I am off to the Interstate pitstop town everybody loves to hate, Breezewood, Pennsylvania, for a day of fall colors! I felt I had to share this because of a recent thread about the Penn Turnpike that mentioned the charming burg that is Breezewood. (My favorite quote: UncleBeer said “Christ, living there would be like being buried alive.”) For those who haven’t experienced this town, it is located where two major interstate highways cross each other, but the only way to get from one highway to the other is to exit one highway and drive through an ugly two-mile-long strip of densely packed motels, gas stations, and fast-food places. Breezewood epitomizes the ugliest aspects of the Interstate Highway System.
My friends assure me that there is a nice side to Breezewood… we’re staying at a house that’s a little outside of town. And I’ll finally be able to verify that there are actually residents in that town, not just motel guests!
So has anyone else visited a place you always considered a hell-hole and been pleasantly surprised?
We stopped in Breezewood this summer on the way to Gettysburg. All I remember is that we ate at this retro 50’s restaurant that had a bunch of young, very good-looking waitresses.
Here’s my take on Breezewood: It’s a lousy place to visit, and I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live there.
Moreover, as a lifelong road geek, it annoys me to no end that not one but two interstates (70 and 76, which split there going eastbound) have traffic lights. As a matter of fact, I hate the entire PA turnpike, almost as much as the NJ Turnpike, which I outright despise. The damned thing is, I use the turnpike (I-76 for most of the way) a lot more now than when I lived there.
But let me stress: Breezewood is an anomaly. Interstate highways are not supposed to have traffic lights, and in general, most don’t. Did I mentioned that it annoyed me?
I was pleasantly surprised when I stayed in Flint, Michigan in the middle of December. But most of my pre-existing negative opinions came from Roger & Me.
Breezewod! A living museum for all that is bad about the US. Bad fried food, stores whose only products are plastic trinkets, commemorative plates and spoons, and shot glasses; wretched architecture, and rampant price gouging by every merchant in the town. If they could get the US 4x100 meter relay team as the city council, they would surely have it all. Lordy, that town does suck.
