Linger Lodge

The Linger Lodge, a restaurant and campground located in Bradenton, Florida, claims to be "Old Florida at its Best." On our recent trip to Florida, I was intent on having dinner at the Lodge, and knew it was either going to be strange or very strange. Started in 1945 as a campground, the Lodge is full of taxidermy—mostly roadkill—some pieces are good, some pieces are bad and some pieces are so bad that they're great.

It's worth visiting the Linger Lodge for the menu alone. There's an entire page devoted to the roadkill offerings, and it should tell you something about the Lodge that it took us a while to realize that it was a joke (I think??). Offerings include Tummy Teasers such as "Chunk of Skunk" and "Swirl of Squirrel," entrees such as "Center Line Bovine" and "The Chicken (that didn't cross the road),"—but my favorite was definitely "Poodles 'n Noodles."

The Lodge is very proud of their "rare and unusual "Florida Animals"' collection, including a Jackalope, Alaskan Fur Fish and the Walking Catfish. I like taxidermy and I love bad taxidermy, but I'm obsessed with made-up taxidermy. The Linger Lodge was exactly as strange as I wanted it to be and I'm so glad that this Old Florida gem is still around.

Linger Lodge: 7205 85th St Ct E, Bradenton, FL 34202

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Welcome to the new Only Living Girl in New York! I hope you enjoy the new site as much as I do! I've reorganized things, making it easier to sort by categories to find what you're interested in—they're listed at the top of each post and in the sidebar—and you can find even more specific tags listed at the bottom of each post, along with related posts. I've also added about and contact pages, if you're into that.

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Morbid Anatomy Museum: Dioramas

I already wrote about the incredible Collector's Cabinet exhibit at the Morbid Anatomy Museum, and I mentioned that the centerpieces of the collection were two amazing dioramas. The taxidermy scenes were originally part of a collection belonging to Sam Sanfillippo, owner of the Cress Funeral Home in Wisconsin. When Sam died, his collection was auctioned off and I'll always regret not knowing about its existence sooner. I do feel lucky, however, that I got to revel in the two that I did, and I'm still having a hard time comprehending how wonderful they were, even a few weeks later.

The two scenes were "The Woodland Fair," a collection of taxidermy chipmunks and an untitled bar scene full of squirrels in various stages of inebriation. In the Woodland Fair, the chipmunks are enjoying a carnival—riding a Ferris wheel, carrying balloons and handing out cotton candy. There is even a "topless girlie show," whose participants are actually wearing more clothing than any of the other fairgoers.

The fair scene also includes a corner bar and grill with a smoking patron (Louie?) and miniature cans of beer. Chipmunk attendees of all sizes hold hands, ride trains and sample treats—all for the low admission price of just 5 seeds.

The squirrel saloon scene is slightly less jovial but no less elaborate than the Woodland Fair. Squirrels in all sizes and colors enjoy a cold one, dance cheek-to-cheek, smoke pipes and comfort each other when they've imbibed a bit too much.

It's nearly impossible to pick a favorite, but I really love the slot machine-playing squirrel, and the balloon-holding chipmunk. The attention to detail in these scenes is really remarkable—from the marbled mirrors and miniature liquor bottles to the outfits and poses, everything is so perfect you sometimes forget that you're actually looking at real animals.

I'll always regret missing out on the entire Cress Funeral home collection and experience, but I'm so glad I got to see a tiny part of it in person—photos really just don't do things like this justice—and I didn't have to go all the way to Wisconsin to do so.

Bonus taxidermy: One more stand-out from the exhibition was this kitten with two faces (four eyes and two mouths) from another famous taxidermist, Walter Potter. The tiny creature only lived for seven days, but thanks to Potter and the Morbid Anatomy Museum, I was able to meet him (her?)—definitely a highlight in a collection filled with home runs.