We went nuts on Anthony's birthday

What is a road trip without stops at roadside attractions? Those little places that no one actually plans as a destination, but rather passes by on the way to something greater. Yet, somehow these places unite all those who choose their vehicle as their means of transportation. We're in the loop. We've been welcomed to South Carolina by elephants. We've seen cars sprouting up out of the ground, more than once. We're more inclined to go to this Prada instead of one in the mall. The humble essence of these attractions is exactly what we love, and the adventurous spirit of the roadtripper is exactly why the attractions grow in popularity year after year. We rely on them to break up otherwise long, monotonous drives. Sometimes, they serve as reminders that the journey is just as important as the destination.

In a lot of ways, roadside attractions give us a sense of belonging. We might be in a totally new place, driving an unknown road, but then we come upon a feature that we've heard about in social media or read about in a blog. Suddenly, we feel oriented. Sometimes, we've traveled the road before, and we feel the familiar comfort of a kitschy sculpture that gave us laughs and memories. Roadside attractions help define who we are as nomads, and connect us to the unique history and culture of our country.

Anthony and I may have developed a strong attachment to these attractions, but going so far as to plan one of our birthday celebrations at one? That seems a little nuts, don't you think?

It all began when we were in Roswell, NM. The alientastic town has ties to the city of Alamogordo two hours away, due to both of them being bases for military operations. However, this tie also came to us in the form of a billboard: MCGINN'S PISTACHIOLAND, ALAMOGORDO. VISIT THE WORLD'S LARGEST PISTACHIO! I turned to Anthony in jest and asked, "You wanna go to PistachioLand?"

Alright, so it wasn't like we actually planned a trip around PistachioLand. We were headed to Alamogordo soon anyway, for our actual destination of White Sands National Park. Our National Park adventures would take up our President's Day Weekend, but Anthony's birthday fell that Tuesday. We'd need to spend most of that day working but wanted to do something fun. Perhaps this PistachioLand would be just the ticket. We hoped we'd be able to get some delicious goodies. If nothing else, we'd see a very large concrete nut!

PistachioLand has billboards beyond the one we saw in Roswell. Lots of them. The very presence of these billboards further paints the picture that people go here on impulse. Now, would it be more sad and run-down, like a South of the Border or Uranus vibe? Or was this actually effective billboard marketing, like Buc-ee's? There was only one way to find out.

An initial Google search yielded promising results: a 4.7/5 rating out of almost 4,000 reviews. And that was just one of their Google listings. The listing for the Farm Tours & Country Store also had a 4.7 rating, with almost 3,000 reviews.

A farm tour? Intriguing. Anything farm-focused would be an automatic boost to our excursion, if done well. After reading some rave reviews, we felt confident. We booked ourselves tour tickets for Tuesday afternoon. We didn't need to book them in advance, but given that this was a special occasion, we wanted to plan a seamless outing.

We had a stroke of luck the day before, when we wandered into the visitor's center at the state park where we were staying. They had a shelf full of brochures and rack cards, and one in particular caught my eye: FREE NUTS! We knew exactly what it was for. "Buy $10 at the PistachioLand country store and get a bag of pistachios free." We each took a rack card. Nut-thing was stopping us now! We had our tour booked and two coupon codes ready to be cracked! Our excitement was building.

On Tuesday afternoon, we ventured through downtown Alamogordo and over to the northside of town. We passed more billboards luring us to the giant Pistachio, and soon, it appeared over the horizon. It's definitely the most eye-catching part of the whole locale, but as we turned into the parking lot, we noticed that, nut aside, everything was actually adorable. The country store had western and rustic decor and it was surrounded by rows upon rows of pistachio trees. There was an ice cream stand, and next to the giant pistachio, a little garden area with picnic tables. On the other side of the store was a vineyard. The bright green tram was waiting for the next group of tour-goers, but our timeslot wasn't until later. We arrived early so we could walk around and do some shopping.

