I Just GOTTA Pee - Damn It!

If “wet” fun is your thing, the five (somewhat tangentially related to the subject of the post) illustrations in the first comment, including one geared towards the ladies, might appeal to you.

Some might think this is the story of an old man and his prostate issues. I GREATLY prefer to think of it was a story of an older gent, who likes to road trip, and consumes huge quantities of coffee in the mornings while doing so. 😀

The first time I encountered a challenge of any kind on my trip was upon entering the eastern edge of Albuquerque. While heading to capture some shots of classic old hotels I spotted a good deal on gas (for the area / more about gas prices in a forthcoming post) so I stopped to fill up. I decided to pee too since I was already stopped. After I couldn’t find the restrooms I asked the attendant. He said “We don’t have any.” I said “I just filled up at Pump #3.” He said “We don’t have any - period.”, and suggested going to a nearby fast food establishment. By then the idea was firmly planted in my head and I REALLY did need to pee.

Driving to the fast food place I started to notice the large number of homeless/un-housed/displaced/(insert your preferred adjective here, but I’ll just continue to use “homeless” in this post) persons around. It was far from a peak eating time and upon entering the fast-food place I was IMMEDIATELY informed that “restrooms are for customers only” even before I headed that way. (It was Day 2 of the trip, and likely I did not shave that morning, though I did shower, so I was wondering if I looked homeless.) I ordered a drink and asked for the key.

As I was driving west through town the full extent of the homeless issue became abundantly clear, so much so that I was seriously concerned about the area around the somewhat upscale classic hotel I’d booked for the night at the far western edge of town. (More about some of the hotels I encountered in a forthcoming post too.) Thankfully, the further west I drove the less the homelessness issue was evident.

But finding a place to pee continued to be an issue throughout New Mexico, Arizona, and California, though I never did wet myself like depicted in the illustrations below. I eventually resorted to buying lesser amounts of gas as a way to be a customer and earn bathroom privileges. While I am sympathetic to the challenges of maintaining “public” restrooms, this is a situation I’d never encountered before in many years of travel.

Have you encountered a challenge finding a place to pee when traveling?
If so, how did you handle it?
Do you enjoy “wet” fun?