Culpepper & Co in West Palm Beach, Florida People often ask how I find so many quirky, offbeat, and overlooked places to explore on road trips. The answer is pretty simple: I do a lot of research in advance, but I also keep my eyes open. Planned Spontaneity I call it “planned spontaneity.” And yes, that sounds like an oxymoron. But all it really means is that even though I spend hours researching and planning road trips, I’m not rigid about it. Fun Nautical Themed Shop At home I’m “Planny Plannerton,” but once I’m out the door, all bets are…
Tag: quirky
Quirky Surprise in Fort Worth When I tell people that Fort Worth is home to a life size wax sculpture replica of Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper,” the response is usually, “Huh?” followed by a puzzled laugh. After all, that’s hardly what we expect from a city that bills itself as “Where the West begins,” right? In fact, when out of town guests visit, my husband and I generally take them to see the historic stockyards. Sure, some locals turn their nose up at this, just as Seattlites often scoff at the idea of visiting the Space Needle, but…
What does a larger-than-life T1-30 calculator symbolize in a graveyard? CALCULATOR GRAVE MARKER: That really is a larger-than-life replica of a Texas Instruments T1-30 calculator at the top of this post. Your eyes are not playing tricks on you! So, what exactly does this unique cemetery headstone represent? Is it symbolic of a human adding and subtracting all their good deeds from their bad? Or, perhaps, did an eccentric mathematician bury his or her favorite calculator there upon its demise? I didn’t get close enough to photograph the calculator display because, sadly, I was actually attending a funeral when I…
What the Heck is Juneteenth? In this era of cell phones and social networking, it’s easy to forget news did not always travel so quickly. Case in point: even though Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22nd, 1862, slaves in Texas did not learn of their freedom until nearly two and a half years later! Can you imagine finding out that you were no longer a slave, and that you had actually been free for the past two years? Juneteenth celebrates the day Texans finally got wind of this tremendous news! Here’s the story in a nut shell:…
What’s the story behind military headstones? MILITARY: Headstones for fallen US soldiers are easy to spot since military specifications require them to be white marble slabs standing 42″ tall and 13″ wide. While combing through cemetery photos to include in this post, however, I came across the headstone for Douglas the Confederate camel, and since I love all things quirky, I could not resist using it for this A to Z post. “Old Douglas,” as he was fondly known, served with the 43rd Mississippi Infantry during the United States Civil War. The dromedary remained the soldiers’ beloved mascot for many…
Jesus in Cowboy Boots? I had such a hard time coming up with a good cemetery symbol for the letter J that I decided to re-post my entry for the 2013 A to Z blog challenge, in which my theme was Quirky Texas. That was my first year, and I didn’t yet realize that A to Z posts are meant to be short and sweet. This is a fun one, though. Enjoy! How to leave a comment on this post Please comment about this post on Tui Snider’s Facebook. Leave your link in the comments, and I’ll drop by your…