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.