Confess: What tacky touristy shit have you done?

I spent a day in Gatlinburg, TN and had a great time zipping around on a scooter! Then again I was only 13.

[quote] I kissed the Blarney Stone in 2000.

Whore!

I have a tacky photo of me pretending to hold up the Eiffel Tower.

Spent an hour touring Graceland.

Then went across the street to see the Lisa Marie (Elvis' private jet).

I've never felt so trashy in my life.

I put my hand here.

Whenever I go to a tourist place, I go all out tourist

My partner and I visited the Ten Bells pub in London. A couple of Jack the Ripper’s victims drank there before they were murdered. Multiple locals laughed at us taking photos (it was a weekend night and late, so everyone was drunk). I wanted to visit George Michael’s grave, but my partner put his foot down (it was too far).

All of it! If it’s tacky and touristy I want to do it. Along with the highfalutin stuff. That’s what you’re supposed to do.

I do tourist bus tours in many cities I visit. It’s a great, fast way to learn about some of the history and highlights of a city and helps me get my bearings.

I’ve done many ghost/haunted places walking tours, plus a Jack the Ripper walking tour on a chilly, damp, foggy night in London and it was just awesome.

I live in LA and one of my favorite things to do with out-of-towners is go on the tour of movie star’s homes. The van takes you up into fancy neighborhoods where I wouldn’t go, and they know where people live. It’s a hoot. Also if you are a classic rock fan, Pamela Des Barres does a fun rock tour of Hollywood and Laurel Canyon. “And over here is where I made out with Jim Morrison, and over there is where I lived with the Zappas...” Nice lady.

I touched some statue's toe at the Vatican Church place. The toe was worn and filthy but when in Rome I suppose.

I have seen the world's largest pistachio

Gawked around outside of Buckingham Palace (wasn't sure exactly what I'd see); I was a bit shocked that a lot of that area of London is very Time Square-ish.

But I don't think there is anything wrong with occasionally indulging the tacky as long as you make time for beauty, culture and learning something new.

Oh geez I did think of one I’m kind of ashamed of. I posed in front of OJ’s Brentwood home in late 1997. It was a POS thing to do. I look embarrassed in the photo and rightly so.

Went on the London Eye. My Brit friends laughed.

Took a movie star bus tour in Palm Springs with my tacky family.

That sounds fantastic, R4. That’s on my list. I didn’t know you could go inside the Lisa Marie, so to speak. The really cool thing to do would be to fire it up, fly out to Colorado and order some giant peanut butter banana and bacon sandwiches. It said that’s what Elvis and his Memphis mafia liked to do on a whim.

I've kissed the Blarney Stone, too (as a kid), and I went to the East End pub where the Kray brothers killed George Cornell. This was back in the late 80s/early 90s, before it turned posh. Actually, not entirely certain it was the Blind Beggar, but it was some Kray-related pub. I remember the Whitechapel Bell Foundry was visible across the street.

Some of you guys sound like a hoot and people I would love to vacation with.

Looking DIRECTLY at you two, R6 and r8!

I’ve been to Alcatraz.

(Not as a prisoner.)

The Polynesian Cultural Center, a project of the Mormon church in Hawaii

I've worn black tie to the Casino de Monte-Carlo several times. My rich friends love that sort of kitsch. It's their version of tacky tourism.

We used to drive down to Florida and there would be "See Ruby Falls" or "Mammoth Caves" and I always wanted to stop there as a kid but my dad called them "tourist traps" which is probably correct.

I touched the breast on the statue of Juliet in Verona.

I saw the world's largest Aloha Shirt (guiness book of world records) at Hilo Hattie in Hawaii

I will climb steps or take expensive elevator rides to the top of a building or structure for the views. I love the views, birds' eye views, seeing a city as a map, seeing some strange upper part of some building or feature and setting off on some tangent to learn about it.

Something I would never have done on my own but (for that all-inclusive ticket price) I posed for one of those cheesy backdrop tourist photos atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza, recreating the famous lunchtime photo of 1932. It was with a man I fell on love with that week and am now married to. Stupid tourist gimmick that it is, you can see in our faces that something bigger was going on.

So my one really stupid gesture at both a genuine landmark and a tourist trap turned out okay.

Omg, r14. That reminds me of a guy that I dated in the 90’s. He was a Caucasian pocket gay and decided to take a photo in front of the Cabrini Green housing project sign while visiting Chicago. A few men came over threatening to kill him, and he had to leave abruptly. Probably not smart to treat poor people like zoo animals. Oddly enough, he was a really nice guy and dated mostly black and latino men.

I visted the Exorcist stairs in Georgetown.

I visited the Queen Mary in Long Beach last year, just before things got bad with Covid. It was the first and last time I will likely ever set foot on a cruise ship.

Bedrock City, Arizona was fun. I've been to several ghost towns as well - some legit, some that were just created for tourists.

Wait, you're only supposed to [italic]kiss[/italic] the Blarney stone? No wonder everyone was looking at me funny....

I was sat in the backseat of a Country Squire with my sister and declared if we couldn't visit Bedrock in South Dakota then I was not going to enjoy stupid Mt. Rushmore.

[quote] I touched the breast on the statue of Juliet in Verona.

So you’re not a Gold Star gay then?

[quote] I saw the world's largest Aloha Shirt (guiness book of world records) at Hilo Hattie in Hawaii

Was it taken from Gabriel’s closet?

Went to a luau in Hawaii. I wasn’t expecting to be embarrassed to be there. I always warn people to never go to one now.

r32 Fluffy!

R17 here again, before any Londoners laugh at me: I've been looking at maps of Whitechapel Road, and I don't know what pub I was in or what I was thinking of, because I don't see that there's been any pub across from the bell foundry in the time I would have been there. Carry on!

I also like to get tacky souvenirs for myself and my friends. There is a certain art to that.

I've been to the Fickstutenmarkt in Hamburg and Berlin. When in Rome.....

Shell Factory in Fort Myers, Florida

Bronner's Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan

[quote] I also like to get tacky souvenirs for myself and my friends.

Oh, hell yeah. If you don’t get souvenirs, you’re doing it wrong. The tackier the better.

Has anyone been to Branson? I would love to go there.

Mermaid show at Weeki-Wachi Springs

Picked up rough trade in Gatlinburg.

The Alabama Theater in Myrtyle Beach

Went to Branson and around the Ozarks as a kid. Lots of hillbilly kitsch, dancing fountain shows, wax museums, and things like that. It's pretty much exactly what you'd expect.

I've been to Branson. A friend and her husband crave it for some reason. No more.

It's quite faded, with empty theaters littering the landscape, and traces of the tornado damage still visible if you look. BUT

the closeted gay life, especially late at night when the shows are over (you know, 10:30 pm) and all the chorus boys and musicians and other locals hit the private clubs and bars, can be rather amazing. Country boys figuring it out while the show biz sharks circle and any tilt towards any new face that looks like there's a buck in the pocket.

Some of the boys are eager but dumb, so some tacky shit may be expected.

El Coyote Cafe, where Sharon Tate and her party had their last meal.

Juliet's balcony was actually built in the 1920's, so no particular interest in that. Juliet's wall, on the other hand is something. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of messages to Juliet over the decades asking for love advice. Quite touching.

Manneken Pis

R47, did you request to sit at Sharon's booth?

R50 No, I didn’t know that you could!?!

My partner and I spent a day at Pioneer Village in Minden, Nebraska. It's the legacy of Harold Warp, the inventor of Flex-O-Glass.

I had bad Memphis BBQ in Memphis, bad Texas BBQ in Austin, bad KC BBQ in KC, and great St. Louis BBQ in St. Louis.

I drove up to the top of Pike's Peak and looked down on things in the wind.

I fucked an airline steward mid flight over the Indian Ocean.

Went through every historical site and museum I could find in spare time while living in London. Watched assholes mess with HM guards. Waved at Princess Anne and stood by the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day. Ate jellied eel. Admired the Cutty Sark. Cottaged. Ripped a bit.

Visited the Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower Birthplace in Boone, Iowa, but skipped the John Wayne birthplace in the same town.

Blew a 4H guy at the Illinois County Fair who was showing his hog. Fainted in the heat.

Got stoned in San Francisco and ate chowder at Fisherman's Wharf out of a sourdough bowl. Lord.

