Pit Stop on Columbia Island

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 115967 wrote:

It’s not just because of the trinkets. It’s because of the signs. I would imagine that some people would have issues with the caricature of Mexicans in some of the signs

It’s a tradition. Like Thanksgiving–there’s no real reason for us to eat ourselves into a stupor and fall asleep on the couch but we do it anyway because tradition. SOB? Tradition. Didn’t you see fiddler on the roof? Cue show tune.

[DismalScientist]

Only 1552 miles to Wall Drug.

[PotomacCyclist]

@mstone 115995 wrote:

It’s a tradition. Like Thanksgiving–there’s no real reason for us to eat ourselves into a stupor and fall asleep on the couch but we do it anyway because tradition. SOB? Tradition. Didn’t you see fiddler on the roof? Cue show tune.

At least with Thanksgiving, there are family gatherings, so it’s often more than just eating a lot. For people whose extended families are scattered about the country, that makes it more than just a regular big dinner. Plus last Thanksgiving also had the Cranksgiving charity bike scavenger hunt/ride. I might change my tune if South of the Border sponsored, say, a century ride in the Carolinas or a large community fun ride. Maybe they do already, but I doubt it.

[mstone]

Traveling for thanksgiving just makes it more ridiculous! Why travel on the busiest day of the year instead of, say, a random weekend in march? Tradition.

[PotomacCyclist]

Not everyone has the same off-days or free weekends. That’s not to say that everyone is free over Thanksgiving, or they may have two or more potential travel locations. The bottom line is that it’s different from South of the Border. The signs are more interesting than that store. So I’ll say that the highway signs are sort of a tradition or kitschy landmark.

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 116019 wrote:

So I’ll say that the highway signs are sort of a tradition or kitschy landmark.

That’s it exactly. There used to be a great tradition of interesting story-telling highway signs that made it more fun to drive endless miles. They’ve mostly died out, replaced by generic and uninteresting billboards about booze (up north) or XXX shops (down south). I suspect it may be because most places these days don’t last long enough to make it worth planning and installing such a project, and because everything is franchised pap without a quirky proprietor to put up such signs.

[PotomacCyclist]

But it’s the signs, not the store itself. They could actually have the signs and no store and the kitschy attraction would still be there. It might even be better that way, because people could make up stories about what the store was like in the good old days. They could describe it as the savior of countless weary parents on cross-country drives (especially in the days before portable DVD players, and tablets and laptops with online or downloaded videos), bringing sanity to the land.

I think Burma Shave introduced the concept of highway advertising or a series of highway billboards, with a punchline at the end. Apparently the highway signs were discontinued on the advice of counsel, possibly because of the possibility of distracting drivers and inducing crashes. So it wasn’t so much franchising that ended the Burma Shave billboard campaign as it was safety and liability concerns.

[Kolohe]

@dasgeh 115955 wrote:

You did not just insult SoB.

It’s not like it’s Wall Drug

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 115967 wrote:

It’s not just because of the trinkets. It’s because of the signs. I would imagine that some people would have issues with the caricature of Mexicans in some of the signs.

Aside from that, I never found it that interesting, even as a kid. I thought there would be some spectacular attraction after all those signs. Then when you get there, you find some fireworks, some mini-statues with thermometers (which probably had mercury in them), some cheesy T-shirts and diner food. It’s like getting excited about a tourist shop in DC that sells T-shirts made in Bangladesh that say “Witness Protection Program” or whatever. I’m not against tourism or tourist activities, but I’d like it to be interesting. Especially when there is so much advertising for it. So in that way, I see it as similar to the Grand and Great Columbia Island Marina bar Bike to Work Day false-advertising Scam of 2015. If not for the scam, I might have been able to secure an extra bagel at the Georgetown pit stop. That puts me out about 30 cents!

But that’s what it is. There’s no false advertising. They never say that there will be anything other than a glorified truck stop. Btw, there’s also a motel, restaurant, gas station and mini golf. It’s all horrible. But it is exactly the horrible you expect from the horrible billboards (and the fact that it’s in South Carolina).

There’s more there than in Wall Drug, though Wall definitely has better candy.

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 116007 wrote:

At least with Thanksgiving, there are family gatherings, so it’s often more than just eating a lot. For people whose extended families are scattered about the country, that makes it more than just a regular big dinner. Plus last Thanksgiving also had the Cranksgiving charity bike scavenger hunt/ride. I might change my tune if South of the Border sponsored, say, a century ride in the Carolinas or a large community fun ride. Maybe they do already, but I doubt it.

I’ve seen people stop there on ms rides to the beach.

[Raymo853]

I went by the marina bar and the place looked closed. Gave me reason to neb around the place though.

[KLizotte]

@Raymo853 116081 wrote:

I went by the marina bar and the place looked closed. Gave me reason to neb around the place though.

Given that they have probably the best spot to offer a pit stop, the signs without an actual offering is mystifying.

Anyway, last summer they were offering happy hour specials and a calypso band on Wednesday nights. The band was good and sitting by the water is nice so not a bad place to hang out (all of this was observed from the bike, I never actually stopped.) Might make a good place to have a bike forum happy hour if they bring back the band and specials presuming people don’t harbor too much bad will after their BTWD disappearing act.

[PotomacCyclist]

@dasgeh 116072 wrote:

But that’s what it is. There’s no false advertising. They never say that there will be anything other than a glorified truck stop. Btw, there’s also a motel, restaurant, gas station and mini golf. It’s all horrible. But it is exactly the horrible you expect from the horrible billboards (and the fact that it’s in South Carolina).

There’s more there than in Wall Drug, though Wall definitely has better candy.

I guess to a kid, their billboards seemed to promise something 1,000 times better than Walt Disney World. So to me, that was false advertising. Or at least a massive letdown. I will never forgive them, LOL.

[PotomacCyclist]

@KLizotte 116086 wrote:

Given that they have probably the best spot to offer a pit stop, the signs without an actual offering is mystifying.

Anyway, last summer they were offering happy hour specials and a calypso band on Wednesday nights. The band was good and sitting by the water is nice so not a bad place to hang out (all of this was observed from the bike, I never actually stopped.) Might make a good place to have a bike forum happy hour if they bring back the band and specials presuming people don’t harbor too much bad will after their BTWD disappearing act.

I refuse to patronize that cafe ever. At least until I forget why I was angry at them in the first place. I estimate that will be a couple months. But they still need to have a real BTWD pit stop next year and it should be the best one ever.

[chris_s]

@dasgeh 115955 wrote:

You did not just insult SoB.

Anyone stopping at South of the Border is required to buy me Blenheim Pink Cap Gingerale while they’re there.

[Author]

Posts