Tat’s Bizarre Travels

Fremont, WA - You may wonder, as you walk through the streets of the free and democratic Fremont Washington what on earth is a statue of Lenin is doing there. And I don’t mean the Beatles Lenin (which may seem a bit more likely in this odd Seattle neighborhood), I mean the father of the Soviet Union. The man who helped to tear down the tyranny of the Russian monarchy and brought rise to even more tyranny, and a cold war, and now misplaced nuclear war heads. And why, you may wonder, is he standing in front of the Taco Del Mar in Fremont, WA? Well, as with all of the other awesomely bizarre treasures on the Fremont walking tour, you can read all about it.

Apparently Lenin was brought over by a Seattle resident who happened to be teaching English in the former Soviet republic. The statue was on the verge of being melted into scrap when he rescued it from becoming any number of classy Russian chachkies. After spending a whopping $13,000 for the statue and an even more impressive $41,000 for the shipping Lenin finally came to America. The owner passed away before he could enjoy the artwork he spent a small fortune on and so now the statue is on exhibit (and sale by the former owner’s estate for $250,000) on the corner of North 36^th Street.

Fremont, WA - When you walk about Fremont you’ll see any number of strange items good for gawking at. In fact Fremont is so enamored with it’s collection of odd attractions that you can pick up a walking tour of the area at just about any of the strange Fremont visitor spots that give full descriptions on what it is you’re looking at an how it got there. The Rocket Ship is no exception.

It is easily the tallest of the weird Fremont attractions, located on the corner of what appears to be a functioning clothing store, but has nothing to do with the store itself. According to the plaque that is posted along side of the Rocket Ship it was brought to Fremont in the 90’s after the chamber of commerce decided that it was time to have a truly unique monument that said “Fremont” all over it. The rocket, an actual 50’s cold war rocket, was salvaged by the town and brought to Fremont where it sat idle for about 5 years before taking it’s place on the corner of 36^th Street. Now it stands as a unique marker and a true reflection of the people of Fremont. In fact the Rocket even bears the Fremont crest and their motto:

“De Libertas Quirkas”
or
“Freedom to be Peculiar.”

Ballard, WA - My 1^st and 4^th day stops on my Seattle tour were to the always incredible, always awesome Archie McPhee store. I’ve been shopping their online store for years and and was a ball of nonstop excitement about visiting the real life place. It is the rubber chicken and bacon floss mecca of the world. I was in heaven.

When you first enter the store you’re assaulted by a sheer wall of crazy plastic bits hanging from the celling, tacked to the walls and in bins for your buying pleasure. They have a section of wallets, shelves bobble heads, a wall of Jesus’, wigs, masks, urine specimen kits. The place is a wonderland of junk, and yes it seduces you into buying it. I mean really, who doesn’t need a glow in the dark squid?

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