Update: Hail to the chiefs: President's Park of Williamsburg, Virginia

 Presidents Park was a beautiful place back in 2007...

 ...and they even had a chunk of Air Force One.

 Today, the statues sit in a field in Croaker, Virginia. There's hope, though, because a fellow is putting up some money to reopen the attraction.

 These pictures are awesome and are credited to Christopher Smyth on the WBAL-TV website.

 I think this would make a great set for a low-budget horror flick, don't you?

One of the sad realities of taking roadtrips over many years is the mortality rate of some of the beloved places we have visited. All too often, an eccentric roadside attraction cannot stay in business or gets ordinanced out of existence. Such was the case with Presidents Park of Williamsburg, Virginia. We were lucky enough to visit this spectacular place back in its 2007 hey-day. It was a lovely, tranquil, educational, pleasingly nutty place with 18-foot busts of each U.S. president and plaques with presidential information and history. We marveled at how lush and educational it all was, and in a perfect location since nearby Colonial Williamsburg draws people already interested in U.S. history. The owners couldn't keep it going, though, and it went out of business in 2010. The busts were then moved to a farm field in Croaker, Virginia.

But there is now hope on the horizon according to a dispatch from WBAL-TV's website. A Mr. Howard Hankins paid $50,000 to have them moved again and is also paying for their restoration. He wants to find a new location in Colonial Williamsburg and reopen the park. Hooray for you, Mr. Hankins. We loved this attraction and wish you the best. Perhaps it could be a miniature golf course...a Watergate water hazard around Richard Nixon, a James K. Polk "Manifest Destiny" hole, perhaps. We need a place where Democrats, Republicans, Whigs and Know-Nothings can comingle harmoniously. I vote for that.

Click here for another good website with lots of info.

The Presidential Pet Museum: If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog

Clare McLean and her portrait of Amy Carter and her dog

A portrait of the Reagan's dog made with genuine dog hair. (Really!)

President Taft's cow's cowbell

There have been some good presidents, some bad presidents and some mediocre presidents but there are no bad presidential pets, and there's a place that pays tribute to them. The Presidential Pet Museum was in a storefront shop in a quaint part of Annapolis, Maryland when we visited there in 2007, but it has since moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, and is now part of President's Park (the last swell place I blogged about). This is a great idea because now you get two, two, two eccentric roadside attractions in one! The pet museum is the "pet" project (sorry) of Clare McLean, a nice lady whose life's mission since 1999 has been to share her quirky collection of artifacts and original artworks with curious history buffs and school kids on field trips. Clare does folk art paintings of the White House's most beloved residents and the pièce de résistance is a portrait of Lucky (President and Mrs. Reagan's Bouvier des Flandres) made from her own hair (Lucky's that is, not Clare's). Her most prized pocession is an original cowbell that hung from the neck of Pauline Wayne, the last cow to graze the White House lawn and was a favorite of President Taft who drank her milk every morning. Places like this make you proud to be an eccentric American. Here's their website: http://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com/index.htm

Hail to the Chiefs: Presidents Park, Williamsburg, Virginia

A hilarious Gerald Ford imitation outside Air Force One

Williamsburg, Virginia is best known for the college of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg, but it is also home to a gem among eccentric roadside attractions. Presidents Park is a beautifully landscaped garden setting off Interstate 64 that features 18-foot high white concrete busts of all the presidents except Barack Obama. The statues are the work of famed sculptor David Adickes, who must be one heck of a presidential history buff to take on such a project. At first glance the park looks like a presidential-themed mini golf course (now there's an idea...the Watergate water hazard around Nixon, the James K. Polk "Manifest Destiny" hole), but on further investigation it's a really nice, tranquil, educational, pleasingly nutty place. Each bust has a plaque with historical facts and they even have a chunk of one of the Air Force Ones used by the White House that you can go inside and poke around in. The park is nonpartisan: obscure presidents like Chester A. Arthur and Rutherford B. Hayes are equally represented here right beside Washington and Lincoln. Finally, a place where Democrats, Republicans, Whigs and Know-Nothings can comingle harmoniously. Here's their website: http://www.presidentspark.org/index.html

Statues of mundane presidents, Presidents Park, Williamburg, Virginia