world like the Universal Temple.
Off the beaten path in a dusty town 25 miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico, lies a roadside attraction that is as enchanting and wondrous as it is perplexing. Tinkertown Museum is a one-of-a-kind destination for all things whimsical—and its mythic appeal to locals and far-flung travelers for over 40 years might be what keeps it going.
