Driving along the tar-lined highway

I could make a ton of excuses for why I haven't blogged in a while. But I won't. Instead, I'll make five.

1. I got married.
2. I went on my honeymoon.
3. I moved across the country.
4. I went to New York for Christmas.
5. I didn't have internet for 2-ish weeks.

So, there you have it. I'm sure I'll expand on each of those excuses in later posts but I'm going to take this opportunity to complain about something totally unrelated instead.

I love New York. I might even heart New York. I lived there for a year and, despite the fact that I became an Erin-cicle while there, I loved it. I love the mountains, Wegman's, the crazy accents and, occasionally, the snow.

I do not love the toll roads.

Being from the south, I simply do not understand the necessity for toll roads. I always find myself marveling at the fact that I just paid $5 dollars to drive on a road that looks exactly like any road in Arkansas....the only difference being that the road in Arkansas is FREE.

(Yes, we pay taxes for highway improvement but an added sales tax is far less painful than forking over cold hard cash.)

I don't think I've ever passed through a toll booth without having a close encounter with a large vehicle as 50 or so cars and trucks try to slow down and merge in to 3 lanes suddenly. After that harrowing experience comes the long wait to the actual toll booth. And always, (ALWAYS!) I find myself thanking the toll-booth-person as I pay for the privilege to use their bumpy highway. I can't seem to stop myself.

Everyone knows that those tolls are actually paying for the ever so convenient "travel plazas" that dot the landscape along any major highway in New York. They look like little ski lodges filled with Big Boys, Sbarro's and Starbucks. Unfortunately, they are also full of people who seem to think that driving on a road for an hour or two is a good enough reason to gorge oneself on fast food.

Give me a sketchy truck stop any day. At least Flying J's and TA's don't attempt to be something more than what they are. And what they are is a good excuse to stop and gorge oneself on junk food.

It cost nearly $10 to drive one-way on Route 90 this Christmas. I'm not very good with math but even I know that $20 dollars can buy a lot of something-better if it hadn't already been spent on a road.

But I guess $20 is a small price to pay for spending Christmas with new family members and a chance (a better-than-usual chance) of a White Christmas.