Took the Staten Island Ferry.

Enjoyed the Stock Show in Denver.

Visited cemeteries in LA, which was more interesting than anything else in that greasy asshole of a place with gardenia sprayed on it to stench the stink.

Fucked a cop in Dodge City, and then he beat me up.

I ate in public in front of Moroccans, during the day, during Ramadan. It’s not my fault that they have bizarre religious practices.

R52 needs an AMA thread

Took a trip to Catalina and was disappointed there wasn't time to go to the restaurant where Natalie, Chris, and RJ dined because it was on the other side of the island. Avalon has a little museum with some nice art, as well as a big permanent exhibit devoted to the tragedy, which I was shocked (and shamefully delighted) to find. I did enjoy pretending to be Jake Gittes in front of the "Albacore Club."

The Polynesian Center in Hawaii

The shell factory in in Florida

Circus circus in Las Vegas is my #1, I am so ashamed that even typing this out distress me.

I posed for a photo with those annoying water sellers in Marrakesh, wearing one of their funky hats.

Funny, I love tacky tourism but the inherent tackiness of Las Vegas has zero appeal for me, no desire to go there.

On a trip up to New England we broke up the drive with a stop over at the Pez Visitor Center and took the tour.

The Jelly Belly Factory Tour

They had a huge framed portrait of Ronald Reagan made of jelly beans.

I barfed on the floor the Prado in Madrid

We wanted to see Doc Holliday's grave but there was a sign warning about cougers, and it was dusk, so we skipped it.

^you can just give them some chardonnay. they calm right down.

Your idea of tacky's probably not the same as mine, but almost all are touristy:

Eva Peron's Tomb and her former office in the Ministry of Labor, Recoleta, BA

Lenin's Tomb and the Lubyanka (KGB, now FSB headquarters), Red Square, Moscow (he was dusty or that was 70-year old dandruff)

Jim Morrison's grave, Pere Lachaise, Paris

Frank Sinatra's grave, Palm Springs Cemetery District (Sonny Bono and Jolie and Magda Gabor are resting comfortably there, too)

Edgar Allen Poe's grave, Baltimore

The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ

The Book of Kells, Dublin

The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village, Dearborn, MI

Katherine the Great's bedroom, The Great Palace, St. Petersburg ("I would not know, I was not there" per the Intourist guide)

Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Yucatan

Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janiero

Disneyland/Disney World/Dollywood

The Big Merino, Goulburn, NSW and the Big Banana, Coffs Harbour, NSW

Monumento a los Zapatos Viejos (The Big Shoes), Cartagena

Sydney Harbour Bridge climb, Sydney, NSW

Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, MA (disappointing: cracked and small)

Palace of Westminster, aka Houses of Parliament, London (Stranger's, now Visitors, Gallery)

Versailles/la Tour Eiffel/Moulin Rouge, Paris

La Rambla/la Pedrera/la Sagrada Famila, Barcelona

Calgary Stampede, Calgary (as guests of two former Stampede Queens)

Niagara Falls, Ontario (staying in Marilyn Monroe's suite at the General Brock)

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem

The Warren G. Harding death suite, Palace Hotel, San Francisco (actually, not tacky and a lovely view into Union Square)

Graceland, Memphis, TN

The Texas State Fair, Dallas

Space Needle, Seattle

Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (walked across)

Oxford Street Wall, Darlinghurst, Sydney

Moonee Ponds, Melbourne (Dame Edna's - not DL Edna's - home town)

The Little Mermaid, Copenhagen

Las Vegas, NV - it's all tacky and very, very touristy

The Hoover Dam, Clark County, NV

The Anne Frank House, Amsterdam

Luau, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Honolulu

Titanic Museum, Belfast

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Piazza del Duomo, ‎Pisa

Wall Drugs, Wall SD

"Innocent Victims," the Diana and Dodi statue at Harrods, London (since removed)

When I lived in NYC I used to take the 2.5 hour Circle Line tour around Manhattan. It was a nice way to spend a summer afternoon out on the water.

The sound and light show at the Pyramids! Also, you know Irish jokesters like to pee on the Blarney Stone, right, OP?

Löwendenkmal in Lucerne is both tacky (surroundings) and very beautiful.

Went to the Lizzie Borden house. Took pictures of our hands on a doorknob that Lizzie supposedly touched. It feels even more tacky post-covid.

San Simeon, the tacky Hearst Castle in California, is worth a visit, but the man had no taste.

On the other hand, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, is truly grand at showing the opulence that the Vanderbilt wealth could bring.

So, so many to choose from!

The tackiest was posing with a zebra-painted donkey in Tijuana for a picture.

The most [italic]disappointing[/italic] touristy thing I did was take a taxi to the Little Mermaid statuette, touch it, and take pictures. The cab driver could not have rolled his eyes any harder, or they would have fallen into his cranial cavity.

Forty years ago,I bought postcards and salt & pepper shakers as souvenirs. Now, I just buy one refrigerator magnet from each place.

When I was a kid, we'd go down to Florida for 2 weeks in the winter. It took years and years of me begging and pleading but my parents finally relented and we spend the night at South of the Border one time on the way home! Kitsch heaven for this gayling!

Oh man, i love doing tacky touristy things.

Disneyland (was a season pass holder for a couple years), Disneyworld and yes, i have a couple sets of mouse ears.

Niagara Falls - Maid of the Mist, power boat ride up the Niagara river, Mother's Day brunch at rotating restaurant in Skylon Tower.

London - there for 18 hrs and really packed it in. Visited a popular pub (don't recall name), took a bus tour, Buckingham Palace, saw a play in the West End, full English brekky, Picadilly Circus, tube ride.

NYC - Statue of Liberty, carriage ride in Central Park, Natural History Museum, subway ride, saw Cabaret at Studio 54 w/Molly Ringwald in lead, FAO Schwartz. More i can't recall.

Paris - arrived via Channel Tunnel train ride, boat ride down Seine, Eiffel Tower (at night! spectacular!), the Louvre, Versailles, croissants and cafe au laits at a corner boulangerie, had sex in hotel room watching French porn.

SF - Alcatraz, cable cars, tour around city in GoCars, Ghiardelli store visit, Fisherman's Wharf and lunch at Boudin, Golden Gate Park from end to end on foot, Golden Gate Park, Mt Tam hikes, visited and stayed in Sausalito on a yacht. (I did all this BEFORE i moved there, mind you).

Northern CA - drove through (one of) the drive-thru trees, stayed in a BNB in Arcata (one of those Victorian restored houses), Hearst Castle and a bunch of other touristy stuff to numerous to name.

Tuscany - Toured Siena the walled city, watched the Palio di Siena horse race, toured the Duomo di Siena

Tijuana - got drunk and vomited as an 18 year old

Graceland - must smaller than you think, then had Memphis bbq

Kauai - hiked and stayed in the shittiest cabin ever in Waimea Canyon, snorkeling w/my lover and seeing loads of beautiful fish

Big Island - quite literally swam w/turtles (they came right up to us) while we were snorkeling

Oahu - rented a moped and circled the island, stopping at Diamondhead, Ala Moana Shopping Center

Carlsbad Caverns, CN Tower in Toronto, New Orleans (bourbon street on a summer morning smells VILE), chicken wings in Buffalo (i did live there for a time), ghost town Bodie in CA, drove an SUV up and down the sand dunes on Pismo Beach.

And yes, I too, have eaten (shudder) at the infamous Circus Circus in Las Vegas. Also saw a Cirque du Soleil show there as well. Did not get married.

Oh yeah, maybe tied with my worst is, we used to stop at the first rest area driving into Florida on I-75 and drink our free, tiny glass of orange juice. That place always smelled like dirty feet and butt.

Visited a Moomin themed cafe in Sweden.

Me too r71. My family used to drive to FL for spring break every year and finally when I was 13 (1979) my dad finally gave in and stopped so I could buy some fireworks. Once we got there it was kind of a let down but glad I got to see it and buy some fireworks.

R70 The Little Mermaid statue is, honestly, kind of hilarious to me because of how disappointing it truly is. I remember feeling the same thing after seeing it in person. Tivoli Gardens on the other hand, was surprisingly fun!

r70 - i thought i was the only one who did the fridge magnet thing! i don't have one from every place i've been, but almost every state (i think i've only avoided visiting 5 states at this point in life).

