New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-08-17
AUTO TOURISTS STICK
70 FAMILIAR HIGHWAYS
Lose Much Pleasure in Fail.
ing to Travel Through
Strange Sections.
CANADA OFFERS A CHANGE
West Is Also Available for
Motorist Who Does Not
Look for Big Hotel
at Each Stop.

db aoNA
automobile touring" is the advice Of Max
psnberton TO English motorists. The
same might well apply TO tourists in this
section Of the country. who have done
the various tours one or more times, and
,bo have not the courage TO break into
the Western states or Canada for an out
,nr in the car. because they cannot be
absolutely certain OF good roads through
out and a high class hotel at every noon
and night stop.
From year to year 1t becomes easier
ard more comfortable 10 run through the
West because OF the completion OF
through lines and the invaluable inforrna-
ton available. no matter what part OF
the country may be selected as vaca-
ton ground. Good food can be found
anywhere II the motorist Will consent 10
overlook the lack Of ''frills."
Similarly, Canada offers fairly good
roads and plenty Of small towns with
passable hotels. and II the Province OF
Quebec is selected the tourist with i'm
sgination can easily take the same pleas
ure In his wanderings that he would get
from a run through France.
II met man the other day who makes
habit every summer OF riding push
bicycle from Boulogne to Aix-les-Bains,
Mr. Pemberton says. He takes some
three weeks over the Journey. and rarely
does more than thirty miles day. HIS
chief pride Is that he knows what he
humorously calls the best pub In every
village between Boulogne and AK. To
stop a night at one Of these places H. ne
assures me, the real Joy Of Continental
touring as he knows IT,
Just as John Prioleau tells us
that he fees the towns where the hotels
are Palaces and Rites, so has the dis
tinguished cyclist made II his business
TO discover the best bourgeois cooking
that France can show and the finest
wines that the connoisseur can buy amid
the vineyards The moral is that few
Of US even now have much courage In
this respect. We continue 20 tour from
town to town; the big hotel is the one
at which we invariably descend; we rely
upon conventional guide books. and pre-
fer three asterisks 10 two where our
nightly accommodation is concerned. so
doth Baedeker make towards Of US all.
by and by there will be a new fashion
in touring, l think, and II will concern
the French or German village and the
French or German inn. / know at this
moment two men OF wisdom who are
about 10 tour In Normandy and Brittany,
and have taken a solemn vow TO spend
the nights in the smallest hamlets they
can find and TO have nothing whatever
10 do. unless II be on arriving or depart
ing. with the great hotels which the
guide-bo name.
Il shall watch the experiment with IN
terest. for II Is perfectly obvious that
holiday on these lines must be cheaper
than anything 10 be done In this country.
The men are taking a good l5-horse-
power five-seater for their venture, and
they expect their daily bills TO run TO no
more than fifteen shillings man. You
can get bed for four francs in many
Of these villages. and when dinner is
three francs and dejeuner two francs
fifty. the margin Is obvious.
One great point is that so little is
expected in the way OF tips. The swarm
OF white-chested idlers who wait for us
as We leave the Palaces are replaced
in the country Inn by the obliging cham
bernaid and the modest boots, who Will
take g. franc with gratitude and rarely
expect more. II is the garage accommo-
dalton which is the real trouble. we
may often have 10 stable our cars In
strange places when out on this quest or
obscur1ty in inns But II is again 20 be
remembered that petrol and oil Are TO De
had in nearly every French village now
adays. and that there is often mechanic
OF real skill in the last place we should
look for him.
The question was put 20 me this week
asking why more is not done by motorists
In the way OF camping out. ] was unaoio
10 answer the Questioner. but II occurs 10
me that, on the whole. the car breeds IN
dolence and that few drivers have the
energy 10 set up their tents at night after |
a long run in an open car. This Is only |
human, after all. Well protected as We
may be from the weather. the mere fact |
Of rapid transit chills our enthusiasm for /
the open air when nightfal comes, and |
the longing for the warmest welcome is
then quite incurable. Not only Is this |
the case. but the kit and equipment nee |
essary 10 camping are carried with diff
Guilty on an ordinary chassis. and the |
whole turnout when packed is rather un- |
fattering 10 the owner-driver.