Look beyond the top tourist sites to uncover unusual and unexpected travel experiences.
We all travel to places with a checklist of the most popular sites to visit. My advice is…
Be open minded to a site or activity that you didn’t expect.
Many time, these unexpected experiences provide your most vivid memories.
So read on and discover my family’s Top 10 Most Unusual (and some times) Unexpected Travel Experiences (so far anyway!).
The Capuchin Crypt at Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini…
is located in Rome, Italy.
Discovering this unusual church in Rome was quite the find. It was erected between 1626 and 1641 and commissioned by Pope Urban VIII. And thanks to its crypt, this church is quite unique! Why you may ask?
Once the church was completed, Cardinal Barberini, a member of the Capuchin friars, ordered that the remains of his order be removed from the cemetery and placed in the crypt. But what is even more unusual is what he requested be done with their bones!
The dead friars’ bones were to be placed on the walls in such a way as to create images full of religious symbolism. This would become a site where friars would come and pray. In addition to this macabre “wall art,” the individual chapels within the crypt house whole skeletons dressed in the Capuchin brown habit!
Eastern State Penitentiary…
is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This historic prison was put in the mix of other top Philadelphia sites to visit while on a college road trip for our daughter.
ESP was once one of the most famous, expensive prisons in the world but basically now stands in ruin. Some of the most infamous criminals were locked up here including “Slick Willie” Sutton and “Scarface” Al Capone.
Taking a tour of the cells, Soup Alley, its Hospital and other areas of this prison was quite amazing.
Goblin Valley State Park…
is located in Emery County, Utah.
This state park was added as a “road stop” stop while driving between Moab and Bryce Canyon. Little did I know that this place would have such an impact on my family.
“Goblin” valley was first discovered by cowboys searching for cattle. Later in the 1920s, Arthur Chaffin who ran the Hite ferry, discovered this strange valley of strange shaped rock formations and buttes surrounded by eroding cliffs. In 1949, he returned to “Mushroom Valley,” as he called it, photographing its eroding creatures. Utah soon acquired it and it became a state park in 1964.
This valley is like no other in Utah. Its landscape is often compared to Mars because of its sandstone “goblins” and formations. And we found out that the movie “Galaxy Quest” was filmed here!
Mardi Gras World…
is located in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Mardi Gras World was added to our itinerary when my family visited New Orleans.
And it didn’t disappoint. Located in the Port of New Orleans, this “art museum” provides visitors with a behind the scenes of the work of Kern Studios who design the Mardi Gras floats. It’s really a not to be missed museum!
Churchill Downs…
in located in Louisville, Kentucky.
We visited this racetrack and museum during a summer road trip. Although the racetrack was on “hiatus,” its museum and grounds were open. After some initial groans and moans from the kids of why we were going here, this turned out to be a huge hit.
Future jockeys? 
Hats, hats and more hats. 
Hello there!
My kids enjoyed participating in the many interactive displays. They practiced their skills as a jockey and race announcer, viewed the array of Derby hats worn by past attendees and met Secretariat’s grandson!
New York Transit Museum…
in located in Brooklyn, New York.
As New Yorkers, my family have been lucky enough to have visited most of the major tourist sites this amazing city has to offer . But finding new things to explore is always a welcome challenge for us. And of course, this is a city that always has something new to explore. So visiting this museum in Brooklyn was quite a find.
Housed in an underground Brooklyn subway station, it spans an entire block. It contains a rotation of 20 vintage subway cars dating back to 1907. This gave me chills since my grandparents used these subway cars as a mode of transportation when they arrived in this country.
As a visitor, you can board these historical train cars and pass through a variety of turnstiles…you can even sit at the wheel of one of the original New York buses!
But what makes this museum so special is its tribute to the engineering feat AND the laborers that brought this mass transit system to life.
The Walking Dead Experience…
is located in Senoia, Georgia.
Our son is responsible for our family’s Walking Dead journey. (A more detailed account of our journey will be in an upcoming blog so look out for it!)
On a road trip to Georgia, we visited Senoia, a small town where most of this AMC series is filmed.
My husband, son and I participated in a Walking Dead bus tour through Atlanta Tours and walked the town as well. It was quite an experience. We even ate at Nic & Normans, a restaurnt owned by Greg Nicotero and Norman Reedus!
The Mammoth Site…
is located in Hot Springs, South Dakota.
This museum was added to our road trip itinerary as a “break” on our way to Custer. A lunch stop and a “junior paleontology” tour seemed to fit the bill. Little did I know, what a hit it would be! Here’s some background…
The Mammoth Site is a museum and active paleontology research site located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In 1974, a construction worker named George Hanson unearthed a seven foot tusk while leveling ground for a housing development. He contacted several colleges in the area but none were interested in coming out to the site to take a look. So, Mr. Hanson took some of the bones to his son who had studied geology and archeology who in turn contacted his former college professor, Dr. Larry Agenbroad to come and look at the site.
The land owner, Phil Anderson, allowed the construction to stop until the area could be further evaluated. What they found were the bones of at least 4-6 mammoths. Mr. Anderson halted the construction and through his generosity and community committment, this site was born.
“This site holds one of the most valuable fossil treasures known to mankind.”(Dr. Ralf-Dietrich Kahlke, Professor, Germany)
Falls of the Ohio State Park…
is located in Indiana, on the banks of the Ohio River, just across from Louisville, Kentucky.
This park features the largest exposed Devonian fossil bed in the world.
A state of the art interactive and interpretive center perched on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River tells the 390 million year old story of these giant fossil beds. It is also part of a 1404 acre National Wildlife Conservation area.
Walking around on these fossil beds was certainly a surreal adventure!
National Atomic Testing Museum…
is located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This museum tells the story of America’s nuclear weapons testing program at the Nevada Test Site. Some of the rarest artifacts in relation to this testing program can be found here.
So, how did I come upon this place? A little research, of course.
With a half a day to spend in Las Vegas before a night flight out, I researched “alternate” sightseeing experiences, besides The Strip.
After driving into Vegas from Bryce Canyon and picking up some In N’ Out Burger for lunch, off we went to explore this museum. And it didn’t disappoint!
Some highlights included: seeing a large nuclear reactor, the first air to air missile, a piece of the Berlin Wall and experiencing a Ground Zero Theater simulation of an above ground test.
This museum encouraged my family to reflect on the history of atomic testing and its relevance to security and stability in our world today.
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These special places have not only enhanced my family’s travel history but encourages us to continue exploring “outside the travel box.”
So get out there and discover!