Highway travel isn't exactly romanticized, and rest stops, for the most part, are just convenient places to, well, rest. You can stop by to grab a coffee, use the restroom that you hope isn't nasty, ...

I had seen the sign on Interstate Route 91 promising a rest area two miles ahead, if I got off the highway. There was no mistaking what it said, though: “No Facilities.” After I take Exit 43 and skirt ...