Chelle Summer

family road trip

The Motel Connection

Michelle Rusk
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Greg says that if you take me to a motel with a “parking lot pool,” I’ll be happy. He’s pretty right on that.

I don’t know how it formed or where it came from, but my entire life I’ve had a fascination with motels and their pools. Growing up, we took a lot of vacations, mostly across the Eastern half of the United States (one vacation focused on touring Civil War battlefields), the six of us crammed into a 1977 silver Chevy Impala station wagon.

There was a big green Coleman cooler in the back and Denise and I spent our time in what someone coined “the back back” of the station wagon.

Our nights were spent at Holiday Inns (with a few Howard Johnsons sprinkled in there) and it was a family game to see who could spot the Holiday Inn sign first when we arrived at our exit.

These vacations would be the happy family memories that we would discuss when we ate out on Christmas Eve or other times we gathered around the kitchen table. My dad drank too much, his unhappiness poured into his beer mug, and my parents just generally weren’t happy in life or together.

But these trips, these stories about the various things that happened to us and the unique of each place we visited were Linn Family lore and happiness.

Perhaps that’s why I’ve taken my inspiration from the motels and wrapped it into so much of what I do today. A friend on Instagram said refreshed bathroom and guest room reflect that retro motel vibe. I know that I’m not trying to recreate my past with my family, but in some way I’m taking what was and making it part of my past and my future.

As summer officially begins in a week, here’s to the summer road trip!