Tat’s Bizarre Travels

Hopwood, PA - I’ve been to Laurel Caverns loads of times in my former life a a Girl Scout, but it’s been a good 20 odd years since I’ve been there and it had yet to be viewed through my cynical eyes. So I jumped in the car for a quick drive up to the Laurel Highlands in order to revisit the only cave I’ve ever been in.

The first thing I noticed was that as a Girl Scout you don’t really get to enjoy the slightly out of the way scenery (Import Export Tire’s Muffler Man), or the cool sights you may see as you drive along Route 40 (Searights Toll House). Instead you stay on course until you get to your camping spot and then spend the evening building fires and singing songs about bears chasing you up Redwoods. This trip was much more informative. I also haven’t built a fire in 20 odd years…well unless you count the one’s I built in trash cans in college, thus proving that the camp fire badge was less than worth the effort.

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Uniontown, PA - I’m really beginning to dig the muffler men. They’re an easy attraction to spot, which is just fantastic. All you have to do is turn a bend that there they are, larger than life and with a steely grin. This time the muffler man I sought stood guard at a tire store. Seems kinka apropos…too bad they weren’t a muffler shop.

The Paul Bunyan style giant hangs out in front of Import Export Tire and is dressed in a burly red and blue. It doesn’t appear to phase the tire guys that there’s somebody outside snapping pictures, they just continue on with their work. I don’t think they’re rude, just used to it. I imagine they get that everyday.

The best part of the tire shop is the sign above the office door:

The Men Who Know Tires Best

I’m fairly certain that the muffler man knows tires best of all.

Uniontown, PA - While heading deep into the Laural Highlands for a fun filled day of visiting predetermined offbeat attractions I came across the Searights Toll House. It was one of those unexpected stops. As I was driving along I saw this odd little building with a parking lot, so I pulled on in. Actually I turned around about 200 feet down the road and then pulled in. Typically I’m so focused on getting to my first destination I don’t stop to see the other odd sights that pepper the landscape.

The Searights Toll House is a museum, or so says the sign on the the window. There are no hours posted and the door was locked when I got there so I was a bit disappointed. At 2PM on a Saturday I thought I if they did have house I was nailing them. (In fact if you visit the Searights Toll House page you will notice that they advertise being open from 10 to 4) So with the toll house closed I proceeded to wander around the outside a take a gander.

The building has a list of toll costs on the outside and you can tell it was built in the good ‘ol cart and horse days. Especially when you read that cattle costs 3¢. Once you read the history of the toll house, which you have to get from the internet because the museum’s hours are mysterious, you find out that once the roads became paved and automobiles started ruling the highway the toll houses closed down, only to be replaced years later by those handsome devils the toll booth. And the Easy Pass.