Your character and I think alike; don’t rush into the crowd ever, but especially when times are abnormal. Carry optics. Use head before movement.
I think I’ve stayed in that same motel- only the one I was in was in southern VA. I bought an enormous Brit motorcycle in Knoxville and rode toward home in the DC southern suburbs until the need for meds, fatigue and thunderstorm were too much. The fatigue-selected motel was a one-off place run by Indian folks. Half the lights in the room didn’t work, no coffee for the morning, but I was in out of the rain and had a place to switch off for a few hours. Washed the meds down with a Bud and I was out.
I miss the west. Easier to disappear into the mountains and get by there.
I love your description of the generic highway motel! Washin’ the meds down with a Bud...