any full service rest stops on California interstate highways? (Davis: rent, hotel)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Never heard nor seen such a thing out west, or even in TN or anywhere in-between when I would drive from the west coast to TN. Must be an east coast thing?

I only know that I never stop at the state designated rest stops unless I have absolutely no other choice. Creeps hang out at them and they are too far off the beaten path for me to feel safe. And they usually aren't really clean or heated, etc. And there's usually no food option. Sometimes there are people selling coffee. Not sure if they're paid to do it, or what.

I stop either at a truck stop or at a McDonald's. Either will usually have clean bathrooms and enough people around that I feel safe. Truck stops have better food.

[MrWillys]

On I80 from Tahoe to SF there's 3 reststops. One at the top of Donner Summit, Goldrun, and Vallejo that are clean and taken care of.

[kyle242]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Never heard nor seen such a thing out west, or even in TN or anywhere in-between when I would drive from the west coast to TN. Must be an east coast thing?

I only know that I never stop at the state designated rest stops unless I have absolutely no other choice. Creeps hang out at them and they are too far off the beaten path for me to feel safe. And they usually aren't really clean or heated, etc. And there's usually no food option. Sometimes there are people selling coffee. Not sure if they're paid to do it, or what.

I stop either at a truck stop or at a McDonald's. Either will usually have clean bathrooms and enough people around that I feel safe. Truck stops have better food.

In Ohio at those rest/service plazas you can see a lot of Amish people there hanging out. That tells you about safety and they are very modern and clean. You get in and see einstein bagels, panera bread, starbucks, convenience store, clean bathrooms with self flushing toilets, public phones, atms, LCD display TVs showing news, weather and traffic forecast, kiosk with maps, travel guides, arcade games. Once youre done with meal you head little ahead straight to gas station and then hit straight the highway.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by kyle242

In Ohio at those rest/service plazas you can see a lot of Amish people there hanging out. That tells you about safety and they are very modern and clean. You get in and see einstein bagels, panera bread, starbucks, convenience store, clean bathrooms with self flushing toilets, public phones, atms, LCD display TVs showing news, weather and traffic forecast, kiosk with maps, travel guides, arcade games. Once youre done with meal you head little ahead straight to gas station and then hit straight the highway.

Huh. Trippy. If I may date myself :-) I wonder who profits from these plazas? How do they get zoning, etc.? Are they private developments? Do they get the property via eminent domain from the farmers, etc., who owned the land? Perhaps those days are over - or that would never fly here in the west. People here have a serious aversion to eminent domain.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by MrWillys

On I80 from Tahoe to SF there's 3 reststops. One at the top of Donner Summit, Goldrun, and Vallejo that are clean and taken care of.

Those are just toilets and vending machines..... the OP is talking about the East Coast model of a limited access highway offering restaurants and stores accessible only from that highway.

And, no, they don't exist out here. You have to stop in small towns and figure it out.... which is actually kind of nice once you get used to it.

[kyle242]

Originally Posted by gone down south

Those are just toilets and vending machines..... the OP is talking about the East Coast model of a limited access highway offering restaurants and stores accessible only from that highway.

And, no, they don't exist out here. You have to stop in small towns and figure it out.... which is actually kind of nice once you get used to it.

I did not say that was bad, thats the model I saw in Michigan (very touristy state) but the highways ran through towns very often and their offering full of interesting amenities are close to highway exits with clear information signs.

In areas very sparsely populated like Ohio, its nice to have those east coast models in middle of nowhere which you might appreciate in emergency.

The thing is when I drove 80 west I saw no sign on exit ramp to Davis just west from Sacramento where are restaurants and where gas stations (left or right from exit ramp?).

[eccotecc]

The first auto toll road built was the Pennsylvania turnpike. So motorists didn't have to get off the toll road, accommodations were provided for travelers at these plazas. The one that comes to mind is Howard Johnson's restaurants. I don't know if they still exist. Out west, where it was still pretty rural and desolate, car travelers camped along the side of the road and cooked their own meals. Eventually, enterprising farmers and ranchers built cabins for travelers to stay in. The cabins were replaced by motor hotels and today we know them as motels.

The last time driving to the East Coast on I 80, I recall where parts of the interstate are still toll roads. This could be why the OP was curious about not finding them out west.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Johnson%27s

[kyle242]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Huh. Trippy. If I may date myself :-) I wonder who profits from these plazas? How do they get zoning, etc.? Are they private developments? Do they get the property via eminent domain from the farmers, etc., who owned the land? Perhaps those days are over - or that would never fly here in the west. People here have a serious aversion to eminent domain.

I dunno. I think they are built by private developers who build/renovate airport terminals and shopping malls around this country but are actually managed by state and money to this goes from paid tolls and maybe also taxes. Dunno about farms. But how do you think interstate highways were built out through this whole big country during Eisenhower? If they needed that many permissions on local level it would have never materialized.

In Europe, most public roads highways are built by private contractors hired by governments not DOT's. Yet quality of their road conditions for most part is better than our's.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

FREEways

Still funded by taxpayer dollars.

[Harrier]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I stop either at a truck stop or at a McDonald's. Either will usually have clean bathrooms and enough people around that I feel safe. Truck stops have better food.

Did you actually just use "McDonald's" and "clean bathrooms" in the same sentence?

Why would you feel "safe" with people around?

People are the ones who usually practice things that might make one feel "unsafe'.

Harrier feels "safer" when he is by himself - and he doesn't even fully trust Harrier.