Day 62
Today we visited The House on the Rock. How to describe this indescribable place? We spent all day there. Alex Jordan built this place which started out as a house on the top of a rocky hill. The house has an Infinity Room which extends 218' over the valley and 156' above the valley with 3,264 windows to view the area. The cantilevered room sways with the wind. Over time the house grew into interconnected buildings and Jordan began collecting stuff. One thing he collected was carousel horses which he began restoring. Then he began making his own figures for a carousel. The result was a giant carousel containing 269 handcrafted creatures but none of which are horses. Still the horses are displayed over many huge walls. Other collections are animated automated musical machines he designed and built, some the size of large rooms, Tiffany lamps, Japanese carved ivory, antique guns, medieval armor, mechanical banks, dolls, and the world’s largest collection of wooden dollhouses. The Circus Building has more than a million circus pieces accompanied by a 40 piece animated band and an 80 piece orchestra. The Heritage of the Sea building houses maritime artifacts with a 200 foot long sculpture of a sea creature battling a giant octopus. The Streets of Yesterday recreates a 19th century gas-lit main street. I could go on but probably best to Google it if you want more. It kept our interest and we found it bizarre but enjoyable. Dinner at Freddy Valentine’s Public House (housed in an old bank building) was surprisingly good for a town of only 1600 people. I had BBQ brisket with smoked potato salad washed down with a Night Rain Porter from O’So Brewing, of Plover, Wisconsin. Rosemary had bourbon maple glazed salmon with sauteed broccoli over pureed carrots. A memorable birthday indeed.
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