Here are some ideas for planning your next big road trip.

When you’re out on a road trip, the road is only half the trip. The rest is made of all the things you do and see along the ride.

On a longer trip, though, the museums, beaches, and restaurants may start to get old. You might find yourself craving for something else.

Something weirder.

Lucky for you, the U.S. is chock-full of completely bizarre sights for you to gawk at. You just have to know where to find them.

Here’s a sampler of nine utterly mind-boggling roadside attractions in America.

1. Coral Castle

Coral Castle is a strange collection of huge limestone monuments located outside Homestead, Florida. They were erected between 1923 and 1951 by Ed Leedskalnin, an eccentric immigrant from Latvia after his fiancée left him.

The thing is, Leedskalnin supposedly set up the stones, some weighing thousands of tons, all on his own without so much as mortar. No one’s quite sure how he did it, with theories ranging from strange use of magnets to supernatural powers.

Among the carved stones are an accurate sundial, a crescent moon, and a fountain. It’s a mysterious testament to one man’s heartbreak.

2. Jimmy Carter Peanut Statue

No matter what your feelings are regarding President Jimmy Carter, you probably don’t picture him as a giant grinning peanut. But that’s what the town of Plains, Georgia, erected to help Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign.

The 13-foot-tall peanut’s toothy grin is supposedly modeled after Carter’s smile. He doesn’t see the resemblance, as the ex-President reportedly loathes the peanut.

Yet, it still stands in Plains today and is maintained regularly to preserve its happy smile. Fun fact, this is the world’s second-largest peanut — the biggest is located in nearby Ashburn, Georgia.

3. World’s Largest Ball of Paint

The world’s largest ball of paint in Alexandria, Indiana, had humble beginnings. When it was hung up in 1977, it was about the size of a baseball.

Today, the ball measures more than 14 feet in diameter and weighs 10,260 pounds. The original baseball at its heart is now covered by nearly 30,000 coats of paint.

And the best part is that you can add your own. There are paint rollers and latex paint available so visitors can leave their mark on the giant gonad-looking ball.

4. Longaberger Company Headquarters

The Longaberger Company, founded in 1973, manufactured handcrafted baskets — the kinds a cartoon character would take to a picnic. In the early ‘90s, the company decided it needed a new headquarters in Newark, Ohio.

So, it built a giant basket. Literally. The Longaberger Company’s previous head office building is shaped like one of its baskets.

Sadly, the Longaberger Company folded in 2018 and abandoned its headquarters two years prior. The giant basket is such a beloved local sight, though, that Newark is working to get it listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

5. Birthplace of Captain Kirk

It’s not unusual to see a dead famous person’s birth home become a historical attraction. But what about the birth home of a person who hasn’t been born yet?

Or doesn’t even exist?

Nonetheless, a plaque in Riverside, Iowa, proclaims the town is (or will be) the birthplace of Captain James Tiberius Kirk of Star Trek fame. That said, he won’t be born until March 22, 2228, so you’ll have plenty of time to browse the local Star Trek museum while waiting for the momentous occasion.

6. William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History

We had to include one museum on this list. This one will be particularly memorable for making everybody visiting cringe.

The William P. Didusch Center in Linthicum, Maryland, highlights the history of urology — that is, the science of treating problems with the urinary tract. The museum’s main collection includes hundreds of (often extremely mean-looking) instruments and tools for insertion into holes where you don’t want to insert anything.

At least you’ll have a lot to talk about once you get back in the car. After you’ve sat in horrified silence for several miles, that is.

7. Chicken Farmer Rock

In the 1970s, an unidentified individual painted the words “CHICKEN FARMER I LOVE YOU” on a rock near Newbury, New Hampshire. A rumor says the graffiti artist was a young boy madly in love with a girl from a chicken farm, but no one knows for sure.

As soon as it appeared, the text warmed the local’s hearts and they’ve kept the paint fresh ever since. That is, until someone took offense in 2011 and asked the local DOT to remove the text.

But the power of love overcomes all. The graffiti soon re-appeared on the rock — only, it now reads “CHICKEN FARMER I STILL LOVE YOU.”

8. Lucy the Elephant

New Jersey isn’t exactly known for its elephants. But that just makes Lucy even more special.

Lucy the Elephant is a 65-foot-tall wooden elephant in Atlantic City. It was built in 1881 to, you would never guess, attract land buyers to the area.

We suppose the plan worked because Lucy is still there today. Over the years, she has functioned as a hotel, beach cottage, private home, and bar.

9. The Big Duck

If New Jersey gets a giant animal, New York wants one, too. Theirs is the Big Duck, a giant concrete quacker in the town of Flanders on Long Island.

