Remember when?

Willie sold out? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

 

There was a 76 on the west side of US 20 in addition to another just across a access road from that one. Then on east side of US 20 is a TA as well.

There was a couple more north side of I80 there past the interchange. I forget what they were. If you headed south on US 20, you left Stoneyridge and proceed to a variety of small towns, some of which had a nice selection of small places where you could stick a truck somewhere and walk to get a meal. I remember one in particular where the cop would hide in a used car lot right at a rail crossing where your trailer would stick onto and block it if you stopped at that particular white line with a 18 wheeler. They live for that money.

 

And Classy Chassy was across from the street.

That particular pilot was not exactly a good place at nighttime.

 

Kissing toes!

 

Frederick 76 was my home truck stop it's not much of a place as truckstops went but it was adequate when you ignored the caferteria buffet line and went into the glass sided full service part of the dining room where you could soak the sunshine and warm up a little in winter for a couple hours over a meal.

There was a waitress named Mary who had white hair from Cancer treatments and somewhat older probably mid 50's then. She knew my entire personal meal requirements at any time of day. I did not have to say anything other than thank you kindly Mary and either breakfast or dinner please depending again on time of day. She did not survive Chemo and is buried at mt Olivet on the hill near there.

Ive had many good waitresses and loved them all as I ought to. But this one Many drivers loved her. Angels are precious few and this was one.

 

Best burgers were at Little America Truckstop in Wyoming, Exit 68 on I-80. Buffalo Burgers with fries.

What about those Giant Truckstops on I-40 in NM & AZ. Any good now? One of them looked as big as Walcott I-80.

 

No the building is still there, wrecker company next door owns it now they are closed tjough. Seems like a life time ago but I bought my first first tank of fuel there. Parked my truck there till I got my driveway at home wide enough to get in. Going farther back I remember as a small child going in there and getting to play pin ball for as long as a quarter would last while Dad drank coffee at the big round table.

 

Lucky indeed. Changes hell yes.

Ive seen many a good stop over the years. *Wipes tear... many are gone.

You young ones have no idea of the hospitality, service and just plain down home eating you recieved in some of those places. These staffers and waiteresses did not deserve some of the abuse or problems sometimes but all of them were angels. We did not always deserved to be treated as well as we were.

But.

If there is ANYTHING particularly bad about a served food, there will be Hell to Pay. I remember the Duncannon Truckstop just east of US 15 and they served me a very poor plate of uncooked spaghetti.

For 9 dollars too.

I depended on Duncannon for many years. But after that single dish served badly by a cook who swore and cussed I resolved that was the absolute last dollar I would ever spend there and I took my hungry butt somewhere else along with a thirsty 18 wheeler needing 300 gallons for fuel to some other lucky and better truckstop.

As a side note, I need help remembering the location of a particular truck stop that was a little one off I think US 14 IN about US 6 near Troy in PA.. there was a valley somewhere with three Truss Bridges about a mile for them together requiring one truck at a time near a very tiny Truckstop possibly to the south called midway and room for like 10 trucks to park in the patch of woods inside a sweeping curve.

Im having a hard time recovering or recognizing this type of information on Google Map's I suspect it's possibly due to economic issues or construction over all these years wiping out the wonderful land.

 

There is a Giant near a refinery. I think they owned it all.

Little America was something. I loved that place. But I remember a dark time where the racism was really intense after 9-11 on the radio. Little America indeed.

 

Not exactly before interstates but we used so many older roads rather than the interstate. It's hard to explain. There was a section of US 40 at roughly Big Savage in Maryland in the Cumberland area. At one time they were building I-68. This road featured a particular boulder a size of a city block and way bigger than the monstrous haul trucks. they pecked away at that #### thing about 1000 feet way down off the abyss protected by a bit of jersey wall and sunk gravel and a 15 mph curve right above it off a hell of a downgrade.

It's really hard to describe it now sitting here, you had to be there. THAT was trucking at it's rawest and best.