The envelope, please: The Concrete Potato Awards for 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, it's time for our annual Concrete Potato Awards, given for excellence in eccentric roadside attractions we've been to in the last year. Named after the Idaho Potato Expo, seen in the masthead of this blog, it been a tradition here at Eccentric Roadside for over a 33rd of a century. It was tough to whittle the nominees down to 10, but whittle we did and now, without further ado and in no particular order we present this year's Concreteys (and remember, it's an honor just to be nominated...)

The World's Biggest Ball of Twine, Cawker City, Kansas

The American Gothic House, Eldon, Iowa

Bodega and Bodega Bay, California, location of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds"

Three Mile Island, near Middletown, Pennsylvania

Alcatraz, near San Francisco, California

The Desert of Maine, Freeport, Maine

The World's Biggest Easel, Goodland, Kansas

The Banned Toy Museum, part of the Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia, Burlingame, California

Roy's Motel and Cafe, Amboy, California

Wendover Will, West Wendover, Nevada