Tat’s Bizarre Travels

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.”

MARS, PA - So while I was traveling the Northwest (Pennsylvania) I decided to make a special stop to see the Mars Spaceship. I’ve been wanting to do a pilgrimage ever since I found out Mars had enough of a sense of humor to have a flying saucer in town. And even though I missed my exit, I turned. I don’t plan on heading north next weekend.

Rumor has it the saucer likes to wander about the town of Mars, so I didn’t even bother trying to look for it. That’s the reason I drove right past it on my way to the Foodland where I asked for directions. I was actually looking for someone older to ask about the thing figuring if it no longer existed they would at least remembered it. There’s nobody over 18 working at the Foodland. I thought my best chance would be to ask the manager, who responded by saying she didn’t know “where they put that thing this time.” And so my heart dropped. If I wanted to find the fabled flying saucer I would have to explore Mars on my own.

(more…)

FRANKLIN, PA - DQ1 is just your regular ol’ Dairy Queen. It’s not one of those drive thru types, but where you park your car and go inside, order yourself a Dilly Bar and sit down at a table to enjoy. Just like any other Dairy Queen. Except for the space capsule out front. Yep, you heard me. A genuine Apollo space capsule. You gotta love it. Franchises these days don’t get the opportunity to make their store individual. When was the last time you scheduled a trip to a Starbucks, not for the coffee, but to check out the quirky things that make it individual and less of a corporate sycophant.