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Hello friends.

I Hope all are well and resting on this Tuesday evening. I myself am doing fine here at the Little Red Barn Campgrounds, in the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, just north of Philadelphia.

 I decided to spend another week working for Chris on his remodeling projects, since the pay is good and the bills are coming up soon. I also switched from my New Jersey camp ground to this one, just south of Quakertown, Pa. The area is a little higher in altitude, so the temperature is a lot better for tent dwelling. The commute is lighter and I get to relax and enjoy the scenery on the way to town.  I also avoid the toll fees they charge at every river crossing. This leads me to the topics of today’s post. Tolls.

What is going on in this part of the country with these toll roads?  As most of you know, I hail from the great state of Arizona, and one of the things that make it great, aside from the best Mexican food, is that you will never pay to ride a road! Now I had heard of toll roads and turnpikes before, and expected to encounter these revenue enhancement traps on my journey, but what a shake down!

My goal with this site, as you know, has been to keep the politics, religion and social issues out of the adventure. Not that I’m opposed to any of those topics, but I just wanted to make this blog a fun, entertaining event and experience for anyone who follows it. And provide, if possible an escape from the world we all have to share, and deal with said issues on a daily basis. With that said, I have to express my opinion, or sound off with these toll fees!

So my question is, how much money does it take to maintain a road or highway? It’s not like they need repairs every week or day. There is thousands, if not more, vehicles crossing those booths 24/7, charging folks three to five dollars or more. The amount of money it must generate is astronomical. What determines which state or municipality will burden the population with such a heavy financial load? From Oklahoma onwards, I’ve had to shell out cash to these state run highway robbers! Don’t they know or care that I’m on a survival tour? With all the money I have paid to ride their cash cow, boulevards of asphalt, I could have stayed in some pretty nice motels, and ate a few ribeye steaks. Instead I’m shacking up in a cheap Wal-Mart tent, skipping meals and eating off the dollar menus when I do get a couple bucks to eat!  And if you try to be sneaky and bum rush the booth, they take a picture of your plate, then you get a nice little letter in the mail, like I did back home in Tucson, after I dodged all the tolls in Florida. Now I owe those nice people thirty four dollars, or else. Suspension of my lenience!

I do however, all kidding aside, feel for the locals who have to endure this scam the rest of their driving life. I have spoken to a few folks around the campgrounds, at work and thru my travels, and they may not agree on a great many subjects, but every time I bring up tolls, they are all on the same page. It’s a rip off! I tell them to move west and avoid the tolls, only be careful with the wildfires, droughts, landslides, armed survivalist, earthquakes, dust storms, and drug traffickers, to name a few.

Okay, I’m done. I got that off my chest now. I feel better. Next time, road kill!

Thanks for your time and support!

Have a good night!  #Yo-Ga-Fla

Juanjohn