Last night Earl and I stayed at the only motel in Wentzville, Missouri. It was a Super 8, and was preceded by a conversation about the early years of Motel 6 and Super 8 as we covered I-70 heading to St. Louis.
We recalled that Motel 6 originally offered no-frills lodging for six dollars way back when. Then Super 8 came along and offered fancier lodging for two dollars more. We think this was in the sixties and seventies, because neither of us ever stayed at one of these chains.
But the sun was setting and we were tired, having spent the day chasing the shadows of Truman and Churchill across Missouri. Earlier in the day we’d been to Truman’s home in Independence, MO, and followed that with a visit to the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, MO.
We watched billboards for signs of possible lodging and finally settled at Exit 208 just before the rush into the St. Louis metropolitan area. Earl negotiated the room rate and obtained a local imprimatur on a restaurant for dinner. Then we found our room.
I will say it was Spartan. At the same time, it had everything the hotel before it had at half the price: a myriad of channels on a flat screen TV, Wi-Fi, breakfast in the morning, late check-out if needed, and USA Today. The bed sufficed too.
What I take away from this is the possibility that when we do our Great Plains Tour the summer of 2012, maybe we don’t need to spend as much money to have adequate lodging when it’s just for one night. And most of that is spent sleeping . . .
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