2010/04/29 Day Eleven part 2

 "Odd" would be an understatement here and hilarious/laugh riot would be right on. Our journeys have already taken us to some wonderfully weird environments and offered us the circumstances that led to meeting some truly eccentric folks. Well yesterday afternoon's jouney took us to a whole new place. Like the new terms "wakita" and "marland" you can now add "bodhan" as in "this place is so completely bodhan" which now refer to a level of silliness that knows few peers and shall serve as role model. Life as we know it has changed - we laughed, we cried (from laughter) and were deeply touched - in a spiritual way not in the dementia Glore Museum way......wait a minute maybe we are a bit touched in the head. 

4. Mid afternoon we stopped in to see what will surely be one of the oddest places we visit on this crazy journey. Drum roll please....................

"The Cockroach Museum" in Plano Texas. 

This was found in a small strip mall that included other business like a nail salon, tax preparers and a pizza to go joint. Not in a seedy part of town but rather like any commercial zone on the corner of Middle America USA. There was no grand fanfare. You walk in and "ta-da" you're there. From across the room came the smiling director/curator/celebrity/normal but twisted man, Michael Bodhan. He gave us the quick tour (museum space really only about 15 x 20 feet at the most) and the history. On a whim (massive understatement), Michael came up with this idea about 25 years ago as joke/publicity stunt for his pest control business. It worked. He's been on Johnny Carson, Letterman, Leno, To the Tell Truth and many others with the Ellen Degeneres "people" calling just last week. The beat goes on.

The museum itself houses many dioramas of cockroaches in various scenes like on the beach, skiing and on the ranch. There's "Marilyn Monroach" and "Liberoachi" among other insect celebs. There was art and lots of memorabilia. And yes....... live cockroaches (of the huge Madagascar variety) in the petting zoo/bucket. Below you will find pics of our foray into this high brow world. You will see us holding some of the little darlings (Yes Susan is quite the trouper as she played right along and even put one of them on her cheek - momentarily as it seemed to prefer a cleavage exploration. Note: in one photo, it will appear that Rodney must have eaten one of the crawly wonders; he did not.Also you will see Michael in his "Cockaroachie Dundeee" hat. The photos are marginal; bad lighting and it was just plain difficult to shoot the little critters in their not so native habitats.

Love and Ewwwww! from Rodney and Susan,

Ps. There a few photos of miscellaneous from along the road. Enjoy.

2010/04/29 Day Eleven part 1

Hello Tripsters,

Today was filled with some damn amusing stuff mixed with some incredible architecture and more interesting characters from Texas.

1. Glenn Goode's "Big People" - Gainesville, TX:

A wonderful collection of Big Johns and Muffler Men. Mr Goode came out and chatted with us for quite some time. In addition to the large pieces outside, in his garage he has the molds for these behemoths. Fun guy and proud of his big folks. Sadly we had our first techno glitch and all my photos went poof into the digital void...... Arrrgggghhhhh! Ack! In the name of giving you a taste, below are a few pics from Google-Land.

2. Next we were off to Decatur in search of the work of outsider artist B.W. Crawford. This took us to the local courthouse which also serves as the county history museum. In a room labeled "Special Collections" we found Mr. Crawfords pecan (yep the nut) sculptures. There were various scenes and individual characters. R's favorite was the four dogs playing poker. Way cool and wonderfully silly. In the same room there was thimble collection. Others had depression glass, toys and an eclectic variety of dolls. There was also another wacko Oddasee factor -- we shared our tour with three Buddhist monks; the real deal, I kid you not!  Genuine monks from horizons far east of Texas. 

3. Then it was off to Denton to find the "Petrified Wood Gas Station & Motel". Great old roadside attraction gas station with an adjoining motel and diner. Oldest parts of motel not open but The Whistle Stop diner was still available for Oddasee eaters -- ranking: 8 points. Yes at last we found a classic old diner. The food was awesome, real and big on quantity. I had the special roast beef with mashed spuds with other sides. Susan had a BLT. We both ate like Visagoths and still had to have a piece of the homemade cherry pie. Oink oink! And many points for ambiance. Even the waitresses and owner where time warps, loved it.

The we stumbled upon "El Castile". This architectural wonder was mind-boggling and we so wanted to knock on the door for an impromptu (albeit intrusive) tour. 

Well that's the first installment from Day 11. Tomorrow we'll share one the most bizarre and humorous adventures we have thus far experienced......

Love and gluttony with a side of pie, 

Rodney & Susan

 

2010/04/28 Day Ten

Yo Odd friends (okay, not odd but pretty eccentric),

Day 10 was pretty mellow with time spent wandering parts of old Route 66 in Oklahoma. Not much left of the road itself and the lack of signage was a problem. Along the way toward a couple of destinations, we took more than a few side trips. 

