Greetings

Upon telling people where I have been in the past few years while traveling the country, many people have told me I needed to start writing a blog to keep track of where I have been. This summer I have already hit a few spots that people said I needed to share. I am going to start with the tourist traps I have seen this summer on a road trip from Wisconsin to Dallas, TX.

World's Largest Catsup Bottle, Collinsville, IL

• Directions from I-55: Exit on Hwy 159 and head east. Take this through town. Once you've gone through downtown, there will be a giant hill you will go down. This is where the base of the tower is.
  

When researching this site (using Roadside America) before heading out on my trip, it seemed like it was just off of the Interstate. Pulling into Collinsville, we thought we would see it right away. We had to drive for a few miles until we called to get directions from my sister. It turns out you need to drive through downtown in order to get to the Catsup Bottle. After one turn on Hwy 159, we could see the Catsup Bottle through some trees. As we got closer, it kept getting bigger and bigger. It was amazing to see! (Maybe this is because it was our first stop on our trip, and we had been driving for hours to get here.) I had to take many pictures of it. The water tower it stands on, a close up of just the bottle on top, the obligatory pictures in front of it, and of course, some goofy ones. It also turns out they sell souvenirs at Ashmann's Pharmacy & Gifts (209 Main Street, just as you're heading back to the Interstate on Hwy 159). You can get postcards, coloring books, magnets, shirts, etc. I just started looking around, and kind of felt stupid asking where the souvenirs were. The staff is friendly, and knew exactly what I was looking for. If you would rather not look like a complete tourist, the souvenirs are to the right when you walk into the pharmacy, near the Hallmark cards. I would definitely suggest this stop for those driving through Illinois on I-55!