During a year of illness following two years of pandemic, I really missed taking road trips. Even before I got sick, I accepted that I would never be the road warrior I had been when young. Sixteen hour days with only an AM radio for company in a 1971 VW convertible - not the most comfortable car ever manufactured - were out of the question. My dream was to drive across the country again but this time in two hour hour spurts. Two, two-hour shifts a day.
Ideally, I would rise at a reasonable hour (i e. leisurely pace), drive two hours to a roadside attraction where I could sightsee, find refreshment and gather the strength to move on. If no attraction was available, I might be able to find a spot for a leisurely lunch before starting an afternoon drive that had to end at an overnight accommodation with proximity to a nice meal.
Previous driving trips were challenges. Get there fast. Keep moving. Tell yourself you’ll come back to visit the scenic sights. Don’t waste time on meals. If there was ever a time to take advantage of convenience stores, those trips provided the right opportunity.
Many years ago, when I started my first drive cross-country from Pennsylvania, I found a band of Wawa, another area of Sheetz and then, when I hit the Midwest, Stuckey’s. Miles and miles of interstate punctuated by little else than Stuckey’s. A traveler in those days could pick one on a whim. A traveler in those days had to pick one on a whim. There was not much else around. And, if you missed the exit? No worries. There would be another.
All Stuckey’s looked the same. I found that comforting. They sold the same tchotchkes, offered the same facilities and served the same food. I forget what I would order but I am sure it was the same thing every day. Same was a keyword.
So, I was really surprised when I stopped for lunch one day at about 1PM and just did not want the same-old-same-old. I don’t know what I found to substitute but the desire for change mystified me. I got back in my car and started driving. I just wasn’t hungry. It took me a while to realize that was not surprising.
I’d already eaten lunch at 11AM.
© 2023 Jane Kelly
Interesting . A writer's journal.
ReplyDeleteLove your Meg Daniel's books - the ultimate Seaside Park beach read!
DeleteThought you'd like to know that the granddaughter of Stuckey's founder is bringing the roadside brand back to life - one peanut log, one tchotchke at a time.
A search of Stuckey's at the Emory Business Magazine web site should pull it up. She's a woman on a mission.
Thanks. I’ll check it out.
Delete