Tag Archives: Budget Inn

Hometown Bound: Day 2

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Posted by on in distraction issues, Family, Inspiration, Social, Striving, Travel

May 13, 2021, Joplin, MO- Along the highways today, I passed the same onion truck seven times. We started out from Lisa’s Truck Stop, in Moriarty and he did not seem to stop much between there and Tulsa. At least, I would stop here and there, and would find him up the road, sometime later.

The day dawned, cool and gray, in Moriarty. I heated up what was left of last night’s Sombrero and savoured it, in the quiet at Lariat Motel. After getting a coffee at Lisa’s, I made a beeline for Amarillo.

The cool and gray dissipated, by the time I rolled into the parking lot, at Venezia Italian Restaurant, on Amarillo’s historic Sixth Street. Old pal Wes Hardin was there, standing outside his “new” car, which I found a relief-as he is again independent of cabs and Uber. Wes and I solved the problems of the nation and world, at least in our own minds, in the span of an hour, whilst enjoying Shrimp Alfredo and Lobster Ravioli, respectively.

With that accomplished, I bid farewell to Wes, as headed back to work and made my way east. A brief stop in Shamrock, TX revealed another friend, named Rusty was not at her cafe. It turns out this is an evening music and unwind type of establishment. Note to self: File that in travel notes.

I did not stop much in Oklahoma, gassing up in Sayre and stopping for a bite at the Stroud Travel Center, off the Turnpike. Block Party BBQ has pretty decent brisket. I will reach out to another friend in NW Oklahoma, on the way back, but for now, the main task is to make good time, between now and Sunday morning, when I should be in Saugus.

Turnpike traffic was relatively light, so I was surprised to see one of Joplin’s larger hotels was completely booked. No problems here, as my spirit guides set me towards the city’s shopping district, where I found Budget Inn and am set for the night.

The 2018 Road, Day 33: High Life in the Low Country

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Posted by on in Travel

June 27, 2018, Timmonsville, SC-

Many lovely days, over the years, have been spent in places not exactly mapped out or put on an itinerary.  Today,  I made an early start, out of Spring Hill, with the aim of reaching somewhere in the Carolinas, before calling it a night.   I bid farewell to W and the dogs, with  Mother still asleep.  A stop at Staples was necessary, to pick up a carrying case for this laptop, before heading up the back highway towards I-10.

I stopped on the east side of Ocala, at a Huddle House, getting a loaded burger-a break from the more Spartan fare I gave myself, over the three days at the “Beach House” (named for its Beach Street location, rather than proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, which is ten miles away).  Huddle House is a football-themed chain, found in the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  It seems fairly reliable and put me very close to Interstate 10.

I also stopped at the Florida Citrus outlet, in Macclenny, to pick up some jars of marmalade- one for a friend I plan to visit, tomorrow, and one for some friends in Tennessee.   Then it was on to I-95 and through Georgia, once again, to the lowland interior of South Carolina.  I would be passing east of Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, this time, and focusing on a backroads route towards Salisbury, NC, where another Baha’i friend lives.

This route brought me to Walterboro, just in time for a simple, but well-varied Southern buffet, at Olde House Cafe.

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Walterboro has some fine architecture, in its downtown,  but rain was setting in, and I had the idea of getting closer to the North Carolina state line.  The rain got worse, though, the further north I drove, and after another hour of dealing with the elements and the approaching nightfall, I stopped in Timmonsville, at a Budget Inn.  The place is also clean and fairly inexpensive, like its counterparts in Ocala and Elkhart, IN.   There looks to be some sort of breakfast place, attached to the gas station across the road, so tomorrow may well be off to a good start.