Georgia's odd roadside attractions includes original UGA mascot, huge mailbox
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Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Recognize this guy? (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel It's Mr. Angel! (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel And indeed, Mr. Angel served as the UGA mascot from 1944-1946. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Mr. Angel was the first English bulldog to serve as the UGA mascot. Mr. Angel was buried near this spot... (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel in Eastman, Ga. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel "He spent many hours playing in the backyard of his owner, Dr. Warren A. Coleman. Coleman's white-columned Colonial-style home once graced this lot, which now houses the Bank of Eastman," according to Explore Georgia. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel "Mister Angel served UGA as mascot from 1944 until his young mistress, Marie Coleman Wilson, graduated in 1946. His beautiful appearance and captivating personality inspired the athletes of the University of Georgia to insist English bulldogs remain as the school's representative," Explore Georgia notes. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel The bank and monument are at 130 Oak St. in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Odd roadside attractions: Mr. Angel Here are some more photos of the Mr. Angel monument in Eastman. (Nelson Hicks)
Huge mailbox in Douglasville Look at this mailbox! (Nelson Hicks)
Huge mailbox in Douglasville It's HUGE! (Nelson Hicks)
Huge mailbox in Douglasville Look at that thing! (Nelson Hicks)
Huge mailbox in Douglasville This large mailbox is on Hwy 5 in Douglasville. (Nelson Hicks)
Huge mailbox in Douglasville It's about 15 feet tall! (Nelson Hicks)
Huge mailbox in Douglasville (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions Nestled in north Fulton County, approaching Arnold Mill Road from Cagle Road, you'll find a castle. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions Seriously, a castle! (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions You can find info about the castle on several websites, but here's what the AJC.com's Mitchell Northam found out. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions According to realtor.com, the home — yes, this is someone’s home — sits on 2.11 acres of land and spans 1,962 square feet. It features two bedrooms, two and half bathrooms, and was built in 1950. The estimated value of the castle is $428,500. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions There is a moat around it. You can see the ladder leading down to the moat here... (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions and see how the moat wraps around the house in this photo. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions According to AtlasObscura.com — a website billing itself as the “definitive guidebook and friendly tour-guide to the world's most wondrous places” — it was built by Rudy and Ruth McLaughlin. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions Rudy was a truck driver and told Ruth he would build her a castle one day, and sure enough, he did. The site cites Fulton County as its source. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions The home is surrounded by a fence and gnomes sit atop it at the entrances, giving it one of its nicknames. It also features a drawbridge. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions But remember, tourists, this is a home. It’s private property and tours aren’t available. So view it from afar. (Nelson Hicks)
Alpharetta Castle Odd Roadside Attractions Here are some more photos from the Alpharetta castle. (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions Look familiar? (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions It's the White House! (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions But you won't find this White House in Washington. You'll find it in Atlanta. (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions The home on Briarcliff Rd. is a 3/4 replica on the one in Washington. (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions Atlanta developer Fred Milani was behind the three-quarter replica. He called the 16,500-square-foot home a tribute to democracy and the U.S., according to a 2015 AJC blurb on area “hidden gems.” (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions It includes an “Oval Office,” a movie theater and a “Lincoln's bedroom.” (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions After the real estate bubble burst, the home landed in foreclosure in 2011. Milani had tried to sell it at least once before but took it off the market because, “It takes a special person, with a special reason to buy,” he told The AJC. (Nelson Hicks)
Atlanta's Whie House Odd Roadside Attractions Here is another photo of the Atlanta White House. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions Georgia is filled with plenty of odd roadside attractions, but this one might be the most famous of them all. It's The Big Chicken in Marietta. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions The Big Chicken in Marietta is the site of a KFC franchise. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions And thanks to a $2.2 million renovation to The Big Chicken in Marietta in 2017, there's plenty to check out including a timeline of the 56-foot animatronic chicken's history. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions In 1963, The Big Chicken was built with motorized eyes and beak for Tubby Davis to promote his restaurant Johnny Reb's Chick, Chuck, 'N Shake. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions In 1964, the original motor caused so much vibration that all the windows shattered in the restaurant. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions In 1966, Davis sold the restaurant to his brother, who turned it into a KFC franchise. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions By the time 1984 arrived, airline pilots used The Big Chicken to navigate the skies. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions In 1993, due to a windstorm, the original chicken had to be rebuilt. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attractions During the rebuild, there was talk that the new chicken would be contemporary and distinctively female. That didn't fly. (Nelson Hicks)
The Big Chicken Odd Roadside Attraction You can even hear The Big Chicken talk! (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel Recognize this? (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel The sign may say Susie Agnes Hotel... (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel but fans of "My Cousin Vinny" might recognize it as the hotel featured in the movie where Joe Pesci, playing lawyer Vinny Gambini, couldn't get any sleep because the pigs kept waking him up. (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel It's in Bostwick, Georgia. (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel It has served as City Hall for the town, too. (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel Stop by for a quick photo-op the next time you're nearby. (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel (Nelson Hicks)
'My Cousin Vinny' hotel (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard Does this look familiar? (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard Jump in the car and take a road trip to Alto, home of the School Bus Graveyard. (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard Alonzo Wade opened a used cars and parts business in Alto in 1959. The business sold buses as well as bus parts. However, vandals started breaking in to steal the radiators out of the buses. That led Wade to construct a makeshift fence using the buses themselves. (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard Fast forward 50 years, unwanted visitors started painting inappropriate things on the bus fence. Walter Wade, who now runs the business, called in some artists to paint over the graffiti and thus, the School Bus Graveyard was born. (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard “It’s amazing,” Walter Wade told WSBTV.com’s Nelson Hicks. “There’s a lot of things I’ve done in my life, but I’m never been able to (paint) like that. I just get a kick out of watching the people’s reactions. We’ve had people from a lot of states here, other countries, just to stop by to look because they’ve seen pictures of it. It’s totally different when you stop and look at it up close and personal.” (Nelson Hicks)
School bus graveyard Now, artists gather from time to time with Wade’s approval to paint. There’s more than 100 buses and some cars, too. Visitors will find everything painted across the vehicles from Homer Simpson to killer ants to PAC-MAN to Waldo.
School Bus Graveyard Walking around the outside of the School Bus Graveyard is free and many people do it everyday. Inside tours cost a few dollars. Either way, it’s a great afternoon away from home. (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard Here are some more photos from the School Bus Graveyard in Alto. (Nelson Hicks)
School Bus Graveyard Here are some more photos from the School Bus Graveyard in Alto. (Nelson Hicks)