Happy birthday, South of the Border

South of the Border, that Interstate 95 "icon for motorists," has turned 60. So happy birthday, SOB!

The brightly lighted facility features more than a dozen shops, six restaurants, a small amusement park and a motel with 300 rooms, but travelers and employees acknowledge that it's not the same place it used to be [says the Associated Press].

Suzanne Pelt, head of public relations and personnel and a 25-year employee of South of the Border, offered an explanation for that change. "We have lots of competition now that we didn't have in years past. It used to be that we were the only motel between New York and Miami," she said.

I've stated it multiple times: as a young North Carolinian, I was devastated when I finally discovered that Pedro's home was not in my home state but was instead in one of the two "mountains of conceit," South Carolina. I quickly got over it, thinking that N.C. was better off not being associated with the tackiness that is South of the Border. However, I've proven wishy-washy in recent years; there's something so quintessentially iconic and Southern about the place. Though I probably wouldn't stop there in a million years, I'm glad it's still around.
(Photo from MSJE.org)