New York City we are not.

[BroSCFischer]

I live and work in rural PA. We have a Denny's (about 12 miles from here). We have a few all night gas stations and grocer's. We do NOT however have a 24-hr taxi service.

I (~3AM EST) just had a call from a room asking where the nearest place to get food was. I mentioned a gas station and grocer (both with in 10 miles of my hotel). They then asked if there was a taxi service available. I reply that this is rural PA, the only taxi service we have runs from 6AM to 8PM, last pick-up at 7:30PM.

Guest: Well, I guess I'm just supposed to starve then.

Say it with me folks:

A lack of planning...

SC

[Slave to the Phone]

When you are driving through BFE, you need to plan. I don't travel often, but I know that planning is important. Last year, I was driving throught the Texas panhandle during a major windstorm. I finally gave up and went to a Holiday Inn and was lucky enough to get the last room. (while I was outside smoking, I watched their sign blow over.)

This happened on a Sunday, and that town rolled up their sidewalks at 7pm. I went to the Denny's for food and heard so many people complaining that they had to wait to eat substandard food.

[Argabarga]

Or you could, ya know, use those two jointed thingys attached to your pelvis.... your average human being can get pretty far on them, for free even.

heck, I'm in pretty bad physical shape and have flat feet so bad the Army would probably reject me, but when my car went into the shop for repairs leaving me a pedestrian for the day, I managed the 17 mile round-trip walk to work and back without dying.... or even getting sore.

And yes, this was 17 miles of rural PA, vampires don't get you if you walk around after dark in rural PA....

Also of note, you can probably guess the many times I've had people whos cars we've towed DEMAND we come and pick them up because the 6 blocks between where they illegally parked and our impound lot is "too far" to walk since they now have "no way" of getting to us.... at which point, we DO give them the numbers for the town's MANY 24 hour cab services

[blas]

There's a reason vampires don't get you in the dark.

There's a secret society of us who protect people

Just the good ones, though.

[Pixilated]

Ironic that this thread was right above one titled "Where do you think you are?"

In two years I will be driving from southern Ontario to the middle of the Prairies ... and there's a LOT of empty highway between my departure point and my arrival point! So yeah, I think I'll do a little advance planning ...

[Lachrymose]

Guest: Well, I guess I'm just supposed to starve then.

"Yes, sir. Housekeeping will be by to clean up your corpse in a few hours."

[AccountingDrone]

When we do a road trip, we make allowances for dinner, we have an electric kettle and a case of maruchen chicken cup o noodles, and carry fruit/veggies like oranges, and baby carrots, celery and apples, and bread, mayo, mustard for making sandwiches from the packages of ham and cheese in the travel cooler. [I have issues with fast food and we pretty much made lunch sandwiches instead of stopping for fast food] and we also had snacks like hummus and pita chips or salsa and corn scoops. We brought instant oatmeal for breakfast, and several types of tea for me. [we have one whole rolly suitcase that is comfort stuff - our food that doesn't need coolers, the kettle, and table service for 2 in case we stayed at a non-extended stay place.] Almost all rooms now have coffee makers, about 80% have at least a microwave, and about half of those have at least a small fridge. Though I love the extended stay places with the little kitchens =)

[Lyse]

Wait - I think I missed something. Was the person transported there to begin with? How do you end up in a rural area that you aren't familiar with without some form of transportation?

[EricKei]

When we do a road trip, we make allowances for dinner

I do the same, even if it's only a 3-4 hour trip....Cooler with plenty of ice and drinks; put dry snax on the outside, and I stop by my local grocery place for a baguette of their mmmmmm nummy sweet French bread and sandwich fixins...I make a full-loaf po-boy at home, cut it up, drop it int he cooler, and BAM, I and anyone traveling with me has a choice of either a hearty sammich or crackers/cookies/whatever for the trip.

How do you end up in a rural area that you aren't familiar with without some form of transportation?

Exactly what I was thinking. Unless he got there via bus -- in which case, he was likely part of a tour group that should have provided for eats -- I would assume he has access to a car...

[sms001]

How do you end up in a rural area that you aren't familiar with without some form of transportation?

Maybe they drove but are now intoxicated?

[Ben_Who]

I dunno. I've been on five road trips, two of them cross country, and stayed in dozens of motels, and I've never stayed in one that didn't have proximity to some kind of additional service - a gas station, a nearby diner, a Burger King a quarter mile away. It does seem a bit odd to have a hotel surrounded by nothing but trees for twelve miles in every direction.

This isn't to say that it's the hotel's responsibility, that the customer shouldn't have prepared better, or that there's any excuse whatsoever for taking your lack of planning out on someone who has no power to help you. The reason I always carry snacks, though, is in case I need to make up time and can't stop, not because the hotel is so far out in the willywags that finding food requires a full tank of gas and a pre-programmed GPS. I'll never go hungry on a road trip - but I've never stayed at a place where twenty minutes of walking wouldn't get me at least near a bag of chips.

The 3 AM thing, on the other hand...That's a whole other layer of stupid. Services are bound to be in limited supply in the wee hours, no matter where you are. If you've smoked THAT much weed, that curing your munchies requires a taxicab, you're beyond help, sympathy, or dignity. Though I'd have expected him to be a lot more mellow...

[MoonCat]

I stayed at a hotel in Timonium, MD, that had an attached restaurant. Across a very busy four lane highway was a pair of other restaurants, and that was all that was within walking distance. After making one death-defying trip on foot across that highway, my sister and I decided that eating at Chili's for three days wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The next time we went to a con there, we took a cab up the road to a local grocery store and stocked up on cold cuts, bread, Ramen noodles, fresh fruit and a few other goodies. Thus, with the hot pot we brought along, plus the coffee maker & fridge in the room, we didn't have to eat Tex-Mex at every single meal (saved a lot of time, too).

[dalesys]

... Timonium, MD ...

OT: The hometown of Cheryl Wheeler, writer of some of the most achingly beautiful songs (Arrow, Summerfly, Aces, 75 Septembers...) and also some of the funniest (Handi House, Shutcher Piehole, Potato ...).

The town name supposedly means "sadness".

[Lachrymose]

I stayed at a hotel in Timonium, MD, that had an attached restaurant..

I used to work directly across the sideroad from that.

[BroSCFischer]

I dunno. I've been on five road trips, two of them cross country, and stayed in dozens of motels, and I've never stayed in one that didn't have proximity to some kind of additional service - a gas station, a nearby diner, a Burger King a quarter mile away. It does seem a bit odd to have a hotel surrounded by nothing but trees for twelve miles in every direction.

It was 330AM. There is a McDonald's that closed at 12AM less than a mile from us, as well as a gas station, 2 Family restaurants (that were also closed by midnight) and 5 other hotels/motels.

SC