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.”

PLEASANTVILLE, PA - In the heart of Pennsylvania oil country lies a little gem. This place is more than just a pile of antique cars, it’s a labor of love for it’s owner Gene and his wife Cora. There are may reasons I say this. Part of the reason is because they’ve been charging $3.50 for the past seventeen years. Part of it is because they built the museum to be their house, but instead it became a home for their cars. But most of all it’s because if you sit down and talk to them you will learn how much they love cars, and especially these.

I came upon this place as a recommendation from the gift shoppe lady over at the Drake Well Museum and I have to say I’m glad I did. The area around Oil City is obsessed with oil, a little to it’s determent from the sounds of it. The Tyred Car Museum isn’t on the list of tourist attractions because it doesn’t focus on oil. Gene has tried to tell them cars run on oil, but…whatever.

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WASHINGTON, PA – Today was a quick trip down to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. “Trolley’s aren’t strange!” you may say, and I guess you would be right, but I’ve got a strange obsession for public transportation. Busses, trains, trolleys, I love them all. I get really excited when I have the opportunity to take public transit to wherever I’m going. I feel grown up and important. I think it may have something to do with being a kid and my gram taking me to the city on a bus. It was always a big deal.

The Pennsylvania Trolley museum is on the small side, and the basic tour earns you a ride on the trolley and a tour of a couple of the restored trolleys. For an extra fee, however, you can get the once daily tour of the car barn which has a big ol’ bunch of trolley’s in differing states of disrepair. I kinda like the 50’s style trolleys (surprise, surprise) more than the earlier ones. And we only got to board 2 trolleys other than the one that meanders about the grounds. I would have like the opportunity to wander on my own, but since this is pretty much a volunteer only establishment there are no docents to yell at you for climbing on an antique in the process of being restored.

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