Everyone has their individual idea of a vacation. Some people like to read a book by a fire or connect with nature during a hike in the woods. If you prefer more unique, under-the-radar travel experiences, add these one-of-a-kind destinations to your vacation bucket list.
Glide Down a 10-Story Slide in St. Louis
Did you know St. Louis was once the largest manufacturer and distributor of shoes in the world? In 1905, 48 million pairs of shoes were shipped out of Gateway City. Shoe manufacturing was even included in a less-than-flattering nickname for the city, when the losing St. Louis Browns baseball team helped give St. Louis the unofficial title of “First in shoes, first in booze and last in the American league.
”Many of the 10-story brick warehouses of St. Louis’ former garment district have been rehabbed into condos. However, City Museum’s building has a much different vibe, possibly because it features a school bus and Ferris wheel on its rooftop. City Museum is less of a static museum and more of an eclectic, ever-changing indoor playground for kids and adults. The enormous building is an innovative work in progress that specializes in creatively repurposing materials.
The former warehouse’s 30-plus multi-story metal chutes, which once slid new shoes down to the street-level loading docks, now slide squealing children and equally vocal grown-ups. The building has also become a haven for rescued architectural salvage, where you can explore an 1870s-era bank vault, among other treasures. Be sure to see the world’s biggest pencil and the world’s largest pair of men’s underpants, which were temporarily stolen and held for ransom during the 2020 pandemic but ultimately returned safely.
Travel Underground in Seattle
If you’ve been to Seattle, you might have seen the Space Needle and the fish sellers of Pike’s Place Market. However, did you know that Seattle’s city origins can be found underground, and you can even take a tour?
In 1889, many of Seattle’s wooden buildings and sidewalks were destroyed by fire. To make matters worse, Pioneer Square, the town’s commerce area, was routinely flooded with backed-up sewage during high tides in nearby Elliott Bay. To remedy the infrastructure problems, town leaders decided that all new buildings would be constructed of brick and masonry. The effort to regrade roads included raising the streets in front of the building by two stories. To adjust to the higher road levels, businesses revamped their buildings’ second stories to be their new ground-level entrances. The vacant subterranean rooms were abandoned until 1965 when a local citizen named Bill Speidel established a tour of the closed-off levels.
Today, visitors to the Emerald City can experience guided walks of Seattle’s subterranean time capsule via Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour.
Dig for Diamonds in Arkansas
Crater of Diamonds State Park is located on 911 acres in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. The Park sits on the eroded crater of a 95-million-year-old volcano. The area was privately owned until 1972 when it was sold to the State of Arkansas and deemed a state park.
Crater of Diamonds State Park is open to the public, where, for a fee, treasure hunters can dig and sift for diamonds, amethyst, agate, quartz, garnet, calcite, and other semi-precious igneous gemstones and minerals. Visitors can keep all the stones they find, regardless of size and value. The largest diamond found in Crater of Diamonds State Park was discovered in 1972 and measured 16.37 carats. Nearly 30,000 diamonds have been discovered on the property since 1972, with more than 600 diamonds of all colors and quality found annually.
Walk a Haunted History Tour in New Orleans
When it comes to paranormal activity, New Orleans has more than its fair share of ghost sightings, so make your history tour of the Crescent City a haunted one. Your guide from the French Quarter Ghosts & Legends Tour will regale you with two hours of macabre, historically accurate information that is rooted in local history. Your group will explore favorite haunts in the French Quarter, New Orleans’ oldest neighborhood, and visit locations that are known hotspots for paranormal activity.
During your New Orleans Cemetery Tour, you will rendezvous at the area’s celebrated, above-ground graves known as Cities of the Dead. There, among the ornately designed tombs, mausoleums and burial vaults, you will discover the secrets to the rituals and superstitions that are mingled into the region’s unique burial customs. The walking tours take place rain or shine.
If you prefer spending your vacation time enjoying quirky experiences while learning about local customs and history, add one of these more unusual adventures to your next road trip.
Author bio: Kalila Smith was born and raised in New Orleans. She personally researched and wrote the material featured on Haunted History Tours of New Orleans. Smith is the author of numerous books on the subject of the paranormal. She has also been featured on and worked behind the scenes on television in the U.S. and U.K.
