Tag: featured

(ODD)yssey, Blog Post

Photos from our first Bigfoot Festival

Kelly Kazek

It's just our luck that we were planning a trip to the mountains the same day as a Bigfoot Festival was happening nearby. Of course. So the first weekend in September, Sweetums and I were in Marion, North Carolina, with thousands of Bigfoot enthusiasts for the inaugural festival. Although we'd heard there was a Bigfoot… Continue reading Photos from our first Bigfoot Festival

Southern Thing Columns

How the word ‘tacky’ originated in the South and how to use it properly

Kelly Kazek

The following excerpt is from a column on the word "tacky" that originated on It's a Southern Thing. The link at the bottom takes you to the full column. You know that scene in the parody film "Serial Mom" where she kills someone for wearing white shoes after Labor Day? Remember when you knew people… Continue reading How the word ‘tacky’ originated in the South and how to use it properly

(ODD)yssey, Blog Post

The Death Tiki of Awesomeness and other Maggie Valley sights

Kelly Kazek

When Sweetums and I were traveling through the North Carolina mountains in early September, we were on the lookout, as usual, for any roadside oddities. We looked on RoadsideAmerica.com and found a listing with a name we loved: Indian Death Tiki of Awesomeness. Of course, that’s not the statue’s real name; that was bestowed by… Continue reading The Death Tiki of Awesomeness and other Maggie Valley sights

(ODD)yssey, Blog Post

Why I loved Gatlinburg’s tacky side

Kelly Kazek

I admit it: I love kitsch. I can’t help it. Give me a vacation with an animatronic Zoltar or Wild West character and I’m a happy camper. Give me a shop filled with tacky souvenirs and I’m in heaven. So it should be no surprise Sweetums and I loved our recent trip to Gatlinburg. We… Continue reading Why I loved Gatlinburg’s tacky side