In New York City -- visited the Statue of Liberty (which was actually not that bad) and visited Ellis Island (boring as fuck!!!! and I love museums!), Rockefeller Center (the view ISN'T as good as the Empire State Building's!!!), visiting the Empire State Building, visiting The Strand book shop, Brooklyn Bridge, etc.

Venice -- Gondola ride.

Had my photo taken at the "southernmost point" in Key West...although I must say, I could add many, many more to the list.

I went to those giant Dino statues/buildings by the outlet center on the outskirts of Palm Springs!

r80: "C'mon, Simone - let's talk about your big but."

Had my picture taken at the southern-most point of the African continent.

Wandered around the old section of the Las Vegas Strip where all the instant wedding chapels are, which had a quaint tackiness, but trying to sleep in a cheap motel among them was impossible with all the drunken people yelling all night long in the hallways.

R82 Of more interest is that it is one of the six floral kingdoms of the world and it’s the smallest and one of the most diverse.

I met a handsome Kabyle gentleman when I was studying in Paris who seduced me into joining him on visit to the 5 ksours on the M'Zab Valley. I was 19 and he was mid 40s and we didn't have a sexual affair but there was something. He was well known in these towns, some very old family name and in two of them teen boys were sent to my room for my pleasure. I was horrified the first time but my friend gave me a talking to about not being that American petit-bourgeois prude and I needed to open my mind. It happened again two towns later and the boy was 16 (he said) so I went to bed with him and kissed and cuddled and pretended to be asleep until we both fell asleep with no sex.

I've slapped people's faces viciously and randomly in Venice!

At the end of the 90s, once South Africa became more open to tourism after Apartheid boycotting, one of the places our tour visited was a coffee shop in Soweto, which was a strange place to say you were going to visit. We saw Winnie Mandela’s house and there were lovely South African ceramics for sale in the cafe.

New Orleans: ordered the Oysters Rockefeller at Antoine's; had a Sazaerac at the Old Sazerac House; ordered the bread-pudding soufflé at the Commander's Palace. Would have visited that bar shaped like a carousel but there was no room.

Los Angeles: visited the Last Bookstore; went into the lobby of the Bradbury Building (location for Blade Runner) and took photos; had oysters at the Grand Central Market. Did a tour of the old picture palaces on South Broadway; went to the Getty Center.

London: visited the Tate Modern (trust me - it's a tacky, touristy pile of shit) and did the Eye, which I thought would give fantastic views of London, but made the whole place look like an endless bowl of dry dog kibble and was, furthermore, stuffed with squealing British lasses brandishing penis-shaped balloons at each other and wearing "sexy" nurse outfits.

Paris: if the Louvre is touristy, then so be it - I went to the Louvre. I also ducked into some bizarre "American-themed" Hard Rock Cafe-seeming place late at night near La Madelaine chiefly because I thought the guy following me had a mugging on his mind; I ordered a beer to calm myself down and it cost $16.

Chicago - had one of those "dragged through the garden" hot dogs and a lemon smash or whatever it is. Cocktails at The Drake. Went to Marshall Fields and bought a box of Frango mints.

Portland, Oregon - does going to Powell's count? Also: had a lemon drop or two or three or four at Jack's.

Venice - went to Venice. I think the whole place counts by now.

New York - I live there, but I have done the Empire State Building; the Christmas windows and trees on Fifth Avenue; the Staten Island Ferry; and Coney Island. My sisters were in a band once that played the St. Patrick's Day Parade, so we used to do that.

Did South of the Border and Disneyworld on a National Lampoon-style family vacation when we were kids, and used to stop at Lake George every summer for a weekend at Storytown, later The Great Escape.

Has anyone here ever been to Wall Drug in South Dakota? What was it like?

I’ve been on the boat that goes by Niagara Falls. I had to wear a raincoat and rain hat. I was 10. It was fun!

Parrot Jungle, Miami

r90: it's called the Maid of the Mist. Forgot a few more:

Boston (most of this on a high school class trip) - Red Sox Game, Fanueil Hall, Plimoth Plantation, Duck Boats, North End bakery feast, whale watching tour, New England Aquarium, Paul Revere House, probably the best 4th of July ever listening to Boston Pops live on the Charles River Esplanade (i cried) and of course the most Bah-ston thing you could ever do - Dunkin Donuts just right off a rotary.

SF - world's most crookedest street, Coit Tower tour, obligatory walk down Telegraph Hill stairs to see/hear the wild parrots (they were there!), Teatro Zinzanni, cab ride down one of the steepest streets in the city (that was freaky).

Went to the Liberace Museum and marveled at the world's largest rhinestone.

"I kissed the Blarney Stone in 2000. "

That's funny, in 1999 I peed on it ;-)

Last time I went to Portland, Oregon, maybe a decade ago, I took a guide book of weird places to visit. Two of the best I visited were a vacuum museum that had some wonderful vintage Electroluxes and a toy museum that had a Noah’s Ark that a neighbor boy had with jointed limbs on the animals, which I coveted as a four year old and had not seen since.

One of the more bizarre spectacles I ever experienced was seeing the Freedom Train during the 1976 Bicentennial. It traveled the country with artifacts of American History in celebration of the 200 years of being a country. Of course I was very, very excited as one of the key items was Dorothy’s ruby red slippers!

What's embarrassing whenever I've been to a tourist spot is the company I find myself in.

Looking DIRECTLY at you two, [R6] and [R8] and r18!

Just the Mermaid Show R42?

Masterpiece Gardens Six Gun Territory Cypress Gardens Circus World Busch Gardens Brewery Tour & Bird Show Spook Hill Several versions of Marineland Bone Valley Phosphate Museum Movieland Wax Museum Clearwater Kapok Tree Inn

I loved the Maid of the Mist, did the crossroad walk at Abbey Road Studios.

Damn, i forgot Colonial Williamsburg (and Busch Gardens and an ER for severe strep) in VA and Casa Loma in Toronto.

I kissed Sharon Stone in 2002.

I took a road trip down Route 66 in the 90s, staying at old motels and eating at diners and roadside burger stands. We even spent the night in the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ!

I did the stingray thing in Cayman Islands.

I wanted to do the glass bottom boat at Catalina, but did the even more perverse semi submerged submarine instead.

I've seen the world's largest chocolate moose in Scarborough, Maine.

I've also been to the Corn Palace in Mitchell, South Dakota.

I climbed Mt. Everest

Kidding, I drove up it

If I ever get to Tucson again, I'd like to take a sip of water here.

LAS VEGAS.

Wayne Newton house & plane. (Now closed.) Surprisingly small house.

Liberace museum. (Now closed.)

Hoover Dam. (Not really tacky, just felt kind of stupid to be doing it.)

Gondola ride in the Venetian hotel. (Kind of fun, actually.)

LOS ANGELES, CA.

La Brea Tar Pits. (Saw some tar on the sidewalk outside as well.)

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. (Kind of cool and depressing at the same time.)

Disneyland Paris....BARF....tacky and stupid beyond belief. Like what the fuck is this frau shit doing in Paris??? Hated every second of it. Waste of a day in Paris just to please two idiots I was travelling with.

That's why I like to travel solo. Get laid more too.

The Sound of Music tour just outside of Salzburg. Easily the gayest thing I've ever done. I was 24 at the time. Had just been fucked the night before by some Austrian daddy and was super hungover. Needed something to do that was calming.

The National Museum of Funeral History in Houston was surprisingly interesting, although on the macabre side. There are well-done exhibits about caskets and coffins, hearses through history, plus the funerals of Presidents, Popes and celebrities.

Epcot. Pleasure Island. All the Disney World stuff. And I loved it.

When I lived in Switzerland, when we had our US work colleagues out we used to take them to the Jet d'eau in Geneva and to the chocolate factories.

Was fun.

"The National Museum of Funeral History in Houston "

The Kohler toilet museum is better...

R115: Oh, how I would like to visit the the Kohler Design Center Museum. They actually have interesting things, like this small view of an amazing bathroom commissioned from artist Ann Agee.

The red light district in Amsterdam was pretty tacky.

@r116, The Kohler Museum is actually quite interesting, though it is still the "butt" of many jokes

We went to the gayest thing ever - an exhibition of the Queen's dresses at Buckingham Palace.

