For a vacation or weekend road trip with quirky “Hey, did you see that?” moments, you have your choice of offbeat attractions and experiences across the Southeast.
You can watch rare squirrels and an array of alligators — although not together. You can pay homage to the spot where Coca-Cola was first bottled or see a replica of the first ice-making machine. And you can head to North Georgia this fall to pick apples, enjoy the fall leaves or let out your road rage by crushing a car.
White squirrels in Brevard, N.C.
This western North Carolina town attracts folks for mountain hiking and its 250 waterfalls, but the town’s famed white squirrels are another free attraction.
“They’re all around here,” said Heath Seymour, executive director of Heart of Brevard, a nonprofit organization that promotes the town’s downtown area and businesses.
He recommends starting at Brevard College (1 Brevard College Dr., Brevard.edu) to spot the tree squirrels, which roam freely and are not albinos. Look for these features: a white coat, dark eyes, and a head patch that could be shaped like a horseshoe, doughnut, diamond, triangle, widow's peak or deer tracks. At the shoulder, the dorsal stripe should broaden and resemble a saddle, according to the Heart of Brevard website.
The best times of day are late morning and late afternoon/early evening. Other spots for squirrel sightings include Silvermont Park and Franklin Parks.
According to Heart of Brevard, a pair of squirrels came to Brevard as captive “pets” in the late 1940s, after being trapped in Florida, and were released in the early 1950s. A squirrel count that was completed in 2012 estimated the town had about 1,500 white squirrels, which are just a variation of color rather than a separate species.
Heart of Brevard, 175 E. Main St., Brevard, N.C. 828-884-3278, brevardnc.org.
Alligator Alley
Feeding time is Facebook-worthy at Alligator Alley, an attraction in Summerdale, Ala. The farm has alligator feedings throughout the day (11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.), giving people an opportunity to see hungry gators.
Captain Crunch — topping 13 feet long and 800 pounds — joins more than 400 alligators at the attraction in south Alabama, just north of Gulf Shores.
Owner Wes Moore opened the farm in 2004, rescuing alligators — from mature adults to hatchlings. Visitors can help feed and hold alligators. The farm recently adjusted its hours, and is now closed on Wednesdays.
$10 adults; $8 ages 65 and up, and kids 4-12; free for kids 3 and under. 19500 County Road 71, Summerdale, Ala. 251-946-2483, gatoralleyfarm.com.
Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum
Some folks cherish Coca-Cola bottles, holding on to them for decades and displaying unopened bottles in their homes. About six hours from the home of Coca-Cola and World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, a smaller museum in an old storefront in Vicksburg, Miss., remembers the soft drink bottle’s history.
“It is the very building where Coca-Cola was first bottled for the first time anywhere in the world,” said Nancy H. Bell, executive director of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, which owns the museum. “It’s cool that it’s the actual building.”
In 1894, Joseph Biedenharn first bottled Coke in the building. Bottling continued there until 1938, when the operations moved a new plant. The museum, which opened in 1979 in the restored candy store building, has a reproduction of the first bottling works and Coca-Cola memorabilia, plus treats such as Coke floats.
$3.50 ages 13 and up, $2.50 ages 6-12, free for 5 and under. 1107 Washington St., Vicksburg, Miss. 601-636-5010, biedenharncoca-colamuseum.com.
John Gorrie Museum State Park
Raise a glass of Coca-Cola or other refreshments to Dr. John Gorrie, who invented an ice-making machine in the 1850s. A replica of the machine, created using the first U.S. patent for mechanical refrigeration (granted in 1851), is on display at John Gorrie Museum State Park in Apalachicola, Fla.
The park, southwest of Tallahassee and east of Panama City, shares the story of how Gorrie created the machine to help save yellow fever patients in the 1850s by trying to cool their rooms. He wasn’t able to market his invention and died in 1855, but the museum and an annual festival are a tribute to Gorrie and his machine.
$2 museum admission; free ages 5 and under. 46 Sixth St., Apalachicola, Fla. 850-653-9347, floridastateparks.org.
Tank Town USA
North Georgia is a destination in the fall for leaf watchers, but at Tank Town USA, folks can trample over fallen leaves and much bigger objects. The Morganton attraction allows people to slide in behind the wheel of an armored personnel carrier and drive around — or, for a more expensive adventure, roll over a car.
“If you get to see a tank or armored vehicle, it’s usually at a museum. It’s static and sitting there,” owner Todd Liebross said. “They’re super easy to drive. It’s just like driving a car. As soon as you’ve gone about 15 feet, you kind of have the feel for it.”
The basic option, at $75, is driving the armored personnel carrier for a half mile, or 10 minutes, whichever comes first. The car-crushing adventure jumps the price to $499 (reservations required). There’s also an option to operate an excavator ($75).
Visitors, who have ranged from 15 years old to a 91-year-old World War II veteran, have driven more than 1,500 miles since Tank Town opened in April 2013, Liebross said.
“It’s something completely out of the ordinary,” he added.
10408 Appalachian Highway, Morganton. 706-633-6072, tanktownusa.com.
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