Stuckey’s was an institution, the oasis on the long plain interstate through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia (Interstates 95, 85, 81 and others).

Famous for its Pecan Logs Rolls and ridiculous roadside trinkets, it was the place you looked forward to as a kid and a savior to the Father when the kids asked “are we there yet?”.

It was a big light blue roofed oasis
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that you waited for on the two lane concrete highway traveling south. Out in the middle of bumf**k, you’d see the orange billboard sign that said “Stuckey’s  Next 230mil ahead”, and as a kid your eyes lit up and you woke up from your interstate highway trance.

You had something to look forward to, even though that was at least two or three hours ride away…

They had pecan log/rolls, shakes, burgers, and lots and lots of silly trinkets to amuse, it was like a beachside boardwalk store landlocked along the interstate.

Things like:
Smoking Dogs
http://image.timepassagesnostalgia.com/watermarked/imagesb1/b186dog.jpg
Drinking Birds
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Sipping_Bird.jpg/220px-Sipping_Bird.jpg

Horoscope Readers, glow in the dark figurines & miniature bibles, and many other silly toys and trinkets.

Whatever you needed to keep a small child amused while you had that extra 400 mile journey ahead, Stuckey’s had.

Stuckey’s have been around since the mid 1930’s and are still around now, though their heyday was around the 1950-early 1970’s. Most of them are gone, but a few still remain.

Anyone remember them or has ever been to one?

Pretty sure we stopped at one outside of Adrian, TX.  Might have also hit the one in Tucumcari, NM.  Pretty cool. :)

Dad always just wanted to get the trip over with as quickly as possible, so sometimes it was a chore to get him to stop at cool places like that.  I wanted to stop at any place that sold "souvenirs"--that is, weird novelty junk like the aforementioned items--or was some kind of freaky roadside attraction.

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Stuckey's isn't a New England thing, though there are a couple of stores in Connecticut. 

I am old enough to remember the Howard Johnson's restaurants.  My mom's family called it HoJo's and that's where they'd always stop for burgers and ice cream (28 flavors!) on a summer road trip.

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I am old enough to remember the Howard Johnson's restaurants.  My mom's family called it HoJo's and that's where they'd always stop for burgers and ice cream (28 flavors!) on a summer road trip.


Apparently, there are still two Howard Johnson's restaurants left: One in Bangor, Maine, and Lake Placid, New York.

Apparently, there are still two Howard Johnson's restaurants left: One in Bangor, Maine, and Lake Placid, New York.


Don't forget Rock Ridge!

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