When you saw the pictures of her wearing the dresses, she seemed like an upscale version of how my Grandma normally looked in the 70s.

[quote] We went to the gayest thing ever - an exhibition of the Queen's dresses at Buckingham Palace.

I saw that too in 2016, but the exhibit was just a part of the Buckingham Palace tour, and the tour was the only reason I was there.

R120, we also had tea after in some cafeteria adjacent to Buckingham Palace.

I was at a boring ass professional conference in Annaheim and skipped out for a day to visit Disneyland. A middle aged man walking by himself through that place. I was prepared to find it tacky but was touched by seeing many clearly working class people, mostly Hispanic, there on what was clearly an exciting day for them and their children. It's really a local attraction.

Picked up a postcard once from SF of Alcatraz and circled the prison and sent it to my then boss with the words "Wish you were here!". Explained I was "just joking" when I got back.

I found Alcatraz quite peaceful and calming. I thought if I ever had to spend 20 years in jail it wouldn't be so bad

I loved the Liberace museum, his sister led us on a tour and we bonded over the unique pain of sibling death (not often discussed) and cried a little and hugged.

I toured the Tabasco factory in Avery Island Louisiana. Nice but the real gem is the garden/nature preserve, one of the most beautiful swamps I've ever visited.

The James Dean museum in Fairmount, Indiana is a nice place to see Dean memorabilia.

All you can eat buffet in Las Vegas

Eating at the TGIFs in Times Square (a very low moment indeed)

Whirling dervish show in Istanbul

Took picture of the Mona Lisa in the Louvre

I can't believe how many of these places I've been too... I'm so ashamed, I'm going to Walmart

About 15 years ago, a friend and I stumbled on an odd little "museum" of Barbra Streisand memorabilia near Hollywood Boulevard. Might have been in the Max Factor building. Seemed to be the personal collection of an older gentleman. I remember some gowns. No idea if it's still there. Anyone know of it?

Vegas. Any and all of it. And quite often.

Here's the Barbra Museum I referred to in R129. Seems to be in Palm Springs now.

I thought the CN Tower in Toronto was great as it was weird being so high up. Apart from that there is nothing to do in Toronto but shop, which is weird for such a huge city.

R88 You didn't like the Tate Modern? Gee, I did.

I ate at the Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Times Square in 2005, because of its fame. It was disgusting.

I went to the Liberace museum with my mother, who wasn't into it at all. She kept making sarcastic comments the whole time...I'm sure the staff were rolling their eyes. I should have left her at the hotel.

[quote] Apart from that there is nothing to do in Toronto but shop, which is weird for such a huge city.

You should have gotten a guidebook or looked up online, and then you wouldn’t have missed out on all the things to do there.

I’ve been to Toronto a couple times, and the Beaches area is great. It feels like someone cut-and-pasted a hippyish beach town into a city grid.

The Miller Beer brewery tour, Milwaukee. The beer is shit but it was interesting to see how it’s made. Then there’s a beer garden where they offer you free Miller High life leading people to do the chicken dance.

Jeffrey Daumer’s apartment building is down the street. No tours, though.

A lot of these things aren't tacky, they're just touristy, which is not the same thing. You would never visit some of the places mentioned were it not for the fact that they have these tourist attractions in the first place. Just because other people, whom you consider your inferiors, are there doesn't make it tacky, so drop the irony and the self-consciousness!

If the Eiffel Tower was in NYC, Parisians visiting New York would go to see it.

Too many to name: a Jack the Ripper tour, Top of the Rock, Empire State Building, visited the London Dungeon museum...

We go on Caribbean cruises every winter. It just doesn’t get any tackier than Cozumel. All of the Caribbean island ports are close behind in tackiness. If you've seem one tanzanite store, you’ve seen them all.

R127 I’ve eaten at that TGIFs, too! And felt the same shame but my son was nine and in a weird picky eating phase. We were tired and it was right there. Ugh.

Fran Lebowitz mocks us.

Fran Lebowitz! Oh well then.

When in the UK can I recommend a visit to the National Lawnmower Museum?

Damn you, R71, that was going to be my unique contribution to this thread. We would take these insane road trips down the East coast, and we would wind up at SOTB many times. As a kid, it was kitsch heaven.

I've also been to many other destinations mentioned above e.g.:

Graceland/Lisa Marie

London Eye

Cherokee, GA (cheesy day-in-the-life type reenactments of Native American Life)

The Pyramids of Giza (not tacky in and of themselves, but what has sprung up around them is tourist hell/heaven)

The Little Mermaid, Cph (not necessarily tacky, just disappointing)

Statue of Liberty

etc.

The Corn Palace, Wall Drug and Mr Rushmore

The Chip Museum in Bruges.

OP-Great thread, you've really stirred up my memory bank.

I went to the Barbara Streisand Museum on Castro St. in the 90's. Free admission on her birthday!

Doll museum in St. Augustine, high, scarier than any Halloween Haunted house.

Nogales, Mexico- I was 14 and we went across the border to La Caverna, a restraunt in a cave! I ordered in Spanish for my whole family including Margaritas and cerveza, my mother was mad but the tequila worked it's magic. Also, my dad ate there with his father in about 1935, so it was a great memory. One of the best in my childhood. Thanks OP and others for reminding me of it.

In the 90s, pre single market, it was very common for us Brits to cross The Channel on a ferry for a booze cruise, stocking up on fags and booze.

Pictured are some British Dataloungers enjoying a jaunt and stocking up on some stubbies.

I think the guy in the red is bear trade from next door. The couple of other nancys want to get him drunk and take advantage of him.

The one on the left needs to remove is colostomy bag first.

^stomas can be hot.

"Miniature World," a museum of miniature stuff in Victoria, BC, Canada.

I've ridden on the bateaux mouches in Paris.

I've done those Hop-On-Hop-Off double decker buses in various cities.

I did the Dubai Porta Potty Experience in the Burj Al Arab.

[quote] Eating at the TGIFs in Times Square (a very low moment indeed)

Had no idea that was “touristy.” Have been there many times when going to a concert in the city. Just convenient to grab a few beers.

Back in the late 70s I went on a road trip with my mother and sister to a music competition in St. Louis. I remember going to the St. Louis Arch (Gateway to the west) and stepping into a tiny weird looking elevator to get to the top of the arch. It had little windows at the top. The view up there was great! It was pretty cool for a nine-year-old to see!

Several years ago, while visiting Hollywood, I fucked Paul Lynde.

That’s touristy?

R 159 unless you meant several decades ago you fucked Paul Lynde that is horrific, considering he died in 1982. Many, many decades ago would have been more fitting.

La Brea Tar Pits. It was...underwhelming.

R160 it’s definitely tacky...

We rode The Eye in London. Some little kid was in it and kept yelling in an English accent (or, as they say in London, "yelling normally") "Mummy, there's the Shard! The Shard! The Shard!"

My partner believed it was a little gay kid, and when we see a little junior flamer, he'll say "Mummy, the Shard!"

Rode a camel in at the pyramids.

Paid for Brazilian trade in Rio.

Have any of you done the tourist attraction in your own city?

I lived in Brighton, England and had a tour and dinner inside The Royal Pavilion once.

R166, that should be a thread unto itself.

But for local tourism, I have attended Philly's Mummers Parade which can be sometimes offensive but sometimes spectacular.

R167 Great idea. So fascinating!

It's funny, how often we overlook the visitor attractions of our own towns and cities, yet people come from far and wide to visit them on a daily basis.

My home city boasts at least 3 maybe 4 attractions of national importance, yet I've only visited 2 of them.

The Ava Gardner museum in her hometown of Smithfield, NC, not far from Raleigh.

There is a sad little museum above the library in the town I went to college in for hometown hero Jimmy Stewart. I have heard it has become a bit more professional, the irony of it all is the town is very similar to Bedford Falls, so they could really make it work.

Some friends and I visited the American Girl doll store in Chicago. But we were doing it in an ironic, 'let's make fun of this' kind of way!

I swear, I am not an eldergay with a doll collection! (Although there's nothing wrong with that if it's your thing)

I've lived in or near SW Wisconsin most of my life and I've seen my fair share of tacky shit.

