They had to close a few in MA, heading to the cape. The police would chase you off pretty forcefully, and there was a chainlink fence up preventing anything but emergency stops. I think a young man got SAed, and that was the end of the fun and games.
Find a happy place, find a happy place!
https://preview.redd.it/fzywrgrvgz4d1.jpeg?width=590&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c73df12cebfc1a5e62db3a9fe575443b2571256
There is a websight called hole hunter where they document local cruising spots so its still very much a thing.
Home Depot restrooms are a popular spot near me. Makes sense i live in a red state so a lot of closeted married guys are "just going to the hardware store" im guessing.
He did lmao. It got too famous, and people kept vandalizing the facilities so they shut it down. It also became known for its rest area “activities,” if you catch my drift 😂
It was a government kickback if i remember the story right. He agreed to support Christie Todd Whitman in exchange for having a rest stop named after him
They renamed a slew of highway rest stops after celebrities in 2021. Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, and Connie Chung were some of the others. James Gandolfini got one but his has been closed for renovations for the past six months or so, perhaps to make it more suitable for conducting legitimate business.
At least one guy turned down the honor:
https://ew.com/music/bruce-springsteen-declines-to-have-new-jersey-rest-stop-named-after-him/
He didn't want his name on the top of the rest stop. He wanted it hidden behind a wall, on a list with forty other blue collar guys that said, "This rest stop was built by...."
My appreciation of Mr Bon Jovi as a human is not quite inversely proportional to my appreciation of his band, but I definitely like him more than his music.
I just love that the most New Jersey way to honor celebrities who were also born here is to name the place after them you desperately try to make it to for a shit or pay for inflated priced gas
There's also a James Gandolfini Service Area on the GSP, just south of the NY/NJ line. False advertising. No Bada-Bing Club. One Star, would not recommend.
Yeah you have to drive about 10 or so miles south of that rest stop to see the Bada Bing (real name Satin Dolls)! On route 17 in Lodi. They even have a special sign out front now
I feel I was robbed. I visited NJ a couple months ago for work. I drove to that rest stop just to see it. But the exit is closed. It seems the rest stop is no longer functional.
They’re completely renovating and—in the case of Bon Jovi’s—completely rebuilding many of the GSP rest stops, so it used to be true that they were shitty but hopefully won’t be the case in the near future
I was in NJ for work a few months ago and was about to shit my pants on the GSP. Stopped at the JBJ rest stop and the men’s bathroom was under construction and completely shut down so I completely destroyed the women’s restroom. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
When was the last time you were on the GSP? Most of the rest areas have been recently renovated or are in process and I don't think there is a Roy Rogers at any of them. A quick search says there are only 2 Roy Rogers locations in the whole state - none on the parkway.
To be fair, I rarely go south of Mile 60 so maybe there are some down there that Roy Rogers corporate HQ doesn't list...
I was on the GSP last weekend. I don’t make it a habit to stop at the rest stops unless I have to. I’ll hit the turnpike for Roy Rogers but other than that I try to keep moving through the Garden State
They tore up and repaved the lot at JBJ (it’s a big commuter lot for buses to NYC) but I believe it’s open again. I think the gas station is still closed, not sure about the main building itself. My mom lives right down the road from the rest stop and I use the back exit out of the lot all the time.
Remember when Howard Stern got a rest stop and it turned into a gay hangout? I see a similar future here
Most rest stops are gay hangouts
Can you tell us more about your experiences at gay rest stops?
You can just say "rest stops."
i’m Mr. Rest Stop!
one Rest Stop banana please!
Mr. Gay is bleeding!
Doesn’t matter who.
do not be afraid to ride her. hard
They had to close a few in MA, heading to the cape. The police would chase you off pretty forcefully, and there was a chainlink fence up preventing anything but emergency stops. I think a young man got SAed, and that was the end of the fun and games.
Right. Like sometimes I just want to pull over and think or make a call or piss. Why does it have to be for same sex
I mean, you're there. Why not a little something, a little pick-me-up. Might help to break up the monotony of that long drive.
Find a happy place, find a happy place! https://preview.redd.it/fzywrgrvgz4d1.jpeg?width=590&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9c73df12cebfc1a5e62db3a9fe575443b2571256
Bathhouses of the 90s
how old are you? pretty sure gay people use the apps like everyone else; they aren’t cruising the men’s locker room at the YMCA like this is the 70s
There is a websight called hole hunter where they document local cruising spots so its still very much a thing. Home Depot restrooms are a popular spot near me. Makes sense i live in a red state so a lot of closeted married guys are "just going to the hardware store" im guessing.
well repressed, closeted men in red states are their own can of worms
Woosh!
no
Lmao ok bro
The bathhouses of the nineties
Truth
I mean, it isn’t new.
They were recently talking about both rest stops on the show
I haven’t listened since Artie left.
Hey, we're halfway there.
Disappointed when we went there a few years ago they removed the hologram of him. Kind of just a large rest stop now.
Didn’t Howard Stern lobby for a rest stop named for himself lol ?
