Travels in a Tin Can

nature 100s of times and the restrooms we encountered were often so bizarre
that they have earned a chapter by themselves - as you will see/have already
seen (depending on publishers folly when editing this manuscript). Suffice it to
say that on long distance road trip days we normally only relieved ourselves
when stopping to refuel...in a kind of Zen, everything must balance, what goes
out must be put in somewhere else style. Not that the van ran on urine, which
was a shame really because that would have both saved our budget and
avoided the chemical toilet emptying traumas. On the occasions when our
bladders filled before Harvey got empty we stopped at scary concrete
restroom stations in the middle of nowhere which featured vending machines,
local maps and all the charm of, well, public toilets. Generally though it was
petrol station toilets that received our custom. These were no more charming
than the others, but did provide an extra form of distraction in that they were
normally reached via shops.
Petrol station shops seem to be undergoing something of a
renaissance - our local one now features a coffee bar. Where better to meet
for a drink, enjoy the view and soak up the atmosphere and petrol fumes?
Certainly some of these stores in America were exotic in their different-ness.
The one that will always spring to mind is the gamblers haven in Pahrump,
Nevada. Many others contained eateries - often dubious in appearance - or
coffee dispensers - often surprisingly good and fancy, including one that
featured half a dozen pots of freshly brewed caffeinated, de-caf, flavoured,
etc. And, shops being shops, these places also sold things.
Usually they were obvious articles, like oil, anti-freeze, music tapes,
etc. But, in the outskirts of Houston for example, sometimes more unexpected