The country store offers all the souvenirs one might expect, but beyond that are countless pistachio goodies, including a whole wall of "nutmeat bags," aka bags of de-shelled pistachios in all kinds of flavors, from salted and unsalted, to lemon-lime, to red and green chile, to cinnamon, to "everything" spice blends. Many of the flavors were available to sample. We also found pistachio chocolate clusters, brittle, and fudge. If you're not a fan of pistachios, don't worry about feeling left out. There are other flavors of fudge, plus lots of non-pistachio snacks. On the other side of the country store is a wine tasting area, where you can sample and purchase wines made right on site. Yes, there is pistachio wine, too! One could indeed go a little nuts in this store, and we certainly did. We ended up buying so much that we got even more free nuts for spending over $100!

After purchasing our haul, we went out to the ice cream stand, which sells a few homemade flavors (including pistachio, of course) and lots of other Blue Bell flavors. They also make their own waffle cones. I got pistachio in a waffle dish and Anthony got one scoop of pistachio and one scoop of pineapple in a waffle cone. We chose only homemade flavors, and they were flavorful and delicious!

Soon, our tour start time was approaching. We went back inside the store to check in and sign a waiver, and then we met our tour group and guide at the tram. We recently mentioned that guided tours for us are hit-or-miss, and very dependent on our guide. This tour was fantastic! Our guide had only started working 8 months before, but she was well-informed, shared tons of facts, stats, and anecdotes, and did it all while driving the tram, half the time looking back at us, as though she could navigate between the trees by pure muscle memory.

February is a rather barren time for the trees and grapevines. The vines were recently pruned in anticipation of spring, and the trees were gray and bare, with the exception of a few old pistachios that didn't shake off from the last harvest. Even though there isn't much to look at, the month is important for preparation. Soon the famous New Mexico winds would blow in, and this is the time when the male trees pollinate the females. The trees are strategically planted so that the winds will naturally carry the pollen. We passed between the original 40 acres of trees, planted by founder Thomas McGinn, where the male trees were surrounded by females. On the other side was a more recent field, containing only females. Because the wind commonly blows northward, the males from the original acreage can pollenate all of the females across the field.

While the pistachios are ripe and ready for picking in the late summer, the harvest is delayed until September and October. This is so the staff can plump the nuts with water. The shells split, revealing the nutmeat inside. Then, at harvest time, the staff use shakers to release the nuts from their branches. We were told that summer is one of the most picturesque times to visit because the pistachio trees and grapevines are flourishing. However, you need to be ready to take the heat!

You might be wondering how the deserts of New Mexico are conducive to producing pistachios. Many pistachios grow in the Middle East, which has a desert climate as well. However, the soil in NM is completely different, and at first, the McGinn family struggled to produce the nuts. They ended up grafting sections of other trees, hybridizing them with the pistachio trees, and using them as rootstock. The pistachio tree branches grow from there. If you look closely, you can see the changeover in bark, where the rootstock ends and the pistachio tree begins.

Pistachio trees live hundreds of years and do not reach maturity until their mid-30s. They are known as generational trees, in that one will plant a pistachio tree knowing that future generations will be able to enjoy it. Thomas McGinn passed away in 2007, but PistachioLand remains in the family. The World's Largest Pistachio may look like a kitschy roadside attraction, but the story behind its construction was quite touching. Thomas' son Tim wanted to commemorate his father's passion and legacy. Thomas McGinn poured his heart and soul into planting and tending to his pistachio trees. As for the "world's largest" accolade, when Tim was growing up, he and his father took road trips around the country to see many of the "world's largests." This became a favorite hobby of theirs, one that Tim knew was important to honor. As fellow road trip travelers, we connected to Mr. McGinn in this moment. Not only have we fallen in love with roadside attractions, but we too have visited many of the "world's largests" around the country. We wondered if a certain farm town in Illinois might be as special to the McGinns as it's become for us. What a fun common interest to share!

PistachioLand was a pleasant surprise. The yummy, nutty goodies were certainly worth a stop in their own right, but our visit quickly sprouted into an enjoyable and educational experience. We came away with more facts about pistachios than we ever expected to learn. Then, to hear about the family history and how the giant pistachio came to be really warmed our hearts. This roadside stop, at its root, is about the devotion of Thomas McGinn's family to keeping his legacy alive. They are embracing Thomas' love of roadside attractions and are paying it forward in all the best ways. In a nutshell, this place was a worthy birthday destination, especially for us fellow roadtrippers.