Friday, September 23, 2016

The rich are different. They may even be cheesier.

Image result for souvenir city gulf shoresBaldwin County, Alabama, has been a cheese hunter's heaven for a good long time. Residents refer to the area as L.A. (Lower Alabama, get it?) and proudly call it the Redneck Riviera. Where else would the Flora-Bama Lounge with its annual mullet toss be found? Where do you suppose you could find the landmark Souvenir City, an understated (?), tasteful (?) little shop that customers have entered through a wide-open shark's mouth for half a century? Well, not always through the very same shark's mouth, maybe, but this is the current incarnation so it can stand in for the lineage. Of course, beach towns are pretty much where such things spawn. These old-school Gulf Shores institutions came to town before there was a town. In recent decades, though, wealth has moved inland and so has the need for novel visuals. So, enter Bamahenge.




Yes, that's right, a model of Stonehenge is hidden in the woods near Elberta, Alabama. If you are not familiar with Elberta, it is near Foley. Not better? Well, then, Lillian? Oh, never mind. The point is, a billionaire living in Baldwin County had a full-scale fiber-glass replica of Stonehenge made and installed just a short jaunt among the trees from his quartet of dinosaurs. Oh, wait, did I forget to mention the dinosaurs? And the whole installation is rather close to the Knights in the Woods. No charge, just some lovely sculptures to make you look. Yes, for sure, the rich are different.

Bamahenge

For scale. I told you it was full sized. I may not have told you it is accurately situated according to the solstice markers and so forth.
What do you suppose he sees?



Look carefully--yes, it is a T. rex.

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