After visiting Little Bighorn Battlefield, we stopped by Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe on the Crow Indian reservation.
Swag:
Cafe:
Menu:
We’re big fans of Indian fry bread, so had Indian tacos for dinner:
roadside attraction
Mitchell Corn Palace
We stopped by the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota (Wikipedia info). It’s a multi-use arena decorated in corn and other grains, with the decorations changing each year:
Inside continues the corn theme:
Sheets for coloring:
The arena was set up with swag for sale, with more corn art around the walls:
We bought some interesting popcorn:
An interesting place.
Mall of America
We visited the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
According to Wikipedia, it is the largest mall in the United States, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, and the twelfth largest shopping mall in the world.
We had dinner at Shake Shack (first time we’ve seen one since we visited New York years ago):
In addition to being a huge mall, the center is filled with an amusement park:
Minnesot-ah!:
It’s an impressive mall… but still just a mall.
Iowa 80 truck stop
On our travel day we stopped at the world’s largest truck stop, Iowa 80 in Walcott, Iowa.
Iowa 80 Truckstop features eight restaurant choices, a convenience store, gift store, Super Truck Showroom, barber shop, chiropractor, dentist, movie theater, workout room, laundry facilities, gas islands, diesel fuel center, truck service center, Truckomat truck wash, Dogomat pet wash, CAT Scale, 24- private showers, trucking museum and more!
Lots of truck parking:
Diesel fuel:
It was indeed big, though not all that exciting.
Our first Buc-ee’s
Buc-ee’s is a popular gas station and convenience store chain, based in Texas, with some in nearby states. It is known for a large number of pumps and large stores, serving brisket, beef jerky, etc, and a beaver mascot. Their branch in Sevierville, Tennessee is the world’s largest convenience store.
We’ve driven past Buc-ee’s gas stations several times, but hadn’t stopped in one until this occasion in Smiths Grove, Kentucky. It isn’t one of the largest ones, but still an interesting experience.
We can’t stop at Buc-ee’s when driving our motorhome, as they are actively hostile to larger vehicles, not allowing 18-wheelers, and not accommodating large RVs like ours. But we visited this one in our pickup truck.
Gas pumps:
The Birthplace of Pepsi
We visited The Birthplace of Pepsi, located in New Bern, North Carolina. Our third soda-history stop, after the Dr Pepper Museum and the World of Coca-Cola museum.
Pepsi-Cola was invented by Caleb Bradshaw while working in a pharmacy at this location, now a soda and swag shop celebrating that history.
“Brad’s Drink”:
The Birthplace of Pepsi:
Robert is Here fruit stand
We stopped by Robert is Here, a longstanding fruit stand in Homestead, Florida:
We tried several interesting fruits we hadn’t encountered before:
An interesting way to package pineapples:
Chickens:
Trying some of the fruit:
Some strange tastes, but we liked most of them.
Lambert’s Cafe
I usually don’t do a blog post about a restaurant, unless it is particularly remarkable. Lambert’s Cafe fits that criterion.
We went there for lunch, and it was quite the experience. Their claim to fame is “throwed rolls” — they have a guy roaming around, throwing freshly baked rolls to patrons. Which sounds like a bad idea, but is actually rather fun. (And this from a guy who doesn’t do “fun”.)
They also have people circulating with bowls of “pass arounds”, side dishes that they ladle onto a paper towel as soon as you sit down and your plate throughout the meal, including Southern staples like fried okra, black-eyed peas, fried potatoes and onions (my favorite), and several more.
There was a line to get a table, which usually makes us bail, but we opted to wait; it wasn’t a long delay:
A sign indicates they don’t do doggie bags, which appears to be out-of-date, as we were offered a box for our leftovers:
Pretty much as soon as we sat down, they provided some fried okra; our first time tasting it (not bad, less great once cooled down):
Menu:
We were also tossed some rolls, as advertised. They were super tasty, nice and soft:
We ordered sodas, which arrived in huge mugs (hard to tell the scale, but these were substantially larger than normal, even by American standards; the menu says they are 34 oz, which is about three cans of soda):
Jenn ordered chicken and dumplings and a couple of sides (included):
I ordered meatloaf and sides:
As mentioned, throughout the meal staff would come by offering additional sides; we tried several of them. It is possible to just order an empty plate and make a meal of the “pass arounds”, which would be plenty of food.
Throwing rolls:
When we were done (stuffed!), they provided a doggie bag and box, and even to-go cups for the leftover sodas, which we hadn’t encountered before; nice that they’re not wasting all that:
Quite a unique experience. And taking typical American over-consumption to the next level. Highly recommended, if you’re not on a diet!
Graceland
We visited Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley, in Memphis, Tennessee.
An interactive map:
Gate to the visitor center:
Welcome to Graceland:
We had a reservation for a self-guided tour of the Graceland mansion. We each had a somewhat trashed iPad and headphones with an audio and video guide for the tour:
Shuttle bus across the road to the mansion:
Graceland mansion:
Upstairs was not included in the tour; it’s private to the family:
Backyard:
The manager’s office:
More exhibits, starting with Elvis as a child and his parents:
Gym:
Horses:
The Presley graveyard, where Elvis and his family are buried:
Then we shuttled back over the road to the museum area, and lunch at Gladys’ Diner:
We of course had to have grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches:
Gift store:
Elvis exhibits:
An interesting experience.
Cadillac Ranch
We visited a famous roadside attraction, Cadillac Ranch, an art installation of ten Cadillac cars, buried nose-first in the ground since 1974, in Amarillo, Texas.
Graffiti on the road:
They sell spray paint and merch; people are allowed and encouraged to spray on the cars:
Approaching Cadillac Ranch:
Lots of people when we visited:
A fun roadside attraction.