The House on the Rock. It's a bizarre gay nightmare. A full walkthrough tour of the entire complex takes several hours. Gaudy, tacky, hilarious, weird stuff. Thousands of dolls. An animatronic orchestra. World's largest carousel. A three story whale sculpture. It's bonkers.

The Madonna Inn, San Luis Obispo. The Caveman Room

You have to love rocks and the color pink

I've done a crab pose at Four Corners, so that I was in four states at once (AZ, UT, CO, NM). I was about 10 or so.

Somewhere in Germany (Nuremberg?) I rang a bell on a statue which was supposed to mean that I would go back there someday. But I don't have intention of going back.

Southern Decadence in New Orleans was intentionally and fabulously over-the-top tacky.

The Trevi Fountain, Rome

I went to the Saidaiji Temple in Nara, Japan, and drank from the largest tea cup (in Japan, I guess). It was kind of cool, actually.

Nara Deer Park was tacky and touristy and a waste of time, though.

Overpriced ice cream at Ghiradelli Square in San Francisco. Line up with fat tourists to pay three times the price of regular ice cream, that tastes like regular ice cream. All the stuff at Pier 39 - aquarium, sour dough bread museum, carousel. Blue and Gold bay cruise. Yes, I did the full retard tourist tour of San Francisco.

R177, I thought the Trevi Fountain would be tacky as well. Somehow, I found it to be very cool. It's a nice, outdoor gathering place. The statues really are amazing. I got a gelato closeby. IIRC, there were some cobblestone streets nearby as well.

R179, I lived in SF and, IMO, the entire Fisherman's Wharf area (where Ghirardelli Square is located) is tacky & cheesy, in general. I do think the G. Square building is nice (brick). I also think the ice cream is good.

r173 shit - I completely forgot about the Madonna Inn. I can't recall what room we stayed in, and browsed the rooms but nothing is jumping out at me. Probably isn't very memorable because i was having tons of amazing sex with the person i was with.

Ethel M chocolate factory in Las Vegas is touristy but a quick excursion for those who don't want to be gambling all the time.

[quote]I've done a crab pose at Four Corners, so that I was in four states at once (AZ, UT, CO, NM). I was about 10 or so.

I think you really presented hole, with one limp planted in each jurisdiction.

Bing Crosby room at Gonzaga University. I don’t recommend it.

R180 When were you there? It's gotten so ridiculously overcrowded (pre-pandemic) that you now walk one-way past it and you keep moving.

R185 reminded me of "Blue Skies Village," Bing Crosby's Trailer Park in Rancho Mirage.

I went to a resident's Christmas party there. Pourer jugs of Jack and Captain Morgan everwhere.

They all got shitfaced and raced each other down Jack Benny Road, Barbara Stanwyck Road, Danny Kaye Road, Claudette Colbert Road, Bring Crosby Drive, etc. with their golf carts.

I’ve been to Mackinac Island a few times. I worked there one summer when I was in college as well. THAT was a big mistake! People that work on the island called the tourists “fudgies”! I don’t know if they are still called that. It’s still a beautiful island but overpriced. And yes I have bought & eaten fudge from there many times!

@r172, House on the Rock is definitely a trip. Guaranteed you'll leave with a headache. The good news is it's close to the Frank Lloyd Write school, Taliesin, which is NOT tacky and worth a visit

R170 Did you ever go and see Phil in Punxsutwney?

Winchester House in San Jose. There were a couple rooms that felt decidedly creepy.

R190 No, but the university had a campus there as well. I went across the bridge once, but that was as close as I got.

I love doing tacky touristy stuff. I've done:

The cycloramas in both Atlanta and Gettysburg

Tombstone, Arizona

Wall Drug in South Dakota

Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh

Innerspace Caverns in Central Texas

Xanadu Home of the Future in Kissimmee, Florida

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado

Four Corners, CO-UT-AZ-NM

Ghost tours in Gettysburg, Galveston, and Sydney

Pike Place Market and the Space Needle in Seattle

The London Eye

The Atomium in Brussels

All kinds of touristy things while driving Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pier and Venice Beach boardwalk.

Fun fact: Venice Beach receives more visitors than Disneyland per year. Or it used to. Who knows now with Covid.

r55 the cover of Boz Scaggs 'Silk Degrees' was shot around there, have always wanted to visit

Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum in Buffalo area.

I did the Southfork Ranch tour in the mid 2000s. Total let down as it wasn't the big mansion like in the show plus it was surrounded by subdivisions, and by 2021 it's entirely enclosed by tract housing. A nice McMansion, just not what was portrayed in the show.

Many of you have no distinct between what is touristy and what is tacky.

r198 - the very title of the thread is "what is the TOURISTY TACKY SHIT YOU HAVE DONE."

so it's both. stop with the semantics.

R199 touristy tacky is not the Louvre or Prado.

r200 if you don't classify the Louvre as touristy, you are an idiot. it may be wonderful, but it is definitely touristy. Get it straight. i love both of them.

[quote] the very title of the thread is "what is the TOURISTY TACKY SHIT YOU HAVE DONE." so it's both. stop with the semantics.

No, it’s not. The title is “Confess: What tacky touristy shit have you done?” You haven’t gotten anything right. Stop digging your hole deeper. r198 is correct.

[quote] touristy tacky is not the Louvre or Prado.

You are correct. Art museums like the Louvre and Prado are not tacky and would not be appropriate for this list.

M&M World, Times Square, NYC

I liked the neighborhood better with the hookers and porno. Now giant M&M mascots wander the streets.

R14 You think that's bad? I posed (not smiling, at least) in front of the Oklahoma City bombing site in 1999. I deserve a bullet.

Went up to the top of the Empire State building

R204 you win! Times Square is tacky personified. I, too, would rather see hookers and pimps than M&M mascots all over.

What’s a M&M mascot?

I went to some Joe Exotic-like Parrot Jungle thing in Florida. Years ago. Even as a kid, I found it sad and tacky. And stinky. Florida smells like mold and FARTS.

R205 High five of shame!

At least I didn’t pose in front of Nicole’s condo.

R209 Are you throwing shade on Carole Baskin?

This is a great thread, I’ve bookmarked it for when I start traveling again.

I was traveling I-75 and stopped for gas in Southeastern Kentucky. Not heeding my better judgement, I went into something called the ‘Dogpatch Trading Post’.

I had no idea stuff like that existed.

Has no one mentioned Stuckeys yet!

Drinking on Duval Street, including at Sloppy Joe’s and Margaritaville, felt tacky. Add in Mallory Square at sunset.

Was Stuckey’s ever considered a destination though? Wasn’t it a chain of rest stops along I-95? We’d go in to pee while Dad filled the station wagon with gas and my mom would buy a pecan log roll that we’d eat little pieces of all the way to Florida.

Stuckeys was nasty!

R213 what's the deal with that place?

I have to say I had a really nice lunch once at Cracker Barrel. Cute place.

I went to Las Vegas! EVERYTHING you do there is tourist tacky!!!

I kissed the Blarney stone, took pictures under Juliet's balcony, sat in a gondola Shame!!

R208 A person dressed as an M&M

I suppose it's inevitable that the person in the M&M suit at R222 is still better dressed than the idiot behind her.

I've had a week's holiday in Benidorm

Is a busman’s holiday in and of itself tacky and tourist?

The Mall of America

South of the Border

The Kodak Hula Show in Honolulu (discontinued a year later)

Fisherman's Wharf ( I actually liked it, especially the sea lions)

Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood (It was Grauman's back then)

Winchester Mystery House in San José (I didn't mind it, my partner at the time hated it)

Disney World Magic Kingdom (was tacky, kind of shopworn and outdated when I got there)

Plymouth Rock (though the surrounding town and Plimoth Plantation were pretty good)

Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD

My ex refused to let us visit the Louvre, deeming it too touristy.

Original Starbucks in Seattle. Line up for an hour for the same menu as at any other Starbucks on the planet. Only difference is the original rustic decor and the mermaid mascot shows her tits.

[quote]My ex refused to let us visit the Louvre, deeming it too touristy.

I don't understand these people. The idea that one of a handful of museums of encyclopedic scope and astounding quality might not be "an undiscovered gem" with just one old caretaker do delighted that some thought to stop by and visit the collection?

