Conshohocken, PA—I Vote it the Best Place to Break Down in a Car

There I was, driving down the Penn turnpike, dodging trucks and thinking, "wow, this trip is truly uneventful so far," when the gods-of-travel decided to make me eat my words.

That ended me up on the side of the road, calling for help and after towage-- paying 300 dollars for an alternator.

All in all, a pain in the ass, but not the worst thing in the world because I got to hang out with the lovely men of Coshohocken, PA (at the Conshohocken Exxon ServiceCenter) for sic hours.

George. Older man. Hangs out at the gas station/garage where my car was getting worked on. For two hours he talked to me. He worked at the Pentagon during the war (not sure which one was). Made a fortune. Lost a fortune. Married for twelve years. She walked out. He refers to the owner of the station and his son as Bill and “The Boy”.

Bill Ivens: Nicest man ever. But gets seriously wigged out when a woman cries. Seriously. I think he got a little freaked. But a classic alpha male in that if you ask him how the work is going, he'll tell you the truth.

Me, “How’s it going?”
Bill, “Not well.”
Me, “What?!”
Bill, “Would you rather I lie?”

How do you answer that? What I really wanted was to not have asked the question. After I started crying, I think Bill felt much the same way.

The Boy: Also known as Raymond. Good kid and a total cutie. Doesn’t drink because he thinks woman wont want a man that drinks. Ray—you’re right. Women do not like drunks. But learning wine is always a good thing.

Also told me that George checks the pay phone when he leaves. Does it everyday. I love details like that.

And I love small towns. This one is worth checking out. Especially if your car breaks down.

Adventures from the road

I am traveling to NJ. A long way from Oaxaca but there's a beachhouse for me to stay in. Bonus!

I decided to drive my car from TX.

Up until about an hour ago (before my car broke down on the Pennsylvania turnpike) this was a fairly uneventful trip. Which is what one looks for in a roadtrip. While breakdowns in small towns are great for movies, they suck in real life.

But let’s start with the nice stuff first. I’ll get to the breakdown later.

Sharron’s Random Observations along the way:

1) 1-40 is (in my head) is now, officially, the Corridor of Porn. You want to find an Adult book store? Just drive down I-40 in the south. My favorite one was the store at the top of the off-ramp and at the bottom of the ramp was a big sign that said “what you lose when you read porn...EVERYTHING” .

I can just imagine the town meetings. The chaos. The name calling. The giggling in the back row.

2) We’ve all seen weird road names. And even driving at 75 mph, a few are memorable. My favorite road names? Bucksnort Rd. and Scratchy Gravel road.

And let's not leave out 'Hungry Mother State Park.'

3)I was at a gas station in Arkansas and went to the ladies room., There were two toilets. No stalls. Just two toilet side-by-side. I don’t know about you, but I don’t know anyone well enough to sit next to them without a wall between us.

4) Biggest thrill: A herd of tiny horses. Yes! One of the highlights of the trip. A herd of miniature horses on the hill. I wanted to stop and just shove one in the trunk. Or a pocket.

5) Worst hotel: Motel Six. I used to stay at them all the time. But no more. I stayed at one in TN and it was questionable. They charged extra for me to have a ground floor room and the tub didn’t drain. I thought it sucked. Then I stopped at on in VA thinking that the bad experience was an aberration. Nope. There was one towel, the room had a funky smell and the sink didn’t work. The best part? There was a no-smoking sign on the door and an ashtray in the room.

Seriously uneventful. Until now...