Category: (ODD)yssey

The following is excerpted from my book "A Guide to the South's Quirkiest Roadside Attractions," which is sold exclusively in stores and online from Books-A-Millions. Purchase it here for $16.95. The book features sites in 11 Southern states. I visited the Coral Castle in 2005 with my Baby Girl, who was 12 at the time,… Continue reading The Coral Castle: Featured stop from my ‘Guide to South’s Quirkiest Roadside Attractions’

Allardt, Tenn., a tiny spot on the map I’d never heard of before this year, has an amazing claim to fame: It is the home of the official pumpkin (and other giant veggies) weigh off. We were passing through on a short road-trip when we noticed a really cool water tower in Allardt and, of… Continue reading This tiny town is home to the Great Pumpkin weigh-off

As we continue to live in the strange conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to tell the story of the heroes of Alabama’s yellow fever epidemic of 1888. The current situation gives us some idea of what medical personnel faced more than 130 years ago, although yellow fever spread differently and the virus was… Continue reading This Alabama cemetery has a memorial to 5 doctors who died in epidemic

For years, whenever I have given presentations about quirky places in the South, people have asked me if I had a list of places to share, or if one of my books provided one. I always had to say no. FINALLY! My 12th book, recently released as a Books-a-Million exclusive, lists fun and unusual sights… Continue reading My ‘Guide to the South’s Quirkiest Roadside Attractions’ is available exclusively at Books-a-Million

I have long wanted to take a photo of a natural attraction I’d written about but never seen – the trees that grew together to spell HI in the Hays Nature Preserve on the outskirts of Huntsville. I finally got my chance Saturday along with another surprise: a visit with a real-for-sure unicorn (lots of… Continue reading I was looking for a message from Mother Nature and found a ‘real’ live unicorn