Local duck rancher Martin Maurer built the Big Duck in 1930. He had seen a coffee shop advertised with a giant pot of coffee, so he figured the marketing plan would work for his ducks as well.

For some reason, however, Maurer decided to use red light from a T-model Ford for the duck’s eyes. Its ominously glowing red eyes give the enormous bird a somewhat demonic appearance.

Know what, I’ll buy a duck or two — anything to keep the big one from cursing my bloodline down to a hundred generations.

Have the tough conversations before you book the trip

Vacations are meant to be an escape from your everyday stressors. Traveling with people outside your family may seem like an easy way to up the fun-factor. Since you get along with your friends when you’re at dinner, you might think they would be fun travel companions. But dinner is only for a few hours, not an entire week. These tips will help ensure that your vacation is an entertaining experience for everyone.

Get on the same vacation page

Everyone’s definition of a vacation may be different, so it’s important to discuss how each person defines a vacation. “What’s the goal of the trip?” asks Avigail Lev, a clinical psychologist in California.

You also can ask your travel buddies other questions, like:

• Do you want to relax?
• Do you want to sightsee?
• Do you want to meet new people?
• What does a vacation mean to you?

While you are talking about your vacation goals, you should discuss budget and possible destinations along with types of accommodations. “You need to think through the kind of trip you want to take and make sure that everybody’s comfortable with that,” says Irene S. Levine, a travel friendship expert and clinical psychologist in New York.

Figure out your travel personalities

People have different travel personalities that might not mesh well in close quarters. “If you have a person who’s spontaneous with a person who needs to have everything planned out, then that’s very hard to negotiate,” says Lev. If that’s the case, you might want to reconsider traveling together. If you still want to go on vacation together, have a conversation about these differences ahead of time and figure out how you can compromise.

Darley Newman, age 44, the host and executive producer of Travels With Darley, suggests having everyone in the group take a travel quiz before their trip. You can search online for “travel personality quizzes” that can help you figure out what your “travel traits” are and how you tend to interact with other people. After you and your travel companions all take the quiz, share your results. This will help generate discussions about possible issues so you can resolve them before your trip. A quiz can cover areas such as energy level, cultural exploration and structure (planning and organization preferences).

Confer about alcohol and gambling

If your friends normally don’t engage in drinking, drugs or gambling, you might wrongly assume that they won’t on vacation either. Sometimes people view a vacation as a time to let loose, which may involve partaking in heavy drinking, drug use or gambling.

“We’ve been around people where vacations were an excuse to drink,” says Tami Zak, 54, a marriage and family therapist in Tucson, Arizona. They also might expect you to party with them. It’s important to have a conversation about their plans during vacation related to alcohol, drug use and gambling before you travel.

Appoint a group leader

Usually there is someone in the group who considers themselves a planner. It’s helpful to have one person who is the group leader. This go-to person is usually the one who communicates with the travel agent and the group about important issues. For example, Jacquie Whitt, 67, cofounder of Adios Adventure Travel in Virginia Beach, Virginia, says that she tells the group leader to ask every single person in the group to double-check their passport expiration.

Avoid being hangry

When you travel you might forget to eat or be so busy touring you don’t have time to eat, but it’s important to plan meal breaks into your vacation. “It sounds so basic, but it’s a huge thing when people get hangry,” says Newman. “Hangry” is when you become irritable or angry from not eating. “I’ve been on trips when people get hangry and then they get upset and it’s a downward spiral,” says Newman. If you become hangry, you won’t enjoy your vacation and you’ll bring the mood down for the rest of your travel companions. It’s also important to stay hydrated, so bring your water bottle.

Schedule daily check-ins

During your vacation it’s helpful to schedule a daily meeting with the group at breakfast or dinner. “Have a little bit of a moment for a check-in,” says Zak. During this time, you can make sure that everyone is feeling included and participating in the activities they want to do. You also could discuss plans for the following day or any possible changes.

Zak offers an example of how one person might feel tired and not be able to go on a planned tour. “Be open to things changing,” she says. Newman also stresses the importance of being flexible during check-ins and when traveling. “Travel is all about rolling with it and just being ready for situations that come up and things you didn’t expect,” she says.

Benefits to traveling with friends or couples

Besides fun, there are some benefits to traveling with those outside your immediate family.

Sharing the cost

If you are traveling with your family (kids and partner), typically you are paying for everyone in your family, which can be expensive. But if you are traveling with friends, you are paying for yourself and maybe your spouse. Renting a house with your friends might be less expensive than booking a hotel room.

