Browse the best Illinois roadside attractions, tourist traps, road food, and more at Silly America. Plan your next road trip through Illinois and find all the most iconic (and silliest) sites along the way!
They were quick photos. Late at night. We were taking a day road trip around Chicagoland looking for the best roadside attractions in Chicago and this was one of the final stops: the giant Indian muffler man on the roof of an eye clinic wearing a sandwich board that declares “Eye...
Antonio Pasin built his first wooden wagon in 1917. They quickly became popular among his clients as he sold the toys around Chicagoland. In 1923, his company was officially born as “Liberty Coaster Company” and, to speed up production and offset costs, he began selling steel...
Many towns in America profess themselves to be a “home of the white squirrels”: pockets of suburbia where these curious albino squirrels seem to congregate. Olney, Illinois is one of the most boastful. About 200 or so of the tiny mammals currently inhabit the town. At its peak...
This past Saturday was Obscura Day, a day devoted to hidden and odd treasures from around the world, organized by Atlas Obscura. Since you all know I’m all about the odd you all know I had to attend something! There were several events around Chicago, such as a tour of the Busy...
In 2009 the famous “Ferris Bueller house” went for sale on the market. You know the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, right? And you definitely know the iconic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Garage, right? If you’ve never seen the movie, well, GO WATCH IT NOW...
Sunday we woke up early at the bluegrass festival and I made the executive decision to cut my trip a day short. I allotted two days to get back but looking over my map I kept thinking I’d probably only end up a few hours from home anyways. So I decided to cut out a few things and...
The Taste of Chicago is the biggest food festival in the city each year. If you ask, nine out of ten Chicagoans will tell you that the Taste of Chicago is horrible, expensive, crowded, not worth the time.* If you ask someone like me, that tenth kind of girl, you’ll get someone who...
It’s the summer of 2010 and you’re watching television and this Novelty Golf commercial comes on your HD flat screen TV… …and you might wonder if you’ve skipped 20 or so years back in time. Or, if you’re like me, you think “OMG I HAVE TO GO...
Even though they did lose last night, the Blackhawks are certainly the team of the moment here in the Windy City. And yesterday I showed you the Picasso to prove it. But, believe it or not, there was a time where our baseball teams were actually doing well as well…and at the time...
I am sure that this is well within Picasso’s original artistic vision… There are many statues in many cities that locals decorate for different locations (such as Waiting for the Interurban in Seattle), but I will never get over the fact that the Chicago Picasso is often donning a hat for...
