King Kong Statue in Natural Bridge, VA

Have you ever been so bored driving down an interstate that you randomly want to drive onto a back road and explore? Maybe you know what you are looking for and maybe you are just wanting to take a scenic detour. Well, on this one, 10 hour drive to Knoxville – sitting in the car that long felt like torture and we decided it’d be a good idea to stop and stretch our legs for a minute. For some reason, we decided to try and find King Kong. No, not the real thing – his statue that I had seen on RoadTrippers.com. If you haven’t downloaded the RoadTrippers.com app, you must! It’s perfect for long road trips so you can see what is around your area (no matter where you are in the US) and find something worth seeing. They even have restaurant and hotel suggestions all at a touch of a button. Type in your destination, turn on your location, and the app will generate a tons of attractions along your route so you don’t have to venture far.

We were approaching Natural Bridge, VA on I-80 and decided to veer off onto exit 180. The statue was supposed to be at the Pink Cadillac diner, but some odd years ago ( in 2012) it was moved and is now residing behind a fence at Enchanted Studios with the man who created it. The purpose of this statue wasn’t for tourists, but as an act of protest. The statue was to promote the local zoning protest that was going on at the time.

Humpty Dumpty used to apparently stand with King Kong at the diner. They were removed at the same time, but Humpty Dumpty is no longer able to be found. It’s a sad story, really. King Kong towered over buildings to protect his town and now is hidden behind a fence crumbling away.

Have fun on your scavenger hunt date!

xoxo Crystal & Shane