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Celebrating our two-lane highways of yesteryear…And the joys of driving them today!

Making Friends Along The American Road


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Becky has been asking a few questions lately, and I have one as well. How do you make social contact on the road? I’m thinking here of strangers we may briefly (or more permanently) connect with to enrich the travel experience. The two lane roads offer many opportunities for enriching interpersonal contacts. How do we establish them, and what have been some of your experiences?

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Becky has been asking a few questions lately, and I have one as well. How do you make social contact on the road? I’m thinking here of strangers we may briefly (or more permanently) connect with to enrich the travel experience. The two lane roads offer many opportunities for enriching interpersonal contacts. How do we establish them, and what have been some of your experiences?

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

 

Hi Dave,

 

Great question! I'll start by sharing that we eat in a local (not chain) establishment. :ready2eat:

 

One tip, we spot the place with a full parking lot. Usually the staff is really friendly - and if you ask a question about the history of the place (which we usually do) they won't look at you with a blank stare.

 

 

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Becky has been asking a few questions lately, and I have one as well. How do you make social contact on the road? I’m thinking here of strangers we may briefly (or more permanently) connect with to enrich the travel experience. The two lane roads offer many opportunities for enriching interpersonal contacts. How do we establish them, and what have been some of your experiences?

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

 

Hi Dave,

 

Great question! I'll start by sharing that we eat in a local (not chain) establishment. :ready2eat:

 

One tip, we spot the place with a full parking lot. Usually the staff is really friendly - and if you ask a question about the history of the place (which we usually do) they won't look at you with a blank stare.

 

 

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Hi Dave,

 

Great question! I'll start by sharing that we eat in a local (not chain) establishment. :ready2eat:

 

One tip, we spot the place with a full parking lot. Usually the staff is really friendly - and if you ask a question about the history of the place (which we usually do) they won't look at you with a blank stare.

 

Good one Becky!

 

And I’ll add an almost certain conversation starter at the local restaurant. Pull out your map and look like you are trying to figure out where to go. Four out of 5 times someone will say something like “Are you on the road,” or “Looking for someplace nearby?”

And because I often have a vintage map or vintage photos along (this isn’t for everyone!) I am practically assured a tour of the town. I have been invited to meet the Mayor (Tekoa, WA), visit the home ranch (Fall River Mills, CA), provide a map for display at the county fair (Klamath, CA), etc. etc.

 

And local restaurants will often have a vintage photo or two on the wall. If it is a small, informal place, I’ll look to the tables and ask “Can anyone here tell me about these pictures.” A few weeks ago in Tygh Valley, Oregon, the folks practically knocked over the chairs to get to me and tell about their community.

 

But it has to be a local restaurant, or even general store.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

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I'm such a devoted introvert. I don't reach out to strangers on the road easily. But if they approach me, as long as they don't look threatening (been through that a time or two!) I'm glad for the contact. In smaller towns, ones whose best days are past, often someone will come out of a shop and ask why I'm taking photos, and that usually blossoms into a nice conversation about the town, often including its history and fortunes.

 

I also like to take my dog along on trips. I get some attention because of that, as I put her on the leash as I walk around with my camera, and that sometimes leads to interesting conversations. A surprise: I got more attention because of the dogs when my Rottweiler was still living; people were really curious about her.

 

jim

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Becky has been asking a few questions lately, and I have one as well. How do you make social contact on the road?

 

 

In smaller towns we select a decent looking saloon after we have landed for the day and try to make a stop there before happy hour so we can catch up with the senior locals. They immediately recognize that we're strangers and will usually ask us where we're from, why we're stopping in their burg, etc. If not, a question to the bartender about nearly anything local, especially a building or highway, will open the conversation floodgates.....Bliss

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Like Jim, I'm basically a professional introvert. When approached, I'm pretty friendly, but generally I'll keep my distance. Unlike Becky, I look for the place with no cars in the parking lot. That I'm a strict vegetarian, this usually means the Chinese place where nobody ever eats. I'm not a drinker, so the bars are out of the question.

 

I've always wanted to be the social guy, but as I'm riding through a town, I mostly keep to myself.

 

There have been some occasions where I was basically abducted and forced to be social. The most notable was in Erick, Oklahoma on Route 66. Harley and Annabelle rescued me from a spring monsoon and took me into their shop (where you can't buy anything), warmed me up, sang me a bunch of songs and turned my day around.

 

 

So basically, for me to make friends on the road, I have to be abducted. I guess I'm a sucker for Stockholm Syndrome. :)

 

-Eric

 

 

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There have been some occasions where I was basically abducted and forced to be social. The most notable was in Erick, Oklahoma on Route 66. Harley and Annabelle rescued me from a spring monsoon and took me into their shop (where you can't buy anything), warmed me up, sang me a bunch of songs and turned my day around.

 

I would've opted for the monsoon. :huh:

 

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Ha! They're not for everyone, but they really hit the spot on that chilly May afternoon.

 

Yah, I liked 'em, but there are those who aren't music lovers, I guess. :rolleyes::D

 

Where else would you get such energy? What a great stop! And lucky video.

 

And by the way, them's what you call born extroverts!! :P

 

I'll be looking for them on American Idol!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

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Ha! They're not for everyone, but they really hit the spot on that chilly May afternoon.

 

Understood! Just have never understood the fascination and how some consider them Route 66 "icons". I guess in simple terms, we don't roll that way. Our instincts were verified by some Route 66 friends who've had not-so-favorable experiences there. And for that reason, any time we hear of anyone going there, we tend to advise against it or else caveat emptor.

 

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When we are shopping in a new area for us, we ask shop keepers where they recommend we eat lunch or dinner, or ask the hotel/motel receptionist the same. We have eaten in some wonderful friendly places in tourist towns where we were the only tourists in the place. This way we get to meet a lot more locals than picking the cutest or best looking place to eat. (And maybe this would have kept me from getting food poisoning the time I picked a great looking vintage restaurant)

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How do you make social contact on the road?

 

I just tell 'em I know Becky. :D

 

Like most of us on this forum, eating & drinking at independents is a way of life. As I'm often by myself, I usually sit at the counter/bar and that can lead to more contact than a corner table. In a diner, the entire staff might pass by or even gather near your spot or you may be able to chat directly with the cook or owner or manager. Starting conversations with people sitting beside you on a swivel stool is often fairly easy however not everyone welcomes that so you do need to be a little sensitive to silence. But folks are more often friendly than not and a conversation with one person may grow as he/she relays a question or "introduces" you to others. I often have a camera in hand and that can sometimes be a conversation starter as can the laptop that's usually with me at dinner. The laptop can cut both ways, though, since some assume you're hard at work and therefore completely crazy and someone to avoid.

 

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