Of course it's "touristy" is that it's popular and quite rightly a place if pilgrimage for people who know art and for people with just knowledge enough to have seen images of a few things in its collection. It's a place filled with goddamn magic of the highest power and your ex- thought a bit you'd be better finding some "off the beaten path" treasure listed by Lonely Planet that hasn't seen a Frenchman inside it since it was overrun with tourists when the article was first published that spawned 60 related articles and 230 reprints of the original.

Sometimes idiots.mistake an obscure place transformed into a small scale tourist trap for a "real" experience and an authentic but slightly crowded one for an inauthentic tourist trap.

Wow r227 not only was your ex an idiot but a total control freak. Glad he’s your ex and hope you’ve since grown a set of balls. And have had the opportunity to visit one of the finest museums in the world. I would have broken up with him then and there if it was me.

R227, your ex sounds hilariously piss-elegant.

Way back when as a child in the late 80s, my parents took me on a road-trip. We went from the Deep South to out West, and staying at all the spooky old hotels and seeing Mesa Verde and the Grand Canyon was phenomenal. Obviously, while tourists I wouldn't consider it tacky.

Until the incident. One of my parents decided on the way back to stop at the Cabbage Patch Kids "nursery". I was a precocious little gayling, and for the 80s my parents were pretty progressive (they bought me a babydoll when I asked for one). Even as a six year-old I found it pretty incredulous that a stork brings in a baby...

Imagine my horror at the Cabbage Patch Nursery, then-- as a voice comes over the intercom that a birth is imminent. Faces press to the glass as an ersatz cabbage opens an imaginary birth canal, and out comes one of those hideous smush-faced things. It was tacky, and I was was traumatized by some fake miracle-of-birth.

I honestly think it effected me to the point where my idea of good travel is something simple like going to a museum or a botanic garden. I took up hiking later in life-- seeing a new trail is always a highlight of a trip.

I paid for to attend a luau at a Hyatt in Hawaii. Expensive, stupid and the food was not good. The hula dancers seemed hostile.

Cute story, R164.

If you wanna see Cabbage birth to believe it:

R232 Reminded me, when I was about 4 my family went to Santa’s Workshop in the town of North Pole, New York. There was a toy shop where I was dropped off and you become an indentured servant made to build toys. Well, with no strong union and questionable OSHA guidelines, I was having none of it. I cried steadily getting louder and louder to the point that other children began to cry as well. They had to use the park wide PA system to call them back to pick me up. I was inconsolable about being abandoned, my older brother didn’t have to stay, until they purchased a very frouffy magic wand for me. It was my favorite toy for years.

I'm old enough to remember when in any slightly off season, the museums and architectural wonders of Europe were sparsely visited. I used to go out to Versailles to walk around the park. On a cold day, deserted. London, Paris, Vienna, and all of Italy. Even today if you go off the global tourist paths in Italy, major sites can be little frequented. I've been alone in the Villa d'Este gardens several times.

[quote] I'm old enough to remember when in any slightly off season, the museums and architectural wonders of Europe were sparsely visited.

When I was at the Mauritshuis several decades ago, I remember being all alone in the room with Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring. I could contemplate it undisturbed for as long as I liked.

R10, are there really Star Maps hustlers as a thing, of did they make it up for the movie?

My controlling ex deemed the Guimet Museum of Asian Art worth seeing in Paris, which was great. I'm an Art Phag who loves visiting art museums, large or small.

One touristy thing that was part of a package, so not selected specifically which underwhelmed me: London Eye.

Probably a ripoff, but I went on a "tour" of the Grassy Knoll in Dallas given by a codger which would have been at least in his 20s then.

I'm not generally a touristy kind of person, but I have been to Times Square.

I was at the Dells in Wisconsin quite unwillingly & have no wish to return.

In New Orleans on Bourbon Street. I can see why some people like it overall, but it was literally my living nightmare, everything I dislike in one cluster: the smell of piss and shit, day drunks, loud obnoxious bitches, and humidity,

[quote]given by a codger which would have been at least in his 20s then.

Oh, dear!

[quote] if you don't classify the Louvre as touristy, you are an idiot. it may be wonderful, but it is definitely touristy. Get it straight. i love both of them.

Ironic that the person who can’t find the shift key on the keyboard is calling another an idiot.

We used to see cars with "See Ruby Falls" bumper stickers on our drive down south but my dad would never stop there. I found out years later from a coworker that when they drove out an employee slapped that bumper sticker on their car so that may be why there were so many of them on cars.

has anyone ever been to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz? I've never been, despite it being (somewhat) close-ish.

I didn't read the whole thread but...we love Walt Disney World. It's perfected reality. We also have been to Niagara Falls and went on the Maid of the Mist (I did see someone else mentioned that). I jokingly asked one of the tour guys if anyone ever jumps and he said basically weekly. He said they don't find all the bodies, they're behind the rocks and stuff. I imagine a lot of it has to do with gambling.

We went to Nashville for the eclipse and my dad insisted we go to the reconstructed Parthenon. Kind of interesting but I was taking low dose opioids then and don't remember that much.

We like non tacky things too, like Williamsburg, VA and museums in NYC and DC. We do love hotels, mostly Hilton family. The kids like Embassy Suites but I'm afraid of heights so we have to be on the second floor or near some kind of wall (because you can look over those walls and I'll fall apart.) We've taken the auto train and have missed one way each time (once from too much traffic, once from a snow storm, and once because we stopped at a Tractor Supply store in Florida). I used to think hot tubs were just for swingers but I'm uptight and now I love them.

Part two: to the person who saw the World's Largest Pistachio: My dad had that roadside attractions book and would take us on trips. We did see a few Paul Bunyan statues (and his blue ox babe, I think) and stuff like that, but that was as a teen. I'm sure there was more stuff like that, just can't think of it now.

i do recall we stopped at the Grand Canyon when i was about 5 and we were moving from NY to CA. it actually snowed while we were there (we stayed there, it was cheap way back then). that was pretty beautiful and magical.

i re-visited as an adult and we were moving (again, from NY to CA - long story). We stopped and i was so depressed with the amount of people - and trash all over the place. it was on the verge of devastating seeing what people had done to this national treasure.

And does anyone know what The Thing is? It's somewhere in southern Arizona, there's a zillion billboards for it between there and El Paso. I road tripped through there once with my Type A Lezzie friend who refused to stop and find out what The Thing was. Guess I'll never know unless some DL person has been there.

I stayed in Florence near the serial killer museum. So proud to see so many ‘Muricans represented. My mother waited in the nearby McDonald’s.

East San Diego hills/desert area: glider plane ride, Palomar Observatory and Dudley's Bakery, all extremely enjoyable!

"I was at the Dells in Wisconsin quite unwillingly & have no wish to return. "

I live in Wisconsin and have never understood the whole Dells thing

Lol, posted this wrongly in another thread already! Anyways I don’t think anyone’s mentioned the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose yet, I made a pilgrimage based on those supernatural believe it or not TV shows and paranormal type books of the ‘70s, and it did not disappoint.

And you can make a day of it by visiting the nearby Rosicrucian Egypt Museum that is run by a religious cult/secret society and claims to be the largest Egyptian artifact collection in Western United States. The architecture is Egyptian inspired and quite kitschy.

r252 i posted it at r191. it was creepy in a few rooms. also my daughter was acting out quite a bit more than she usually did. i would not re-visit.

So, all my life I’ve driven by Roadside America off route 78 in Berks County PA and never got to go, because my older brother had a bad experience as a child there. Now it’s been announced they are permanently closed and never found a buyer. I will now NEVER see Roadside America!

R249 Well, while you’re in Florence viewing that, make a day of it and visit on the other side of the river La Specola Anatomical collection, scientific anatomical models of the human body made of wax that date back to the Renaissance, which is perhaps more surreal than tacky or touristy, and definitely macabre.

[quote]Several years ago, while visiting Hollywood, I fucked Paul Lynde.

[quote]That’s touristy?

Yes, since his asshole was listed as a tourist attraction in gay travel guides throughout the 1970s.

R257 Funny, I don’t recall that listed in my Damron Guide???

Lake Tahoe (proper) during the summer. a ton of e-bikes thrown on the wayside, no possible parking and a shit ton of people tanning and playing music on the "beach"...it was horrible to see. that city was shit.

