Tuesday, May 22, 2007

East on the Interstate...

I’m sitting in a truck stop at the intersection of I-30 and SH 205, just east of Dallas.

The clouds are low, and the wind is spitting hints of rain from the west.
Travelers of all stripe are converging for lunch.

Used to, when our family would travel by car, truck stops were not the first choice for bladder breaks or topping off our internal fuel tanks. That’s all changed.

This place is branded with Exxon-Mobil gasoline, along with a Burger King restaurant, a Starbucks Coffee nook (I wouldn’t call it a full-blown shop)and a T/A convenience store with flat screen weather radar monitors, huge, clean bathrooms, and a game arcade. There is also WiFi, which is how you’re able to read this, just minutes following my being here.

The order taker may not be the guy behind the drive-thru window, either. There’s a guy buzzing around with a mop and a headset microphone, scheduling burgers and bussing tables at the same time. Hold the onion, and spray the 409. Hope he’s not easily distracted.

With the price of gasoline north of $3/gal (as I predicted it would be again), retailers of food and fuel have figured out travelers don’t mind the price (too much) so long as the facilities warrant stopping in. Believe me, I’ve seen some dumps that wouldn’t justify stopping even if they were charging half-price for high-test.

This place is pretty nice, and if my meeting runs much later, I may investigate the truckers’ bunk spaces in the back.

See you in the morning on the Radio.

No comments: