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The New England states have their own quirky locations. A couple of them may not be in the “quirky” category, but my travel research said they were! My features lie in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. So, here we go with the New-England Quirky Fun Attractions! Sorry about the first one! I couldn’t resist even though it’s just a… ok, wait for it. Here’s a link to my first quirky post about the Eastern 26 states.
Apparently, Rhode Island is bereft of quirky attractions as this one makes several lists as the best in the state. It’s a giant blue bug on top of an exterminator business. It’s in Providence, close to the state capital and other stops. Of course, nothing in Rhode Island is too far from anything else!
Massachusetts contribution to New-England Quirky Fun Attractions
Lizzie Borden’s father and step-mother died of ax injuries on August 4th, 1892. Lizzie, 32 years old at the time, stood accused of the murders. A jury acquitted her of the murders. Police found no other clues other than the ones they presented to the jury.
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To this day, no one knows for sure what happened. Of course, most assume Lizzie did the killing and “got away with it.” All the usual stories about the house being haunted persist. Again, it’s a bed & breakfast, so stay there at your own risk! Maybe you’ll hear Lizzie chopping up her parents.
Yes, the house is a bed and breakfast. The museum part of it adds revenue to support the maintenance and continuing restoration of the house. Here’s a link to the house. You can visit the museum, wait for a tour of the place, or spend the night.
So, another of the New-England Quirky Fun Attractions.
New Hampshire
The name is misleading, it doesn’t look anything like Stonehenge, but it is an ancient site of man-made rock settings arrayed around the sun’s direction at the solstices. According to archeological methods, the structures are around 4,000 years old.
The question remains if they were built by Native American people or some unknown European people. And, it may be European due to many features similar to rock structures and ancient writings found in Ireland, England, and other parts of Europe. Interestingly, the bottom picture above shows two thin strips of paint to illustrate cuts made with tools similar to those used in Europe 4,000 years ago.
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The site’s curators mean “America’s Stonehenge” because of the mystery about its origins, similar to Stonehenge in the UK. Of course, it could be a coincidence as well! Here’s a link to their website.
Vermont
Ben & Jerry’s original factory (still in operation) includes a “flavor graveyard”! Because over the years, many flavors on the market failed to meet sales goals and became marketing casualties after enough trial and promotion. Hence, the making of the flavor graveyard for those flavors never to grace the Ben & Jerry’s isle again.
Visitors bought Ben & Jerry’s ice cream as well at the factory and took factory tours. However, when I visited, the wait just to buy ice cream was about 60 minutes. And, it’s just typical B&J flavors! And a factory is a factory. I drove into town and bought some B&J, Cherry Garcia, of course!
Burlington VT, another of New-England Quirky Fun Attractions
Of course, there is a story behind this one. There always is! In 1965, officials proposed a roadway to connect I-87 to downtown Burlington with a controlled access road.
As of this writing (January 2022), the road has never been built. However, when the monument was built in 2002, the 38 drawer file cabinet represented 38 years of futile paperwork and bureaucratic nightmare. The count is now at 51 years and climbing as the project is still on the books!
Just another New-England Quirky Fun Attractions place.
Burlington VT Earth clock, another of the New-England Quirky Fun Attractions
But, this is not pre-historic! Actually, the construction of the earth clock started (and finished) in 2007! A local group called the Circle for Peace raised the money for construction. While it appears pre-historic, construction planning led to the current appearance. It stands on the shores of Lake Champlain. So, explanations about why this is one of the New-England Quirky Fun Attractions?
More Burlington VT
While I couldn’t get a good picture of them, Burlington has statues of winged monkeys on the former Union train station! The building now houses the Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center. Formally, the monkeys graced a futon store called “The Emerald City.” At one time, only one monkey graced the building. When that monkey disappeared (as in stolen), another monkey made its appearance. Then, the first monkey came back!
Now, the Burlington newspaper reported a few years ago that the monkeys had twins! So, now they have four monkeys. All in fun, of course.
But more seriously (??), Lake Champlain continues to get credit for having a Lake Champlain monster in its depths. Much like the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland. Burlington hosts a statue of the creature and a carved stone monument to explain the phenomenon! But, every place has its oddities!
Classic Rock Recollection
“The Thing That Should Not Be” by Metallica
Messenger of fear in sight
Dark deception kills the light
Hybrid children watch the sea
Pray for father, roaming free
Fearless wretch
Insanity
He watches
Lurking beneath the sea
Written by: James Alan Hetfield, Kirk L. Hammett, Lars Ulrich
