In my July/August Favorites I made mention of loving the Netflix Original film The Fundamentals of Caring. In it a boy suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, who has made a list of America’s “worst” roadside attractions, gets the opportunity to take a road trip with his caretaker to see a few.
Inspired by this list, I researched every roadside attraction in America that has been deemed the “World’s Largest” and made it a goal of mine to see them all.
(I also took note of those outside the US, but I figure my chances of seeing those are much slimmer, so I won’t count it against my list if I don’t, but rather mark them as bonus points, because who doesn’t love a little extra credit?!)
This past week, while my family and I were en route to a glorious weekend in Lake Tahoe, we were able to see two of the World’s Largest Roadside Attractions (WRLA’s) (pronounced Wool-Rahs) on my list, and let me tell you, the excitement. Was. Real.
First off, the World’s Largest Swedish Coffee Pot.
Even as someone who hates coffee, I had quite the time of containing my excitement wiggles as we came up Highway 99 and saw this beauty:
And while I know this was our first one, so you’ll probably take the next thing I say as a result of the novelty but…THIS WAS THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN. It was so cute. It was so quaint. It was so THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN. Not to mention the fact that the town of Kingsburg, CA (where it is located) is about the cutest place I’ve ever been to. It was one of those towns you see in a feel good family sitcom that probably has citywide garage sales and a guy at the bank that gives you a lollypop. My brother almost moved there on the spot.
Next on our list of WRLA’s, which also happened to be located in Kingsburg—only adding to my brother’s obsession—was the World’s Largest Raisin Box:
And while yes, the Raisin Box was only our second WRLA, thus is still had novelty status, and yes, aside from the Swedish Coffee Pot I’d seen only 30 minutes prior, I might consider it THE COOLEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN, I think the real treat, not only for us but for Kingsburg, came in the way of us going HAM in and around the Sun-Maid Raisin gift shop.
I’m not joking.
We bought t-shirts, we bought snacks, we bought postcards, we took a picture with Mrs. Sun-Maid herself:
My brother became Mrs. Sun-Maid herself:
If I were to venture a guess, I’d say we spent 40 minutes on the Sun-Maid property, which has to be a record for anyone that doesn’t work there.
That being said, I cannot emphasize enough how much these two side trips were worth it. When we got to Tahoe, I already began plotting when I could visit my next WLRA, and believe me, there will be a next one, and a next one, and a next one.
For anyone who is interested in following my quest or seeking out the attractions yourself, I’m going to paste the full list as well as pictures of those I’ve been to on this page.
Here’s to a life full of WRLA’s!
**In other exciting news, I was published on The Mighty today, check that post out here.
Kimberlee K. 
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