Could you name a few of the jaw-dropping roadside attractions in the U.S. that you've come across in the past year?

Thanks!

Luv your site, BTW!

Doug Kirby and Ken Smith: We never cease to be amazed. A few that come to mind: The Skywalk, Grand Canyon West, AZ; Model Cockroach Kitchen at the Insectarium, Philadelphia, PA; Center of the World, Felicity, CA (we hung out with the mayor); The New Jim Bakker Show, Branson, MO (sit in the TV audience -- it's free). Also in Branson was a weird show performed in Powerpoint about what Heaven is like.

And then there's the Battle Hill Natural History Museum, Battle Creek, IA -- an amusing curator and thousands of mounted specimens, many with dropped jaws.

Odd statues: Friendship with Chief Baconrind in Oklahoma, the giant head of Bo Pilgrim in Texas, Statue of Liberation Through Christ in Memphis (a cross-wielding Statue of Liberty with an even higher purpose than the creaky old version in NY harbor).

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Troy, Michigan: My girl friend and I are planning to get in the car and drive from Troy, Michigan to Portland, Maine. The dates are from September 13 - 23. Any suggestions for a scenic route? Places of interest to visit i.e Ben & Jerry's factory tour? We really have no definate agenda nor reservations at any hotels. Thanks so much for your assistance. Norine

Doug Kirby and Ken Smith: We don't really specialize in scenic routes -- we're too busy scanning the horizon for the next appalling statue or billboard. But let's see... If you cut across Canada, of course you must stop at Niagara Falls and stroll the tourist trap boulevard on the Canadian side. In New York State, visit Secret Caverns, Cobleskill, NY, for an entertaining underground tour. If you're heading up north via I-87, watch for Ausable Chasm, a SCENIC stop. In VT, go to the Shelburne Museum south of Burlington -- a sprawling collection that includes a Landlocked Vertical-Beam Sidewheel Ship. Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln, NH is good if you desire seeing a trained bear play basketball.

Caution on post-summer trips - check attraction hours in advance. Lots of places, especially in the north, open only on weekends or not at all.

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New York, NY: I don't have a car, and rarely drive. So when I take road trips, I get lost easily. Any thoughts? Are GPS devices worth it? Good websites for planning a trip? Other tricks on the road?

Doug Kirby and Ken Smith: Maybe it's Darwin at work. If you can't read a map and don't have a car, you as a Road Trip-taking evolutionary deadend should probably go extinct. Haha - just kidding. In your case, a GPS device might be a worthwhile investment, or make a new friend who can drive and read maps. If you become utterly reliant on the GPS voice telling you where to drive, who knows where the voices in your head will stop? Drive, my zombie minion! Crash into that Muffler Man statue!

We try to make RoadsideAmerica.com useful in planning a trip, but find ourselves still heading over to Google Maps, Map Quest, or Yahoo maps to get point-to-point routes.

Back to your directional malady, though... you can actually take a fairly amusing trip by pulling over every ten minutes or so and asking a local for directions. People are friendly, and you're sure to have an adventure as you wander America's backroads. We sometimes find totally new attractions based on the bad directions people have provided!

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Doug Kirby and Ken Smith: Thanks everyone -- hope we helped with your road trip planning. You can find tools to help you create your own trips, along with the latest reports and news from the world of roadside oddities, at roadsideamerica.com.