VACATIONS by AUTO 50's- part 2

      Stops throughout the day weren't easy. Unlike today where you can easily stop at a rest stop for potty breaks, knowing easily where to stop for gas and knowing that some restaurants,chains, and their food will be pretty much consistent. Plus, today with all the computer gadgets,  GPS, apps, etc. making a lot of decision making much easier.  

        Not all this was true 60 years ago and in some ways made it more of an adventure. Most of the food types were pretty much the same--"American." There weren't many pizza, Mexican, Oriental, etc at least in the mid-west. Then nearest thing to a Sub sandwich was sopping at a grocery store and making your own. The daily budget was generally $10-$20 a day including food, gas, and lodging. 

       Next, we would normally start looking for a motel around 4 o'clock or so. You didn't want to go very far beyond that time, especially, if you stared seeing a lot of "no vacancy" signs. Most motels were just small mom & pop operations not bigger chains. Maybe 10-20 rooms lined up in a row. If you were lucky a window air-conditioner, TV was not always a sure thing, and if you were really lucky an outdoor swimming pool.  My mother would always go in and check out the room first before taking it unlike today.

        Back then, even though it was more of an adventure, many great memories were created no different than today--just different. *One footnote is about one summer at least, I collected ash trays from motels and restaurants!