Happy July 4th, Eccentric Roadside-style

 Oh, beautiful, for spacious skies...

 ...for amber waves of grain.

 For purple mountains majesty...

 ...above the fruited plain.

 America, America,

 God shed his grace on thee.

 And crown thy good with brotherhood...

 From sea...

...to shining sea.

Long shots: Around and about on Long Island, New York

 With a name of Doofpot, it must be good.

 Turnips to go, anyone?

 A Muffler man of a different sort.

 This wonderful nostalgia gift shop in Montauk is called Whoa Nellie...

 ...and it's got Mod Betty written all over it.

Gunnar's the name, bad self-portraits are my game.

Our adopted home state of Rhode Island is so puny, when you say that's where you're from in other regions of the USA, a lot of people will say, "I thought that was called Long Island". We had the pleasure of spending a few days in the real Long Island recently, and, Long story short, it left us Longing to come back another time so here's the Long and short of it.

Eccentric highway adopters of the week

Obviously, this is the road to Margaritaville.

Heavy metal act: The giant scorpion of Exeter, Rhode Island

We've blogged about our adopted hometown of Exeter, Rhode Island and its rural, "there's no there there" vibe, so you can imagine our delight when we spotted a giant green and yellow scorpion made up of old propane tanks, engine parts and other scrap metal castoffs gracing the side of main-drag Route 3. Exeter is already an eccentric little place, what with the Middle of Nowhere Diner and Yahgoo Valley, Rhode Island's only commercial downhill skiing "mountain," but this really puts the town on the eccentric roadside attraction map. To those who ask why a predatory arthropod or why green and yellow, we would offer why put a smile on the Mona Lisa? An artist follows his muse, especially when he's got to use whatever materials he's got lying around. Our hats go off to Exeter Scrap Metal and the talented artist that put this roadside delight out there for all to drink in. You rock us like a hurricane.

All it's quacked up to be: The Big Duck of Flanders, New York

The "D.A."

Volunteer Janice fills us in on the history of The Duck

Lots of duckabilia inside...

Kia and Pouran Eshghi generously donated The Duck to Suffolk County, New York back in 1987.

They've got some ducky souvenirs...

...and original artwork, too.

These buildings, part of the original duck farm, are also on the property.

  

As an eccentric roadside attraction, The Big Duck really fits the bill.

One of the all-time great eccentric roadside attractions resides on Route 24 in the town of Flanders in Suffolk County on Long Island in New York State. There you'll find a 15-foot wide, 30-foot long and 20-foot tall white concrete duck that dates back to 1931. It's such a beloved figure that it is on the National Register of Historic Places, and rightly so, for it is a marvel to behold. Eight-one years ago, Martin and Jeule Maurer were raising Peking ducks and wanted to bring attention to their Riverhead, New York duck farm and business. Inspired by a building shaped like a giant coffee pot they had visited out west, they decided to put up a duck-shaped dwelling to get the attention of West Main Street motorists. The Maurers collaborated with a carpenter and two stage show designers to create a giant wooden duck frame that was covered in wire mesh and then cement. The structure was painted a pleasing bright white, with orange for the bill and Model-T taillights for the eyes. The building was so striking, the Maurers renamed their shop and business The Big Duck Ranch. They relocated their business and the Duck to the nearby town of Flanders in 1936 where it roosted until 1987. No longer using the structure, the Duck's then-owners, Kia and Pouran Eshghi, donated the lame Duck to Suffolk County, who moved it to another location on Route 24, and then back to its original Flanders spot in 2007 where it sits today as a gift shop and good will ambassaduck. The Duck is such a perfect example of a building in the shape of the product sold within that the term "duck" is now used by roadside architecture buffs to describe just such a structure. Buildings that functioned as colossal 3D representational advertisements were once common along pre-Interstate highways but are rare commodities today, so the Big Duck is a big treat, indeed. Let's hope they protect and cherish it for another 81 years...I'd be down with that.

Best unintentional roadside reference to "Wayne's World" we've seen this week

And the winner is Schwing Electrical Supply Corp. of Long Island, New York. Party on, Wayne. Party on, Garth.