Less responsibility

When you travel with your kids (even if they are grown) or if you travel with your parents, then you are going to feel some sense of responsibility for their safety and well-being. But when you travel with your friends, there isn’t that same caretaking role you have with your children or your parents. “You’re not trying to be an example,” says Zak. “When you’re with your peers, you’re all doing your own thing and can be fairly independent.”

Bonding

When you travel with friends who are around the same age, you all share similar lived experiences. “These are people that you have common interests with,” says Zak. Newman explains that traveling with friends also helps you learn about them in a new way. “You’re going to create awesome memories. And then it’s fun when you’re back at home [because] you can meet up with them and talk about it.”

As we age, one of the most common resolutions we make is to travel more and making time to go on holiday throughout the year can be an important aspect of active ageing, which the WHO describes as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security to enhance one’s quality of life as they age. Travel encompasses key points of active ageing, including independence, autonomy, quality of life and life expectancy where it also improves physical and mental health by keeping people active and engaged.

It is no secret that people who travel are happier and healthier than those who don’t explore often so, if you enjoy travelling, you are doing yourself a favour by getting out of town and seeing new places. The benefits of travel to both mental and physical health are worth considering.

Deval Delivala, Co-Founder and SVP at GetSetUp, talked about the benefits of travel on physical health for older adults and shared, “For older people who enjoy taking vacations, there’s great news. Travel can reduce the risk of heart attack and coronary death. A recent study found that taking more vacations can lead to a longer life. Another study found that people who travelled within the last two years reduced their risk of death by 36.6%. Travel also keeps us moving. Recent research showed that 60% of people who travel report getting more exercise on vacation than when at home. Exercise is known to reduce the risk of hypertension, type-2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer. People who regularly go on holiday were more motivated to pay attention to their health.”

Opining on the benefits of travel on mental health for older adults, she revealed, “A Japanese study found a positive relationship between travel and subjective well-being in older adults. People who travelled five or more times a year reported higher well-being than those who travelled twice a year. Travel helps reduce stress and anxiety. When on vacation, there’s no pressure to get things done or worry about what’s going on at work or home. The focus is on oneself and enjoying time off without any distractions.”

Asserting that quality travel experiences are based on curiosity, Deval Delivala said, “Vacationing allows you to explore new places and learn more about yourself by interacting with people who live in different parts of the world than you do. Being in new places helps expand horizons and opens up opportunities for personal growth in areas like communication or confidence in social situations, which might not be available otherwise. It also supports brain health and resilience through learning and exploring!”

Suggesting how to plan ahead financially, she advised, “For people planning to travel in retirement, financial planning ahead of time and budgeting for retirement is key. It’s important to note the trips don’t have to be exotic or extravagant for older adults to reap physical and mental benefits. Traveling can include visiting friends and family to help cut down on the costs of accommodation. Some volunteer travel opportunities also offer free accommodation and maybe even some meals. Considering the health benefits, making travel more of a priority could be well worth the expense!”

When adventure is a part of your life, you’re more likely to exercise and you are also more likely to reduce stress and stay mentally engaged in life. Not to mention that traveling will expose you to new people and new experiences, which are great for mental stimulation so, if you love to go on holiday, get out and get active—it’s good for you!

All great photographs are the result of a few things coming together: the right time, right place and right conditions. And this might just be the great leveller in travel photography – it doesn’t matter how experienced you are, or how high-end your camera kit is, if the conditions aren’t right, you’re probably not going to get the photographs you’ve been dreaming of.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean that Mother Nature has the upper hand – or that creating wonderful images is simply a matter of luck and chance. There is a lot we can control before we even pick up our cameras. Being in the right place at the right time comes about through careful research and planning. If you’ve done the preparation, your chances of being in a dream location at the optimal moment are hugely improved, so plan ahead and prioritise photography when devising any travel itinerary.

1. Do the prep

Professional travel photographers do extensive research before planning a trip, including calling up tourism boards or scouting for locations via photo libraries or Google Earth. Their interest might even have been piqued by a chance encounter with a single photograph years before, and it could well be some time before a commission lands to make that dream destination and assignment a reality. If there’s time to dream, then reading around a location, learning a little of the language or discovering more about the cuisine that’s connected to it are sensory ways of preparing. As we’ve all found from our virtual travels during the Covid-19 pandemic, this ‘method acting’ equivalent of travel immersion means we can have an almost-lived experience of a place we’ve not yet set foot in.

2. Deciding where and why

It might seem harsh, but you should probably question your motives before even beginning to think about booking a ticket. If you’ve decided you want to recreate images you’ve seen elsewhere of people in remote communities, parachuting into a place that doesn’t know you, with a large lens and limited time, is not going to serve anyone well.

