After Ripley's we walked down Hollywood Blvd in search of a good place for lunch and ended up at the historic Pig N' Whistle.

Neither of us had eaten here before and I was rather underwhelmed. On the plus side, it's has a lot of Hollywood history (noted in the menu) and has very cool ceilings and fixtures. It was a perfect choice for our day of tourist traps. This is a tourist trap that also happens to be frequented by Hollywood wanna be types. The service was mediocre and the food was odd. Dan ordered a chicken salad that instead of sliced chicken breast, had a clump of unappetizing chicken salad mix, Yuck.. I had a bland turkey burger. I feel like this place might be okay if you're only having drinks. There are many better restaurants in the vicinity.

Our next stop was the Guinness Book of World Records Museum.

Here is our reflection in the globe.

The fact that this place dares to call itself a museum is very brash. The entire place is essentially a bunch of facts posted up on the walls without any actual objects. Dan pointed out that it would have been easier and cheaper to just buy the book, because all they did was recycle the information.

Example, here is the display about farm animal facts..

Just picture of animals (not necessarily the animal that won the award, sometimes a drawing). At least the Ripley's museum had artifacts, like the two headed calf!!! The real deal!

Here is a picture of the smallest dog.

They tried to make it more fun by adding an interactive component, here I am in the worlds fattest man's body.

Yes, it's amazing that a guy was that fat, but it still doesn't make for a great museum piece.

Here is another half-hearted attempt to bring a fact to life with the most tattooed lady. They didn't even have a picture of the real woman next to the prop.

And here I am with the most recognized video game character ( I really think that it's stretching it for a fact). I love Mario, but file it under, who cares???

Bottom Line- After visiting the Guinness Book of World Records "Museum" it became very clear why they included this in the package deal of three museums for the price two...no one who knows better would ever waste money or time on this museum. It's awful. It wasn't even entertaining in a cheesy way. We sized it up and declared it a waste of time and left in about fifteen minutes. Deal or no deal, don't bother with this place,

Last weekend, Dan and I hit the three tackiest tourist traps on Hollywood Blvd, the Hollywood Wax Museum, Guinness Book of World Records Museum and Ripley's Believe it or Not Odditorium. Dan had never been to any of them and I had not been in probably fifteen years, so it was an adventure for both of us. It was a sweltering hot Saturday in August, so if anything, we were happy to get out of the heat and into air conditioning buildings. Note, the buildings are significantly hotter when everyone else has the same idea to escape the heat.

Our first stop was Ripley's.

It was at Ripley's that we were told about the package deal that let us visit all three museums for the price of two and we were sold. Good thing that we did Ripley's first, because the museums were definitely not equal value for money vs entertainment. In fact, Ripley's is the only one that could even be considered a museum and it doesn't even call itself a museum, it's aptly named an odditorium.

Each takes about forty-five minutes to walk through, but Ripley's has the most to see, really lots of strange stuff. So much strange stuff, that these pictures are only a small sampling.

A mummified foot.

I don't why anyone would do this, but here is a real dead bat that has had it's wings painted.

Speaking of vampires, here's a kit to ward them off..

I have a morbid fascination with taxidermy, especially when there is an overwhelming amount of taxidermy in a single room. It freaks me out. Well take that and have it all be animals with bizarre genetic problems that have been stuffed and I am all over it! Clearly, my favorite part of the museum.

There was much more...this is a SMALL sample!

One of my favorite things in the museum was this furry fish that for years hung in a museum until it was revealed that it was a hoax.

A few more strange things from the museum. I thought these were pretty, birds made from CD's.

A city from Lord of the Rings ( not a fan, so no clue what the city is called) made from matchsticks. This was enormous!

Last winter, when Dan's father visited, I learned about Gurning. For those not in the know, in England they have Gurning competitions, where people try to make the best distorted facial expression. I was very excited to see mention of Gurning in the Ripley's museum!

Lastly, here I am standing next to a model of the tallest man who ever lived.

Bottom line, the Ripley's museum is worth the price of admission, but even more so, if you can get a discount coupon. It's something to see once, especially if you love strange, quirky things.

Hollywood Tourist Traps- Part Two

Hollywood Tourist Traps- Part One