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Between the traditional cottages and smattering of shops on the main street, a giant, technicolour mural of Sir Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin, now looks out over the town.

The younger Okura and company have been upgrading infrastructure steadily and would like to reopen the motel — perhaps even get the six cottages open in time for the Route 66 centennial in 2026.

Simone Collins is sitting in her 18th century cottage in Pennsylvania, dressed in a black pilgrim pinafore with a wide collar, bouncing one of her four children on her lap.

"We have to find a cash buyer that's willing to buy a lovely cottage next to a motorway and I'm sorry, but those buyers are very, very few and far between."

In the last couple of years, a cottage industry of unique, new social apps has cropped.