Tyrades! Do you love state welcome centers?

My family made a recent day trip to a neighboring state, so I decided this week’s column should be a tip of the hat to those oases of the interstate highway system, the state welcome centers.

Whether you’re a vacationer, traveling businessperson, truckdriver or zip-across-the-state-line shopper, welcome centers are a great place to “stretch your legs,” “wet your whistle,” “get the lay of the land” and discover other activities that keep the quotation-marks industry trouncing the brackets industry.

Some travelers are truly overjoyed to reach the welcome centers and their facilities. (“State wit...