U.S. Road Trips Still a Go With Higher Gas Prices But Here’s What Changes
Monument Valley, Utah. Clay Banks
From Skift.com: The huge demand for backyard leisure is set to continue in the U.S., as more Americans embrace the endemic phase of Covid and hit the road for spring break and summer vacations. But it’s now becoming clear that rising gas prices driven by the Russia-Ukraine war will have an effect on road trippers — and if ongoing, they could potentially dampen the overall record pace of U.S. travel recovery.
Almost 60 percent of American travelers say that the current increased cost of gas will impact their decision to travel over the next six months. Of those, nearly one-third of respondents predict the impact for them will be great. That’s according to the latest Covid and American Travel Sentiment survey from Longwoods International.
Philly developer to renovate and preserve North Wildwood’s Isle of Capri Motel
STREET VIEW/GOOGLE
From Philly Voice: The Isle of Capri Hotel in North Wildwood will be renovated and reopened as the Seaport Inn in the summer of 2022, Philadelphia-based developer BG Capital revealed. The property is among the remaining relics of the ‘Doo Wop’ midcentury architecture that once defined parts of the Jersey Shore vacation experience. <em>STREET VIEW/GOOGLE</em>
From Philly Voice: The gradual disappearance of Wildwood’s 1950s-style “Doo Wop” motels has been a sore subject for nostalgic Jersey Shore lifers, fascinated design enthusiasts and photographers for the better part of the last decade.
Wildwood encapsulates a perfect moment in the history of the American vacation. The mid-century architecture brought an idealized version of Las Vegas and Miami Beach to South Jersey, where working-class Wildwood represented a balmy, discounted access point to a fun and fabulous lifestyle.
The state of New Jersey recognizes a two-mile stretch of Wildwood — mostly in Wildwood Crest — as the “Wildwood Shore Resort Historic District” between Atlantic and Ocean avenues. There’s even a Doo Wop Preservation League that works with city officials and local business owners to keep as many of these structures intact for future generations to enjoy.
Podcast: One family’s 27,000-mile road trip
Greg Bledsoe and family. (Greg Bledsoe)
From the Los Angeles Times: Greg Bledsoe is a former morning news anchor for NBC 7 in San Diego. About a year ago, he, his wife and their two children got into an SUV and began to drive. Forty-four states, more than 20 national parks and more than 27,000 miles later, they’re still at it.
Today, Greg shares with us some of their stories — and lessons.
Rubenstein, Wallis turn old road trip memories into new roadside experience
From STL Jewish Light: Growing up in the 1970s, if my family was going on vacation, it meant we were taking a road trip. Funny to think about it now, but we didn’t call it a road trip back then, it was just a trip. And road trips have certainly not gone away, in fact in the age of RVs, they are probably more popular than ever. But wouldn’t you agree – there is something special, something nostalgic about the trips taken back in those days? Thinking about those times makes me just a bit happier.
Most of our road trips took place along the stretch of Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City. My family lived here, but my mom’s family lived in K.C.
This was the age of the 8-track, and later the cassette tape. There were no dual monitor DVD players hanging from my mom’s headrest to entertain us. Instead, we had the greatest hits from the K-Tel collection, Andy Gibbs’ “Shadow Dancing” and of course, the CB Radio
New ownership coming soon for historic Miss Bellows Falls Diner
The recently renovated Miss Bellows Falls Diner. Photo by Joe Milliken
From the Eagle Times: BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — After recently upgrading the front entryway of the Miss Bellows Falls Diner, located on The Square in Bellows Falls, current owner Brian McAllister recently stated that he is also working on a purchase and sale agreement with a potential new owner.
The owner of Father’s Restaurant in Westminster for 34 years, McAllister has owned the Miss Bellows Falls Diner for eight years, however, the local historic eatery has been temporarily closed since the start of the pandemic.
After recently starting renovations during the diner’s downtime while also improving the property for prospective new buyers, McAllister had gone before the Rockingham Development Review Board in order to receive the proper permit to finish building a new entranceway on the south side of the diner.
Honolulu City Signs
Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino
From Honolulu Magazine: A good sign does more than just invite us in.
The nostalgic Hawai‘i Theatre marquee may be the most photographed sign in the state, says Gregory Dunn, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Theatre Center. Before COVID-19, dozens of Japanese visitors staged wedding photographs each day in front of the theater, and even with fewer visitors, the historic sign proves a popular backdrop.
The marquee features 364 handblown round glass lights and another 150 individual handblown neon glass tube lights, Dunn says. When the movie house opened in 1922, it featured the distinctive vertical two-sided HAWAII blade sign at the corner of Bethel and Pauahi streets and a smaller board. “In the late 1930s, the lobby of the theater was renovated by Consolidated Amusement in the art deco style of the day, and the brilliant horizontal HAWAII neon sign was added so larger messages could be displayed fronting Bethel Street,” Dunn says. During the renovation in the 1980s and ’90s, the original sign was found to be unsafe, he says, so a $1 million replication was created by Young Electric Sign Co. of Las Vegas with LED display boards added later.