On one of our meanderings, we came upon an isolated cemetery that included some very old grave sites. Some poor souls had only a rock or concrete marker and one warranted a cinder block. After spending time looking at many memorials, it was apparently a cemetery that was for blacks that must have been from the Harlinsville Baptist Church.  

Quite by accident, we found ourselves in Yale, OK. This turned out to have the "Jim Thorpe Home" - one of the residences of the super athlete. It was interesting and once again, our guide seemed grateful to have visitors. The were a couple of facts that we did not know. 

One: He won gold medals in both the Decathlon and Pentathlon in the same Olympics - Wow! That's hard to believe.

Two: He is the only athlete that appeared on a Wheaties box posthumously.

Then we headed south with a stop or two planned for southern OK. We found the "Toy and Action Figure Museum" in Pauls Valley. What an unexpected treat. Upon arrival, the place looked dark and closed..... it was dark but not closed. They were having power issues. So, our first run through was pretty light free. Then the lights did return and revealed even more marvels (note appropriate segue to comic book action figures). The story of how this place came to be is a remarkable example of how a small town can plan and have vision to keep people visiting and supporting the future. Many townsfolk got together and found a way to fund and promote something as unlikely as an action figure museum. Very cool!

The place was wild and very fun; impossible to not feel like a 10 year old. Loved it!

Lastly we made it to the GW Memorial Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, OK. It was late but it stayed open until 7pm. This place was heartening, sad and interesting all at once. All the animals had been rescued from various bad situations. There were close to 200 big cats with a waiting list for more. The guide said they could take another lion or tiger everyday. There were many other critters and it was overwhelming. We felt bad for them having to be in cages but they are now being fed and not abused. It really did bring mixed emotions.

That was a good day. We ended up in Gainesville, Texas. 

Love,

Wonder Woman and Pinhead 

2010/04/27 Day Nine

Hello to all of you that are still watching,

Okay people........ today was an explosion of sites, people and memorable moments. The truth is that a short story or more likely, a novelette, about just this one amazing day. We cannot begin to relate all that became a part of our travelogue. It would take hours to simply hit the high points. It was an explosion of photo opportunities and tales to tell. For every photo there are 10 more just as amazing. So, we are sending but tiny snippets and a few pics from Oddasee April 27, 2010. You are just going to have to fill in between the lines and images. 

Here are few things to ponder as you view the photos below:

1. The Tom Mix Museum in Dewey, OK. Real and real kitschy. Very entertaining and informative. Across the street was a historic hotel and museum. In both places there were elderly women that were very happy to see us and tell us all about the museums. They were both so sweet and genuinely glad to have someone with which to share their stories and information.

2. We then headed toward Nowata to see outsider artist Chris Barbee's "bowling ball yard art" ......... Phenomenal! Really, it's just impossible to send an adequate number of photos to show what we saw (currently 1055 balls = 7+ tons) AND...... he was a real treat to talk to; what an amazing human he is. There's no way to repeat the great conversation we had with this friendly but somewhat shy and proud man. 

3. Then it was off to another outsider art site in Foyil. This one resides on a small hill outside of town. The artist, Ed Galloway, created some very unique totem poles. One is truly colossal that had to be pushing 75 feet. Unfreakin' believable. Again the pics below are just a tiny taste.  

4. Last but not least, just outside of Tulsa lies the town/area called Catoosa. We drove down old Route 66 in search of a specific roadside attraction. Here, try this for stranger than fiction: "We found the Blue Whale,  a true blast from the past. If that was not surreal enough how about the caravan that pulled in just as we were about to leave. Caravan? Yep a string of vans and Harley riders that are part of something called Czech 66; a group of Czechoslovakian folks touring the USA all along the historic highway." Really, who could make this stuff up; it's crazy. The Blue Whale is a left-over from a roadside tourist trap that included a "swimming hole", petting zoo, store in the shape of Noah's ark and sundry other activities. An old guy, Blaine Davis, came out and started chatting it up with Susan (think he had a first sight crush) and over the next hour (at least) he told the whole (and I mean the WHOLE story) of how his family had created this roadside wonder. Just as we were about leave (again - we just had to sit back and watch the Czechs) he took us over to a shed where he dug out some old postcards to give us. They included shots of the park in it's heyday with one showing his mother and her pet gators and yet another with his dad and the rattlesnake that was part of the old show. We kid you not, this stuff is so much better than fiction.

So, there you have a very brief synopsis of yet another remarkable day. This whole experience has already been far beyond any expectations - WOW OMG YEEHAW bring on tomorrow. 

Love from those living the dream,

Rodney and Susan