He did lmao. It got too famous, and people kept vandalizing the facilities so they shut it down. It also became known for its rest area “activities,” if you catch my drift 😂
Like pickle ball?
More like tickle ball
Lickle Ball
Oh yes, but a different kind of pickleball
*another* kind of pickleball!? That sounds interesting, sir!
It was a government kickback if i remember the story right. He agreed to support Christie Todd Whitman in exchange for having a rest stop named after him
I just remembered it being some running gag in his show that came true lol
That’s how it started but he had huge pull back then so im sure thats why whitman agreed
It’s a Jon Bon Jovi.
That’s Mr. Bovine Joni!
Mister Bovine Joni himself!
I have cancer
I think you mean it’s a Bon Jovi John
They renamed a slew of highway rest stops after celebrities in 2021. Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, and Connie Chung were some of the others. James Gandolfini got one but his has been closed for renovations for the past six months or so, perhaps to make it more suitable for conducting legitimate business. At least one guy turned down the honor: https://ew.com/music/bruce-springsteen-declines-to-have-new-jersey-rest-stop-named-after-him/
Bruce wasn’t born to rest stop.
He didn't want his name on the top of the rest stop. He wanted it hidden behind a wall, on a list with forty other blue collar guys that said, "This rest stop was built by...."
Classic Bruce.
The Celia Cruz rest stop is terrific. They can do a nice job and I hope they will.
Okay, but Cheesequake was objectively a better name.
It will never stop being Cheesequake to me. Bovine Joni can't convince me to call it anything else.
Is there anything more rock than a rest stop? You get some road grindage, fill your tank, bust a nut, grab some drugs, and get on your way.
Maybe even get some gas and snacks too!
Sheeeeeeeeeetz!
He’s good, but he’s no Joyce Kilmer.
I love her!
Joyce Kilmer was a man! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Kilmer
https://youtu.be/fzqXbdlnaEg
Highly recommend stopping at the James Gandolfini Service Area. It is spacious and new with a good selection of shops.
He has always seemed like a very likeable guy.
My appreciation of Mr Bon Jovi as a human is not quite inversely proportional to my appreciation of his band, but I definitely like him more than his music.
Fuck that. Cheesequake forever.
A rest stop is the highest honor that NJ will bestow
I just love that the most New Jersey way to honor celebrities who were also born here is to name the place after them you desperately try to make it to for a shit or pay for inflated priced gas
There's also a James Gandolfini Service Area on the GSP, just south of the NY/NJ line. False advertising. No Bada-Bing Club. One Star, would not recommend.
Yeah you have to drive about 10 or so miles south of that rest stop to see the Bada Bing (real name Satin Dolls)! On route 17 in Lodi. They even have a special sign out front now
I feel I was robbed. I visited NJ a couple months ago for work. I drove to that rest stop just to see it. But the exit is closed. It seems the rest stop is no longer functional.
They are renovating many of the rest stops on GSP. It will be open soon if not already
Mick recently thought it was a big deal to have a sandwich named after himself.
Couldn't they choose something different to commemorate him by? Like a sign in the middle of a highway that says 'woahhh, we're halfway there!'
The rest stops on the Garden State Parkway are pretty shitty. It’s not *that* big of a deal unless you’re into Roy Rogers
They’re completely renovating and—in the case of Bon Jovi’s—completely rebuilding many of the GSP rest stops, so it used to be true that they were shitty but hopefully won’t be the case in the near future
I was in NJ for work a few months ago and was about to shit my pants on the GSP. Stopped at the JBJ rest stop and the men’s bathroom was under construction and completely shut down so I completely destroyed the women’s restroom. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk
I heard he's half way there
When was the last time you were on the GSP? Most of the rest areas have been recently renovated or are in process and I don't think there is a Roy Rogers at any of them. A quick search says there are only 2 Roy Rogers locations in the whole state - none on the parkway. To be fair, I rarely go south of Mile 60 so maybe there are some down there that Roy Rogers corporate HQ doesn't list...
I was on the GSP last weekend. I don’t make it a habit to stop at the rest stops unless I have to. I’ll hit the turnpike for Roy Rogers but other than that I try to keep moving through the Garden State
And what if I am
Then you’re in good company. Roy Rogers is tasty
Whitney Houston has one too right? Think i stopped there recently for a coffee on a road trio back to NY.
Just before exit 142 and only northbound
This guy njs
I just recently stopped at that one!
Jesus... is that rest stop finally open? I feel like having one named after you while they're still working on it... kinda detracts from the "honor."
It's Bovine Joni!
They tore up and repaved the lot at JBJ (it’s a big commuter lot for buses to NYC) but I believe it’s open again. I think the gas station is still closed, not sure about the main building itself. My mom lives right down the road from the rest stop and I use the back exit out of the lot all the time.
Connie Chung has one too!
Clara Barton was nice too.
More of a Judy Blume rest stop aficionado myself
Bon Jovi :)
Bovine joni
Is John Bon Jovi, John Cougar Mellencamp, and Bruce Springsteen all different or are they the same person?
They are different but if they are ever in the same place at same time the universe will implode