Holy Crap! It's the SPAM Museum!

That's right, you heard me, THE SPAM MUSEUM! I don't know where YOU thought I'd be kicking off my Birthday Week, but I can't imagine why anyone would want to go anywhere else to celebrate such an occasion!

We drove on the 30th for as long as we could, heading north into Wisconsin. Our destination? Austin, Minnesota to bask in the porcine goodness that is the SPAM Museum.

Of course, lack of sleep and several deer throwing themselves in front of my car made me pull off in Sparta for the night. However, Sparta seems damn cool in it's own right and I'm glad I stopped because NOW I have another fun place to go with April some day!

As strange as this will sound, April & I have been wanting to check out the SPAM Museum for a few years now.

My original intent was to be there for the grand opening because my hero, Joe Walsh, was scheduled to play. He cancelled and I never went.

As time went by our desire to check out the SPAMMY goodness grew.

Simply put, the SPAM Museum is one of the most excellent chunks of Americana around.

There is no admission so it already has my attention. It celebrates a product rich in history, maligned by people everywhere, and yet loved by BILLIONS worldwide. It is also one place that NEVER takes itself too seriously and you know I am all bout that!

SPAM is just one of those products. Life would be hard to imagine had it not come about. Think about it, SPAM has been a part of our lives for DECADES. Vegetarians may not understand nor would they care to, but SPAM helped keep this nation and others ALIVE during World War II. At the SPAM Museum you learn about the history of the product, the ways it fed the world and the military during our toughest times.

You also learn that Hawaii is the single largest consumer of SPAM on the planet! I'm sure that Doyle, Christine, and Ma would have a few fine recipes to share with us. LOL!

What else is there at the SPAM Museum? Well I'd say that a campy, semi-animated puppet show giving a brief "This is Your Life" style tale of SPAM would certainly be something to grab your attention.

You can also play a SPAM trivia game that is held inside it's very own simulated TV studio. I imagine this place is HOPPIN' when there are large touring groups sitting in the studio audience.

You can play SPAM games, listen to radio and TV spots, see movies, get recipes from around the world, listen to SPAM songs, sample different varieties of SPAM, and of course...SHOP! They have one kick-ass gift shop.

Yessir, there sure is a lot to see once you walk through these doors.

Of course, I must be forgetting SOMETHING.

There's an interactive SPAM internet cafe where you can sign up for the SPAM fan club, but that's not all that important to mention.

OH YEAH! I remember now!

At the end of the tour you can sit in a replica of the set used during Monty Python's famous "SPAM Sketch"! There's a TV playing the sketch on a continuous loop, a giant Viking, chairs, a sign for the cafe, and all the hilarity that accompanies Python and SPAM. It is the PERFECT photo opportunity for freaks like you and me!

You can even get your own can of the limited edition SPAMALOT variety of SPAM. How freakin' cool is that?

I would recommend the SPAM Museum to anyone with a sense of humor and a love for canned spiced ham. And yes, they do tell you ALL of the ingredients inside a can of SPAM.

As you can see, I certainly enjoyed our first stop during Birthday Week. Of course, there is so much more to tell you!

Stay tuned.