Doing Fine on Rt 9

I grew up in upstate NY, a little south of Lake George. Big low-rent tourist destination. The area has always thrived on small mom & pop-type motels and restaurants that dot Rt 9 from Saratoga, northward, and concentrate in Lake George.

The first national chain to be in the region was HoJo's - and that was nearly from the start, I think? In the 1980s we saw Ramada finally move in. In recent years, things are speeding up. Each time I visit (about once per year) now, there's a new chain shop - whether motel or restaurant - coming in. On a recent visit, I decided it was time to start snapping while the stuff was still there:






(That's a chain shop, but a regional one - so they're forgiven).









More to come, perhaps, when film comes back.

They remind me of my years on the road.

If there's a historical society in Lake George, you should approach them about an exhibition.

Very nicely done.

That's the Upstate NY I remember from my youth! I can't stand it that the country is becoming so homogenized. I personally cannot afford to stay at Marriots or Ramadas or even Holiday Inns any more. These Mom'n'Pop motels are still in my price range, plus to stay in them is to support local business. I'm so glad you see the beauty in them, and sought to preserve them on film (and pixels). :hug:

I used to ride by those motels with envy - those people had pools to swim in!

One summer, I worked as a chamber made in one of them, cleaning cottages. Icky work, but it paid okay.

:)

In case you didn't notice, the weather generally sucked on this trip. Here's the same one, with bad/surreal Photoshop

:applause: