Interstate: Inns and Ice Machines

This trip has given me the opportunity to sample some of America's typical roadside accommodations, the no-nonsense, not too many frills hotels that cluster around major exits on this country's interstate highways. Interestingly, the worst one (a depressing looking Holiday Inn in Milesburg, PA) was also the most expensive, even with the AAA discount. And breakfast wasn't included! I've also slept at an AmericInn (Albert Lea, Minnesota), a Days Inn (Rapid City, SD) and now a La Quinta (Cheyenne, WY). I ended up at these hotels because they happened to be in the places where I decided to stop driving on a given night; I certainly did not make these particular lodgings as my destination. With the exception of AmericInn, where I couldn't connect to the wireless, all had great WiFi and extremely mediocre coffee. And I gotta mention those ice machines! You know, the kind that dispense ice cubes into plastic buckets with a loud clunking noise. It is definitely part of the required soundtrack for a drive across the country.