Posts Tagged “big macs”

We woke up in Mackinaw City, ate fudge, and enjoyed the charming “downtown” for a bit this morning. Then it was time to drive over the crazy Mackinac Bridge — our second XL Big Mac of the trip –- that would be Michigan’s nickname for the bridge, not mine!!

Then we were in the UP!

The Upper Peninsula is a whole different scene. It was kind of like being transported back in time to like… the 50s, I think. Or the 70s. I don’t know. It was weird. Anyway:

“Pasties” (they appear to be a savory pie involving root veggies and meat in a pie crust and folded over like a turnover) and smoked fish jerky are both a really big deal on the UP. We didn’t partake of the local cuisine, but we saw pasties signs every few feet in the more populated areas. We did, however, go to this:

At the Mystery Spot, we got to experience unexplained physics-defying optical illusions, and Brian climbed the wall:

We had a beautiful, scenic drive along Lake Michigan:

Oh, would you like a closer look at that lighthouse? We wanted one, too, and we weren’t deterred by this:

Or even this:

Hooray:

It’s the Manistique Lighthouse, by the way.

Anyway, we drove and drove and then we were in Wisconsin!

And I’m sorry to report that the rest of the day was pretty visually uninteresting. Sorry, Wisconsin. To be fair, a lot of the Wisconsin driving happened in the dark, so I’m hoping to get a couple more photos tomorrow, and they better involve cows. We’re in Wausau, Wisconsin, at the Super 8. Tomorrow the goal is to get to Minneapolis (not far, so shouldn’t be an issue) and regroup for a day or two before moving on to leg 2: South Dakota. Whee!

So we were innocently driving along the Pennsylvania Turnpike today when we decided to exit to take a break for nature. We stopped at the first place off the toll plaza that seemed promising… the omnipresent McDonald’s. Sure, it seemed normal enough:

But… what is that in the window?

Could it be… A GIANT BIG MAC?!?!?!

YES!! It turns out this is no ordinary McDonald’s. In fact, it’s the Big Mac Museum Restaurant. Score!

In addition to the World’s Largest Big Mac, the Big Mac Museum also boasts a wide array of Big Mac paraphernalia (collectible Happy Meal toys, old packaging from Big Macs of bygone days) on display as well as souvenirs available for purchase, such as these glorious Big Mac Christmas tree ornaments:

You can also learn all about Jim Delligatti, the creator of the Big Mac:

…and the legendary (!) sandwich’s journey through time all the way up to the present day:

Nice. This is why I love a road trip. We didn’t intentionally go to the Big Mac Museum, but it was such an awesomely lucky find and we were both thrilled to stumble upon it. I have to confess that while I’m generally fairly anti-corporate in most of my leanings, there’s something I love about insanely self-referential corporate shrines (such as the New World of Coke in Atlanta… so awesome), even for companies I’m not particularly fond of (I cannot believe how much I was into this McDonald’s, but what can I say?). I also love factory tours! So perhaps I enjoy quirkiness and company pride, or maybe I’m just morbidly fascinated with wretched excess. Either way, I can’t get enough! Bring it on, America!