Flying J - Latta

Flying J’s are Travel Plazas that cater to truckers and RV’s. Their numerous services include gas, dump station, propane, fast food restaurant, limited groceries, and even showers and a barber shop. However, the best feature of all is the section for overnight RV parking.

They are conveniently located on most of the interstates (except for the northeast).

I read once that smell triggers more memories than any other sense. We’ve all been transported back to our grandmas’ kitchens with the mere whiff of an apple pie baking in an oven or to days on the seashore as a kid with the first waft of salt air near the Jersey shore. Less common perhaps is my reaction to noxious fumes of diesel fuel. No matter how old I get, I am sure that a whiff of diesel and the rumble of an 18-wheeler’s generator will make me smile, because for at least a moment I will be transported back to my trusty little motorhome on its first night out on a road trip.

Our trips very often start out with a first night stay at a Flying J Travel Plaza. They’re perfect for long driving days where all you need is a safe place to sleep after a long day of driving—and they’re free. This particular Flying J in Latte, South Carolina, is one that we have often stayed at on our trips South during spring break when the kids were younger. It’s about 12 hours from our home in New Jersey, which is a long enough driving day for me, and it positions us near enough to the fabulous South Carolina coastline, so that we can arrive at our destination—in this case Hunting Island State Park—early enough to enjoy a full day.

One thing we didn’t consider in our planning, however, was that a steamy August night in a truck stop (without electrical hookup) is a lot less inviting than our previous experiences on April nights. We did manage to get through, but it did get me questioning again the wisdom of heading South in August.