59 Dropping Roadside Attractions

Alabama

Ave Maria Grotto

Built by a Benedictine monk named Joseph Zoettl, the Ave Maria Grotto is four acres of biblical history, with more than 125 miniature replicas of holy sites, such as St. Peter's Basilica and the city of Jerusalem. They're not perfectly set to scale-Brother Joe eyeballed his designs-but historians and architects have marveled at his accuracy just the same. 1600 St. Bernard Dr., Cullman, 256/734-4110, avemariagrotto.com, $5, seniors $4.50, kids 6-12 $3.50.

Alaska

Santa Claus House

Every day is Christmas at the Santa Claus House, just south of Fairbanks in the town of North Pole. Stop in for a look at Dasher and Blitzen-the two on-site reindeer-or a visit with Santa himself (Wed.-Sun.). For $7.50, you can purchase a square inch of land in North Pole or send a pre-written letter from Santa-with a North Pole postmark-to ...