Vacations used to be considered a luxury expense, before they became mainstreamed like they are now. I remember when I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s that visiting our out of town relatives was the highlight of our summer vacations. We would recconnect with our cousins whom we had not seen all winter long and have adventures in their backyards vs. our own backyards.
Traveling by car was still the main mode of transportation to all of these out of town trips and with the cost of fuel I am sure that this type of vacation will be popular again since a tankful of gas is still cheaper that 4 airline tickets to anywhere now a days. We have brought our own kids to our old stomping grounds and have regaled my own kids (or bored them to death, as they see it) about the good old times. My parents family was always spread out over the eastern seaboard as much as my husbands family is located in the Northwest Pacific states. So besides going on cruises and touring a foriegn country this year we are taking a good old fashion road trip.
We plan on exploring what is right in our own backyards, per se. We live in the Washington DC metropolitian area and have aways said we will explore all the historical places right here but always found something else to do. So this summer we will be taking day trips and long weekends and getting to know what is here in the southeastern part of the USA.
Growing up when we did trips like this we always stayed at a no frills motel, except we always made sure it had a pool. These roadside motels have been around for decades now serving car travelers from one side of the country to another. Some names we used to know have come and gone out of business, some are locally owned motels and some are quaint bed and breakfasts. Whatever your need they have been there.
That is how all of the hotel industry grew in this country from small Mom & Pop motels to now large conglomerate hotel chains. Each staking a claim for the ever growing traveling public. That is how the well known hotels such as Marriott Hotels and the Hilton Hotel chains started in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
One chain, Motel 6, that started as a budget motel in 1962 still is a familiar beacon to travelers on the road for a no-frills, low budget ‘motor’ lodge. While others like Best Western and Holiday Inns, started out the same , they changed their image to a more upscaled motel/hotel chain. Motel 6 founders William Becker and Paul Greene recognized that family travelers were seeking for affordable family lodging with a uniform price and uniform quality. Since they had been lo cost housing developers they put their creativity and knowledge together and created Motel 6.
Now I always wondered why it was called Motel 6. Was it because the founders had 6 children? Did they start out with six motels? Why the number 6? Well I just recently learned that they decided that families traveling together could afford one hotel room with two double beds for just $6 a night. Yes, that is right the cost of a room at Motel 6 when it opened its doors was just $6 a night, no matter the location. Their prices have increased over the years but I also learned another little fact, that most of their prices across the nation can be divided by 6 evenly, so they stay true to their name.
So if you are off to explore our wonderful country or need a place to stay when visiting your relatives there are still places to stay on a budget like Motel 6 and… they’ll leave the light on for you!
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