In other news, The Smithsonian is now a hate group.

I have many pictures of myself and friends posing in front of the Binion's Horseshoe Casino million dollar display.

Whenever I go to Wisconsin Dells, I do everything there is to offer. Same for House on the Rock.

Come out to Keansbug amusement pawk

Only 30 minutes from NY!

R247 My partner and I enjoyed looking at the Grand Canyon – for about four seconds. Yep, there it was! Then it was off to the bar at the lodge.

[quote] Anyways

The best way to see the GC is by plane from Vegas. for about 150 dollars. Helicopters are more and some of them land for a few minutes.

Canyon de Chelly is the opposite of this thread. I would tell anyone to skip Sedona/Red Rock/GC and head up here instead.

Oh yes, I've seen the million dollars on display at the horseshoe casino too. I think the bills are large denominations that they don't print anymore.

Okay, so for R256, there is a creepy museum in Philadelphia called the Mutter museum or something. Awful. I was an intern somewhere and I got dragged there on lunch hour. I had heard about it but now wish I hadn't gone. There were awful deformed babies in jar, and also the huge colon of someone who had died of constipation.

I picked up some rocks off the ground while visiting the moon. Brought em back. Painted them with glow in the. dark paint.

[quote] I would tell anyone to skip Sedona/Red Rock/GC and head up here instead.

I liked Sedona. I've been there a couple of times.

I've visited a few vineyards in my time. I visited the Torres one, just outside Barcelona. They tell you the story of wine growing and you get to try a few glasses at the end.

Well on part of the tour you have to set onboard one of those tourist trains. It actually turned out the perfect vehicle to tour the vines. Was tacky, but very effective.

Oh, come on, people! there are more tacky/touristy shit you've done.

I took the chair lift at Lake Placid during the late 80s. Fucking hell with the amount of black flies swarming our faces but the views were amazing!

[quote] I took the chair lift at Lake Placid during the late 80s.

You better bring that shit back.

Completely forgot that one, r271! And yes, the black flies during the summer are fucking intolerable.

Bought turquoise stuff in Santa Fe.

I’ll admit that I stopped at that beachside amusement park in Santa Cruz because of Lost Boys. Didn’t see any sexy vampires lingering around though.

Santa Cruz boardwalk fun!

r275 we simul-posted (or i didn't see your post above mine)

Too funny, I’d come from the Julia Roberts thread where Patric’s ass was being discussed and thought of that long ago stop off trip R277. I will say Santa Cruz had much more in common with Coney Island then it Santa Monica pier.

I, too, have driven over the Hoover Dam on the way across the country (we moved from NY to CA).

Sometimes when I'm blue, especially around the time that mother died, I get up early and put on a big pair of sunglasses, grab a coffee and a croissant and go window shopping at Tiffany's.

For afternoon fun, I go to the Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park with my Manchester terrier Liz Beth and introduce her to stupid tourists. Sometimes I tell them that she has cancer and other times I tell them that she had an abortion. It depends on my mood.

Forgot about Santa Cruz. There's some type of arcade and mini-carnival there. Waste of time.

I have done (and will do) many touristy things, but the most embarrassing of them so far would be visiting the Mystery Spot in Michigan. Totally cheesy.

r282 - i asked upthread if anyone had been to the Mystery Spot; you see the bumper stickers on tons of cars out here in CA.

I would think most gay guys would be reluctant to visit a place called “Mystery Spot” as it might be vagina or vagina adjacent.

R283 - There are multiple "Mystery Spots" around the country. I doubt there is any connection between them.

I gawked at some lady whores in the windows in Amsterdam.

Same, R286. I don't know what I expected, but it was one of the saddest things - a bunch of women who looked Russian, Asian, and African just sitting in a window bored out of their minds or worse.

I did, too, R287 but I was high as fuck so it was kinda interesting. Lotsa lovely - if often large - lasses, many for some reason wearing red slips.

Getting high and going to the Anne Frank House was a bad idea, though.

R279 reminds me that I took the Hoover Dam tour years ago, when they'd take you through it all, down to the base and let you step outside for a spectacular view.

"And does anyone know what The Thing is? It's somewhere in southern Arizona..."

Apparently it's this, I guess it's supposed to be a mummy. The internet has to be the death of all surprise-based roadside attractions, there have to be pictures of everything out there! And yeah, I just got back from Tucson, it's only about an hour out of a city that has things to do, so it must depend on the tourists who have just driven all the fucking way from Albequerque.

Holy shit, that "Cabbage Patch Doll birth" shit at R235 is the tackiest thing I've ever seen in my life! It's more tasteless than Liberace dressed in an outfit of gilt-accented Thomas Kinkaid paintings!

I like the ghastly Fisherman's Warf in Monterey, Ca. Partly because it's tacky and you can buy cheap little tasteless things, and partly because unlike the one in SF, it has parking. I also adore the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is absolutely a tourist attraction, but a good one.

I also like the La Brea Tar Pits, or rather, I like the paleontology museum attached to it, as well as the LA County Museum of Art in the same park (currently closed).

I spent a couple of days in a hotel next to San Francisco's Chinatown (conference), and it was a couple of blocks away so I went and bought trinkets, which BTW were exactly the same in every shop. Not that I don't like buying trinkets in an environment full of shiny things, but you can get better Chinese food elsewhere and with less trouble over parking.

As for Portland Oregon... Powell's Books is not a tourist attraction, it's just a great store. Voodoo Donuts on the other hand - total tourist shit! Line around the block for overhyped doughnuts the last time I was there, and plenty of homeless people harassing in that area you even before the "demonstrations" ruined downtown Portland.

'Dropping a Stuckey" will resonate with some of the eldergays. Those places were tourist-trap DUMPS. The 'famous' pecan logs were awful. We got one that had WORMS in it. It got flung out the window STAT while we were rolling down the highway. Good times!

R292 I visited Portland and spent a whole day walking all around (seven hours total, because my host dumped me to go chase a woman). Powell’s was the highlight for me. I also liked the little waterfront area. I did not enjoy playing “dodge the crazies” on every block.

R293 Thanks for sticking up for me, when I posted Stuckey’s earlier there were some scathing remarks that it wasn’t a tourist destination, when in fact it’s a tourist trap extraordinaire!

I went to Medieval Times AND Dolly Parton's Pirates Voyage dinner/show. IN MYRTLE BEACH.

Totally forgot about Medieval Times! Also a similar show at Excaliber. And to go on with that theme, i frequently go to Renaissance Festivals as well.

Medieval Times was excellent, credit to the actors. I saw mine in.... I want to say Atlanta. You just feel a little dumb wearing a crown and eating shitty food.

r298 Mine was in Toronto. And yeah, not a fan of huge ass turkey legs (can't recall the rest of the food, this was years ago). When i go to the Ren Fest, i head to the Greek food booth.

What did they do with the rest of the turkey?

Good question r300. same question for places that only specialize in chicken wings lol!

The Stuckey boy showed us, in the dorm, his 3 testicles.

[quote] You just feel a little dumb wearing a crown and eating shitty food.

You probably would’ve preferred a tiara.

You're not too far off, R303...

My friend won a trip to Dollywood and took me with him. We live in London. The prize included everything- flights from London to Atlanta and three nights in Pigeon Forge, with entry to Dollywood.

When we arrived in Atlanta the passport guy initially didn’t believe me when I told him the purpose of my visit to the US.

TWEETSIE RAILROAD. SANTA LAND GHOST TOWN IN THE SKY AND THE LAND OF OZ, a one day yearly event at a abandoned Wizard of Oz theme park.

I loved Dollywood and the nearby environs but jeezus, it's deploraville.

i've heard from multiple sources Dollywood is pretty awesome. When i'm back East i may make it a point to go visit it now that i've got a DL-ers seal of approval.

When my son, husband, and I travel we do touristy things in the morning (London Eye, Westminster, Eiffel Tower), nap, eat lunch then mosey around for the afternoon and evening and just experience whatever city we’re visiting. Much less stress.

Any Texans remember Nickerson Farms, off I-10 between Houston and San Antonio?

