Wesley’s Week –May 7-13, 2007

by Wesley

If I were running for President of the United States, I would make sure that somewhere in my campaign platform the following pledge existed: “I vow solemnly to see to it that within every 30 miles of interstate highway in America, there is at least one location that has a combination of gas, convenience items and a fast food restaurant under one roof.”

Call them travel centers, travel plazas or whatever else, the thing that makes me most content on a long drive is to find a commercial operation that allows you to fill up your vehicle, then go inside to “freshen up,” as my mother likes to say, and grab a bite to eat, maybe even buy a snack or drink, before leaving. Done right, the whole process can take you less than 10 minutes, particularly if you have several people in your car who will do different tasks while you stop, and before you know it, you are back on the road, passing by the same cars you sped around earlier during your drive. To paraphrase John Cougar Mellencamp, “Ain’t that America?”

I have a special spot in my heart for Pilot Travel Centers, which in my experience have the most efficient setup in getting from the pumps to the in-store restaurant. The latter varies by location, but they all seem to know that you are there to deliver your order and pick it up as soon as possible – I like that attitude, especially when traveling a long distance. They are also reasonably priced and easy to access from most interstate exits, which are another selling point for me. Heck, even the music they play at the gas pumps are usually some quality pop oldies, which is fine with me.

Now, some of these places have stores under the operations of Yum! Brands, which owns KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut and A&W restaurants. For those locations, that usually means they have two of those restaurants housed within the same building, which is even better in case you are not sure what you eat or are traveling with a group of finicky eaters.

However, the real connoisseur of travel plazas nowadays looks for ones that have that longtime Southern traditional candy and novelty store, Stuckey’s, as part of the deal. For those of you unaware of Stuckey’s, let me just say that it is best known for its pecan log rolls – that is how Southern it is. Anyway, most of these stores now lie next to a Krispy Kreme service and a restaurant such as Wendy’s or Dairy Queen along with the main convenience store – all under one roof! It is almost enough to make you want to stop and stay there rather than head toward your final destination.

The only improvement I would make to travel centers right now is, as I stated before, make them appear at least every 30 miles on every interstate. Though we do not have this problem in the Triangle, follow some highways out of the area, particularly in the more rural parts north and east of here, and count the distance between exits for these centers. It will be long enough between them that you will be begging for one to show up to break the monotony of the drive, believe me. That is why I would make it one of my campaign promises, if I were elected to the highest office in the land, to put the fun back into driving on the highways.

So … anyone interested in drafting me as a candidate?

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