Often we took the old roads instead of the new highways. Scattered along the old roads were totally abandoned motor motels and other businesses from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Sometimes there were whole towns sitting alongside the old roads boarded up and deserted.
We traveled so many portions of the old roads on this trip and find that modernization and progress can be death to a community that depends on serving travelers who disappear onto the modern highways. John and I both traveled these roads when we were children with our respective families. They had character and were unique and yes, they often had awful facilities. Which is better, the homogenized facilities of today that all look exactly alike or the small towns of yesterday that had personality? It is comforting to know that wherever we stop we can depend on the sameness of the Hampton Inn or the Appleby's and find a Target or Walmart to replenish what we have used. But I remember there was something exciting about that small town called Top of the World where we were stranded with car trouble when I was just a little girl of maybe 7 or 8. The cafe owner let me serve the customers and paid me with nickels so my brother and I could give them to the trained brown bear so he would drink colored water. John and I saw nothing like that on this trip. Part of me is relieved and part of me longs for that diversity.
I'm like you Ginny in that I love knowing I can now forget most anything and there'll be a Target or Walmart. But for food, most of the time, we eat local. Once in a very blue moon, I'll get some potatoes in a McD when we have our first potty stop. Other than that,I'll have scouted some place on line or thru our GPS or our Iphones. I just can't get the man to do back roads. That's what I do on my own. :-(
Posted by: Maureen | Thursday, 10 September 2009 at 04:54 PM
I really like that pink and red building. I wonder what it was, a store? A home? I wonder what the owners were thinking, it's pretty cool!
And as for which is better, most definitely originality, the small town things. I thought "homogenized" was the perfect way to describe the way things are becoming...well becoming to a point. It'll never be all the way. :D
Posted by: TACE | Friday, 11 September 2009 at 06:55 AM