When we were tiny twinkies and had just started dating and my now husband surprised me with a weekend in NY. We did all of the touristy things and took a NY bus tour the day after Anna Nicole Smith died. I tried to stay on the upper open air area but my snot literally froze inside of my nostrils. It was like a booger combined with hail! We wound up having to do room service at the Waldorf (such a dump) because Peter Luger had a fire that night. Tried to walk in, cops/firemen everywhere and smoke choking the street. The entire front window was blown out.

Sparky's, which is a cross between South of the Border & a JR's. Don't let the "fancy" website fool you. IT'S THE ULTIMATE SHIT HOLE. Barefoot rednecks, boiled peanuts, navajo Indian headdresses, 6xl t-shirts, hermit crabs, taffy and FIREWORKS!

During the height of Covid, my friends husband sold prison quality meat to Doc Antle (of the Tiger King show on Netflix) for the tigers and other meat eating animals at his Zoo . He made a TON of $ off of it because "there were no readily available horse auctions or restaurant dumpster scraps" so the animals were hungry. My friend recorded Antle's daughter saying that on a voicemail to her husband and sent it to PETA.

Anyway-Antle has his daughters and girlfriends working for/living with and they offered us a free tour/swim with the elephant because they were so appreciative of his efforts. It was sketchy and gross. The animals do seem happy and well cared for though. We then went to Antle's house on the intracoastal for dinner (his home backs up to the T.I.G.E.R park). His home had great views but was decorated with lots of naugahyde sofas with cup holders built in, nascar framed posters, velvet pillows/curtains, dreamcatchers, seashells and faux Louis IV furnishings. He's like a cross between the guy that ran the cathouse (I think that's the name) brothel in NV where everyone OD's and a food stamp version of Hugh Hefner. Myrtle Beach is FULL of weirdos. He's also bi, so if any of you guys are looking to swim with a elephant in exchange for riding his trunk...Reach out.

0/5 stars, would not go back. I wouldn't have went except 1) It was free, 2) the sheer fuckery of it all and 3)you would have too.

Farrah (from that VH1 Rock of Love bus show with Bert Miracles) is his favorite local escort and she was arriving for the evening when we left. Nice girl, stupid facial tattoo and saggy stripper tata's. She was dressed as some sort of schoolgirl. Very nice though, I asked her about her friend from the show Ashley and she informed me that they are still friends. She then told me about how Bert's bandana NEVER comes off until it's time to get down to business. He takes off the wig-danna, puts it on the mannequin head that he keeps next to his bed and clicks a remote which starts a old school VHS camcorder. He films EVERYTHING.

Another random food sales story- The Horry county prison inmates were NOT amused when "cage-free" eggs were delivered (normally the prisons only get powdered eggs and very rarely, GenMod "actual" eggs). One prisoner (a former attorney no less) literally filed a complaint because it caused him emotional disturbance to see the phrase "cage-free".

R308- It is! They have a very good restaurant. My mother was VERY pleased when the chef came out to thank her because my brother and I had requested salads and a slice of quiche. He was so happy he wasn't being forced to reboil a Brightleaf (if you don't know what that is, don't look it up, you'll vomit) hot dog or reheat chicken nuggets. He was just floored that children would order such (considering the typical clientele there). My mother later had a friend of hers reach out to him and he wound up working for the Grove Park, where he still is.

I went to the celebration of the ASS and saw a man get a DUI on a donkey. The policeman had to call for backup so the other officer could ride the horse back to the drunky's RV/ horse trailer combo camp site.

The Carolinas are interesting. I've done the Pawleys Island Hammock Shoppes, the Gray Man ghost tour, the McKenzie Beach tour (historic AA beach resort), Goat Island/ Drunken Jacks tour, Ripleys, Wax Museum, and the Myrtle Beach skywheel. Which has now been desecrated by these two...I hope they made some money to make that 3 year suspended prison sentence worthwhile.

Nothing out of the usual ordinary, I just bedded royalty in several foreign countries.

R317 Welcome to the DL Charlene.

R128- I love you. I'll give you first dibs at the non-squeaky buggy!

R317- We have ALL done that. That's why we're here.

Tennessee is the tackiest state in the union and you could spend a couple of weeks touring all the tourist attractions, including:

Dollywood and Gatlinburg in the Smoky Mountains

"See Rock City" and Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga

The Parthenon, Andrew Jackson's Hermitage and The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Nashville

Graceland in Memphis

When I was in LA I went to Marilyn's crypt. Someone else was there and they were nice enough to take a pic of me in front of it.

Went to the top of the old WTC. Well, the floor with the lookout deck. Glad I wasn't up there that day the sky was so blue...

I love r311. It’s a shame he’s married.

Ate at the Brown Derby in L.A. The food wasn't that great. Also ate at some swanky Italian place in H'Wood which i don't recall the name of because it was not that good. the highlight was the monthly night cyclist club going by us while we ate.

Also i've been to the Getty Center which was really interesting. One night we went to the Largo where Joe Walsh, Fiona Apple, Greg Proops/Drew Carey were performing. That was a pretty awesome performance. Never got to the Magic Castle before leaving LA.

To top it all off, the Beverly Center.

[quote] What tacky touristy shit have you done?

I don't go to places which don't have flushing toilets, OP.

Shit forgot one! Forks in WA (Twilight fame) and the Ho Rainforest which was beautiful as hell. I've done a lot of touristy shit.

Also kayaking with the whales in the San Juan Islands. Same trip.

In Chicago, went and had a photo in front of the fucking BEAN so everyone would stop bugging me about it.

^you should have flicked it

This is touristy but not tacky, I did the Warner Bros. tour in LA and it’s very good.

Definitely want to do that when I one day get out to L.A.

[quote] Also i've been to the Getty Center which was really interesting.

Amazing. I didn’t know Estelle had her own center. I hope to get mine back in St. Olaf one day.

Road trip. San Francisco, heading north.

Stopped at the Olive Pit in Corning, CA. There's a cafe there, but I don't think we ate. It's a cool store, though. Can't remember what, if anything, I bought.

It's one of those places that is a good stopping point on I-5 for road travelers.

Another road trip. San Francisco, heading south.

Harris Ranch. (I've been there 2-3 times on different trips.) Another one of those places in the middle of nowhere, but on I-5, so a good place to stop. (No offense intended to people who live nearby.) Smells pretty bad out there due to the actual ranch. There are a couple of restaurants, upscale and casual. First time eating chicken fried steak.

In New Mexico there was this best pie joint in the state we stopped at that was across the street from a retreat where they send all the sex offending priests for reprogramming. All the pie in the world couldn’t cut through the bad juju surrounding that town.

I ran up the 'Rocky' stairs. I enjoyed it!

Strong Museum in Rochester NY was actually fun. I recommend it if you are in the area.

CN Tower, glass floor. that scared the shit out of me. Luckily, we got to visit Movenpick Marche to help quell our queasiness.

Also, San Diego Wild Animal Park. I lived near there and it was a frequent visit. I guess it's called San Diego Zoo Safari Park now.

I lived in and out of NYC for decades before going to the revolving restaurant at the top of the Times Square Marriott Hotel one night after a Broadway show for a late night after show dessert treat. Total goofy fun and yummy with great views.

R338 NY has a revolving restaurant? I lived there for 15 years and had no idea.

Seriously, about when did the revolving restaurant open? I left NY around 2000.

R339 Yes! I think that’s why it’s a tourist thing, those who live here don’t go usually.

I did Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. All the castles of our crazy King Ludwig II. These places are very crowded and very touristy. But nether the less impressing. Most of the visitors are nowadays from China, the US and Japan.

Are the men in Tennessee hot fuckers?

[quote] I did Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee.

Sounds like a hot night!

I just hope you used protection.

r344. In this case it sounds much more promising like it was.

r338, I'm embarrassed not to have known this. I remember when the monstrosity was built.

Probably doing the obvious things, and loving it. Eiffel tower, Taj Mahal, Colosseum, Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Pyramids of Giza, Angkor Wat.

R346 If you watched the last season of the Deuce, this was a central storyline.

Interesting update on Stuckey’s

R349 I feel vindicated!

When I moved to California in 2002, I set a goal to visit all the Missions on the trail. I was there for about four and a half years, and made it to every one, except, ironically, the first one in San Diego. They are quite the study in contrasts when thinking about tourist destinations and tourist traps, from full on historically impeccable museums, to ruins, to functioning churches, to tourist traps to weird anomalies.