Travel Dispatch: 100 Years of the Motel

October 25, 2025

A red neon "MOTEL" sign with three blue and orange neon divers. It stands against a sunset with silhouetted trees.

The Starlite Motel in Mesa, Ariz. Carol Highsmith, via Library of Congress

Dear Travel Fan,

Like many people, I have memories of family road trips where we stayed overnight in motels. The motel is a distinctly American invention and this year marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the first one, the Milestone Mo-Tel, in San Luis Obispo, Calif. We’re celebrating this occasion with this visual history of a century of neon, kitsch and “Magic Fingers” vibrating beds.

Whether you stay in a motel or not, fall is a great time for a Western road trip, and we’ve got suggestions for some of the most scenic. If a rental home is more your style, we’ve also got advice on what to do if you break something in one.

Marie Kondo, the famous tidier, has written a new book about travel’s influence on her life, and we talked to her about, among other things, how she approaches packing.

This week we also head to Miami to spend 36 Hours, sampling that city’s rich Cuban heritage. And we walk a pilgrimage route in Norway.

On the news front, we’ve been tracking the government shutdown’s impact on travel. So far, disruptions have been fairly minimal, but there have been incidents of bad behavior at Yosemite National Park.

Finally, if you haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, our new Travel 101 Guide to Rome has been drawing plenty of comments from readers sharing their own tips and it’s the first in a series of City Guides we’ll be publishing this fall.

Wishing you safe and happy travels,

Amy Virshup

OPEN UP YOUR WORLD

A person fishes on a sandy beach surrounded by towering rock formations. Ocean waves break under a hazy, yellowish sky.

Justin Maxon for The New York Times

Soak Up Fall Splendor on These 5 Western Road Trips

Whether they’re on the Pacific Coast or in the Rockies, these short drives offer plenty to see and do — so much, in fact, that you might want to take it slow.

By Eric A. Taub

Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

36 Hours

36 Hours in Miami

Wake up with Cuban coffee, zoom on a personal watercraft or just stretch out on white sand, and dance salsa until late.

By Scott McIntyre

A light gray rock marked with a red symbol sits among green vegetation. A rocky hillside stretches upward into a cloudy sky.

A Pilgrim Route in Norway: Berries, Bogs and a Viking King

Following one of the nine St. Olav Ways, a photographer trudged with soggy feet through tundras, forests and wetlands. Here’s what she saw.

By Marta Giaccone

Marie Kondo smiles while sitting in the plush red seat of a rickshaw with traditional wooden Japanese buildings behind her.

KonMari

Q&A

How Does Marie Kondo Pack? To ‘Spark Joy,’ of Course

The tidying expert has just published a new book about travel’s impact on her life. She shares tips for how to encounter the world, and, maybe, leave it a little better after your visit.

By Tariro Mzezewa

THE CHANGING WORLD OF TRAVEL

Carol Highsmith, via Library of Congress

100 Years of the Motel

In 1925, the first motel opened on a California highway, ushering in a new era of convenience and comfort for a nation falling in love with the open road.

By Megan McCrea

A powerful waterfall descends a gray mountain, surrounded by a green meadow and trees. The entire landscape reflects on smooth water's surface on the valley floor.

Gabe Castro-Root/The New York Times

Shutdown Brings More BASE Jumpers and Drones to Yosemite Skies

Emboldened by the lapse in government funding and employee furloughs, some visitors are brazenly betting that they won’t get caught for breaking the law.

By Gabe Castro-Root

A large cruise ship, with a dark blue hull, white upper decks and two red and black funnels is shown. A small boat with blue lights is in the water in front of it.

Joe Skipper/Reuters

No Charges for Mother in Child Overboard Case

The incident, in which a girl fell from a Disney cruise ship and her father jumped in to save her, was captured on video and shared widely on social media. A prosecutor said the mother had a lapse in “proper judgment.”

By Claire Fahy

Feedback, thoughts, tips? Email the Travel desk at travel@nytimes.com.

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