On 1/26/2021 10:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> You really have no sense of how big the USA really is until you drive
> across it.Â* I hope to do it one more time.Â* I've flown out a bunch but
> that is boring.
>
When I was a kid (about 8 years old), after Dad got back from serving
two tours in Vietnam, Dad drove us from Vista, CA to his next assignment
in Virginia in a station wagon. I remember seeing roadrunners (the
actual birds, not the cartoon character) in the Mohave desert. They
really do run. There was a sudden flash thunderstorm, torrential
rain. (Yes, in the desert.) Dad had to pull over to the side of the
road. There was fantastic rainbow that appeared to stretch for miles.
What a amazing sight!

We stayed in a lot of little motels along the way. The only thing my
brothers and I cared about was "does it have a pool?" LOL We ate in a
lot of little small town diners along the way. I don't know what state
we were in but I remember my dad being amazed to find Oxtail Soup on the
menu in one of them. First time I'd heard of it. IIRC the rest of us
ordered spaghetti. LOL

Jill

On Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 9:43:13 AM UTC-6, wrote:
> On 1/26/2021 10:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> >
> > You really have no sense of how big the USA really is until you drive
> > across it. I hope to do it one more time. I've flown out a bunch but
> > that is boring.
> >
> When I was a kid (about 8 years old), after Dad got back from serving
> two tours in Vietnam, Dad drove us from Vista, CA to his next assignment
> in Virginia in a station wagon. I remember seeing roadrunners (the
> actual birds, not the cartoon character) in the Mohave desert. They
> really do run. There was a sudden flash thunderstorm, torrential
> rain. (Yes, in the desert.) Dad had to pull over to the side of the
> road. There was fantastic rainbow that appeared to stretch for miles.
> What a amazing sight!
>
> We stayed in a lot of little motels along the way. The only thing my
> brothers and I cared about was "does it have a pool?" LOL We ate in a
> lot of little small town diners along the way. I don't know what state
> we were in but I remember my dad being amazed to find Oxtail Soup on the
> menu in one of them. First time I'd heard of it. IIRC the rest of us
> ordered spaghetti. LOL
>
We just got back from errands where we were both agreeing about how much
we love motels. Fancy hotels are nice sometimes, as is camping completly off
the grid, and I don't mind the Motel 6, but I love Best Westerns, Holiday Inns,
TraveLodges, Comfort Inns, La Quintas, etc.

We also both enjoy eating in little small town diners. Even if the food isn't all
that good, each one has, for better or worse, its own ambiance. I wish it was
economically practical to retire now instead of 2025, and we could hit the road
this year around Halloween. We're planning on, for the most part, staying off
of the Interstates, instead going through small towns that have 30MPH speed
limits, and actually going 30MPH.
>
> Jill

--Bryan

On 1/30/2021 11:38 AM, Bryan Simmons wrote:
> On Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 9:43:13 AM UTC-6, wrote:
>> On 1/26/2021 10:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>
>>> You really have no sense of how big the USA really is until you drive
>>> across it. I hope to do it one more time. I've flown out a bunch but
>>> that is boring.
>>>
>> When I was a kid (about 8 years old), after Dad got back from serving
>> two tours in Vietnam, Dad drove us from Vista, CA to his next assignment
>> in Virginia in a station wagon. I remember seeing roadrunners (the
>> actual birds, not the cartoon character) in the Mohave desert. They
>> really do run. There was a sudden flash thunderstorm, torrential
>> rain. (Yes, in the desert.) Dad had to pull over to the side of the
>> road. There was fantastic rainbow that appeared to stretch for miles.
>> What a amazing sight!
>>
>> We stayed in a lot of little motels along the way. The only thing my
>> brothers and I cared about was "does it have a pool?" LOL We ate in a
>> lot of little small town diners along the way. I don't know what state
>> we were in but I remember my dad being amazed to find Oxtail Soup on the
>> menu in one of them. First time I'd heard of it. IIRC the rest of us
>> ordered spaghetti. LOL
>>
> We just got back from errands where we were both agreeing about how much
> we love motels. Fancy hotels are nice sometimes, as is camping completly off
> the grid, and I don't mind the Motel 6, but I love Best Westerns, Holiday Inns,
> TraveLodges, Comfort Inns, La Quintas, etc.
>
Well... you're not talking about having gone across country in 1968 in a
station wagon with your family staying in non-chain motels and eating in
roadside (not affiliated with a motel) diners. Off the grid? The
"grid" didn't exist in 1968. We did have a small black & white TV with
an antenna in the back of the station wagon that sometimes picked up a
TV signal. There were no "chain motels" such as you mention on the
route we took, either. Dad was on his way from one military assignment
to another, not taking us on a camping trip or vacation.

Jill

On Sat, 30 Jan 2021 12:50:55 -0500, jmcquown >
wrote:

>On 1/30/2021 11:38 AM, Bryan Simmons wrote:
>> On Saturday, January 30, 2021 at 9:43:13 AM UTC-6, wrote:
>>> On 1/26/2021 10:18 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>>
>>>> You really have no sense of how big the USA really is until you drive
>>>> across it. I hope to do it one more time. I've flown out a bunch but
>>>> that is boring.
>>>>
>>> When I was a kid (about 8 years old), after Dad got back from serving
>>> two tours in Vietnam, Dad drove us from Vista, CA to his next assignment
>>> in Virginia in a station wagon. I remember seeing roadrunners (the
>>> actual birds, not the cartoon character) in the Mohave desert. They
>>> really do run. There was a sudden flash thunderstorm, torrential
>>> rain. (Yes, in the desert.) Dad had to pull over to the side of the
>>> road. There was fantastic rainbow that appeared to stretch for miles.
>>> What a amazing sight!
>>>
>>> We stayed in a lot of little motels along the way. The only thing my
>>> brothers and I cared about was "does it have a pool?" LOL We ate in a
>>> lot of little small town diners along the way. I don't know what state
>>> we were in but I remember my dad being amazed to find Oxtail Soup on the
>>> menu in one of them. First time I'd heard of it. IIRC the rest of us
>>> ordered spaghetti. LOL
>>>
>> We just got back from errands where we were both agreeing about how much
>> we love motels. Fancy hotels are nice sometimes, as is camping completly off
>> the grid, and I don't mind the Motel 6, but I love Best Westerns, Holiday Inns,
>> TraveLodges, Comfort Inns, La Quintas, etc.
>>
>Well... you're not talking about having gone across country in 1968 in a
>station wagon with your family staying in non-chain motels and eating in
>roadside (not affiliated with a motel) diners. Off the grid? The
>"grid" didn't exist in 1968. We did have a small black & white TV with
>an antenna in the back of the station wagon that sometimes picked up a
>TV signal. There were no "chain motels" such as you mention on the
>route we took, either. Dad was on his way from one military assignment
>to another, not taking us on a camping trip or vacation.
>
>Jill

There were many motel chains during the 60s, I still have my Motel 6
card and have used it often and everywhere. They would book your next
stop. They had very nice rooms with color TVs... prices for a double
bed were $6 for the night, that's why Motel 6. The rooms were clean
and beds comfortable. They served decent muffins and coffee for
breakfast and usually they were next to a market where one could buy
whatever. And they didn't mind if you traveled with a pet as I always
traveled with my cat. Marbles was a kitten who belonged to my
landlord in Monterey Park, CA who didn't want her so I adopted her,
she gave me 18 marvelous years. We traveled many thousands of miles
together, she loved long car rides in my '61 Triumph TR4A IRS. We
made it back to NY where feline Leukemia took her from me, I still
miss her terribly.