You might also want to consider how ethical it is to photograph in popular destinations. Instead of visiting a town that sees thousands of visitors every week, perhaps choosing somewhere with a little less footfall could result in a trip that’s transformational for you, as well as the community you interact with.

Are there peoples whose stories are seldom told, that might serve as more interesting subjects? It’s a fine balance to tread, but it often seems to be the case that towns and villages off the beaten track can be more welcoming and photographic subjects more amenable than those who’ve been at the centre of tourism for decades. You’re also more likely to come away with original images, rather than the usual Instagram fare – and that will increase your chances of getting published too.

Joining a group tour where photography isn’t front and centre might seem like it will take the strain out of planning, but you’ll be constantly on the hop, reacting when and wherever you can to what’s around you – passive and at the mercy of everyone else’s whims. It can be incredibly frustrating to be sitting on a bus as you pull out of a town just when the light begins to glow on a mountainous backdrop. Tour guides will want to keep everyone well fed and safe, so your poetic remonstrations on the ‘heavenly light’ will be politely ignored as it fades into the distance, with your distraught face pressed to the glass. If you do join a tour that isn’t dedicated to photography, look carefully at the itinerary and the amount of time allocated to each spot. If it looks like you won’t have room to manoeuvre, think at least about adding some days at the start or the end of the trip, or forego one or two of the group meals.

3. Stay longer

One of the best bits of advice I received at the start of my career was to stay in one destination for longer, to allow enough time for conditions to be just so. As you plan your journey, allocate time to bed down in one location – whether that’s a landscape for a series of sunsets or a town for the weekend’s festivities. Get to know your destination. Making a photograph should be a process of immersion – in a place for long enough to feel a connection, or by building relationships through conversation or time. It’s true for all travel, but fundamental for photographers – unhurried journeys will reap all sorts of benefits, so ensure slow travel is part of your itinerary whenever possible.

4. Choose your season

Natural light and the length of the day will vary with the season, as will weather patterns and the behaviour or prevalence of wildlife. Deciding on your photographic priorities will help you determine exactly when to go. Reputable travel photography tours are always organised with these considerations in mind, but do your own checks too.

5. Have time to go solo

Think carefully about who you choose to travel with. Of course, it’s wonderful to have your partner or a close friend along for the ride, and you’ll doubtless have no shortage of offers to accompany you when excited friends see you packing your kit for Kyrgyzstan! But travelling alone is what most working travel photographers prefer. It’s easy to be distracted when you are chatting away, and mostly impossible to ‘see’ what potential photographs are around you. Feeling your way in a destination is not about hitting the hotspots that everyone has photographed before you, but sensing the atmosphere, staying attuned to changes in weather or picking up local advice in a café while you’re having some downtime. Those chance encounters happen more frequently when you travel solo – there’s nothing like a lone stranger to attract hospitality and small acts of kindness. And it may well lead you down all sorts of exciting avenues you could never have planned for.

6. Plan ahead

The best light is often when everyone else is having breakfast or dinner, and, while you’ll be happy to eat snacks on the move or wait two days for the weather to improve, your companion may not. Ensure any travel buddies know exactly what your plans are and work in time for each of you to explore at your own pace. Even better, travel with a group that’s dedicated to photography, as everything will be optimised for seeing places when the light is at its best. Be warned though – it can be difficult to take original images if you’re always side by side. Again, find time to head off on your own, to feel your way, and to find your subjects and compose shots without the pressure of someone looking over your shoulder

7. Revisit a destination

Many of us are inspired by new cultures and places we’ve never encountered before. For photographers though, going back to a familiar destination allows us to pick up where we left off, and removes any anxiety that we might have missed something important. You can prioritise where you want to go, safe in the knowledge that you’ve done your homework and photographed your key shots already. Time now to go off piste, and maybe even get a bit lost

8. Organise your time like a pro

Once you’ve decided when and where you’re going, it’s time to start thinking about exactly what you want to photograph. With the initial research completed, you can draw sketches, write out a shot list of images you’d like to capture, and previsualise the ‘hero shot’ – maybe a particular landscape or landmark that is the inspiration for your journey. If you can pre-imagine those photographs, it’s a simple matter to devise a specific itinerary that prioritises where you need to be and when, with time for recces, to wait things out or to practise.

Once those dawn or golden-hour locations are mapped out, with daytime visits to museums or markets when outdoor light is at its harshest, your travel photography itinerary will begin to take shape. And those gaps in between are where you allow for flow – to relax and be in the moment, opening yourself up to spontaneity and on-the-ground inspiration. Oh, and yes, you might also find time for some fine dining or culinary experiences! Alternatively, just make like a pro, and fill the tiny spaces of your backpack with oatcakes, protein bars and tangerines, just in case that heavenly light reappears.