Thank goodness my sister-in-law warned us about the parkways in NY. The directions she gave us were great. We were driving north from New Jersey and she kept us on the interstates and off the parkways. Although she drives a practical, NY size compact car herself, she had heard an outrageous story in the news about a man with a sailboat who did not heed or see the signs telling him that "No commercial trucks, RVs, or busses" are allowed on the parkways. I can definitely see how he could have missed the signs because they are really not all that obvious. If one was new to an area, not familiar with parkways, concentrating on driving because they are towing something huge in a busy city, and trying to follow directions . . . pleeze . . . sign? What sign? Anyway, apparently this guy accidentally drove onto a parkway, blocked up traffic for hours and hours, ruined his mast, and paid a hefty fine. This is because the mast of his sailboat was well above the 9 foot clearance of most of the bridge overpasses on the parkways.

We don't have parkways on the west coast; we typically have freeways or highways. George and I were both born in CA and now we call WA State our home. We have driven up and down the western coastal states of Washington, Oregon, and California several times throughout the course of our lives and we have also made the run a couple of times in the RV. In all honesty, I can tell that we've never ever had to worry about parkways and except for the Golden Gate Bridge; we’ve never paid a toll!

Tolls are ubiquitous on the east coast from Florida to NY. It’s truly unbelievable! I had no idea and neither did George, and if you’re towing a 35 foot fifth-wheel . . . forget about it. The Tappen Zee is a substantial, multi-lane bridge north of NYC that enables travelers to cross over the Hudson River. The Tappen Zee Bridge is also one of those bridges to be prepared to pay big bucks in tolls for if you have a 5th wheel attached to your backside. After paying about $10-12 bucks to get off the Jersey Turnpike and then paying not one, but two unnecessary tolls because we had gotten lost, we realized how ill-prepared we were regarding the toll situation. Our cash was being depleted quickly, but hopping off the hwy in NJ or NY to find a cash machine isn’t all that easy when you’re hauling a rig. So, our son came to our rescue. He had $20.00 in cash in his wallet which he was willing to loan to his parents . . . bless his heart. Only one problem now, his wallet was in the fifth-wheel. So, we did what desperate people do, we acted desperately and pulled over to the shoulder (very narrow shoulder) before crossing the bridge. I hopped out like Wonder Woman, and got in and out of the 5th-wheel in record time! Now we’re ready. We knew that the Tappen Zee was the last bridge and toll of our drive that evening. After we crossed the bridge we pulled up to the booth, grinning with preparedness, cash in hand. “$24.75” said the voice coming from the booth (mind you we had just paid a $3.75 toll not 60 miles away, how could this toll be so much more?). “What?” said George in a confused and exasperated voice. Exhausted from driving all day, in a defeated voice he simply said “We don’t have it.”  The woman asked for his driver’s license and he gave it to her. So now I am wondering why??? Why the driver’s license??? Given this is our first real experience with the situation, I am wondering: Does the toll charge get mailed to us? Are we getting fined?   Will a fine be showing up in our mail sometime soon? All this time we are asking this woman questions and she is completely ignoring us. Nothing, no explanation, nothing! At the same time I am scrounging up any and all change in the truck to add to the $20.00 bill that our son gave us and I finally shout “we’ve got it!”  She says, “You’ve got it?”  She took the money and gave us the receipt without uttering another word. Aw . . . “Welcome to New York” I thought out loud.

So, if you decide to travel on the east coast, be sure to bring 3 things with you (especially if you are in an RV):

1.            Plenty of cash for tolls. What, no debit cards accepted? No. However, you may purchase an EZ Pass. This “pass” is a card that you present while going through the tolls so you don’t have to carry cash and it’s taken throughout the NE U.S., but not everywhere, so do your homework. They don’t save you any money, that is there is no discount for buying a designated amount upfront/in bulk (although that would be nice wouldn’t it). If you know you are going to be in the NE area for a long time then this may be the way to go. However, if you put too much on the card you may find yourself leaving town with never having used the full amount you put on it.   In NY, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to how much “more” money one gets charged for driving and oversize load/RV through the tolls (as evidenced in the Tappen Zee story above), but if you have a planned route and can all ahead to get toll estimates, you will be far better off, no matter how you pay for the toll.

2.            A really good map in order to avoid driving onto parkways.

3.            Your sense of humor!

Yes, sure, we laugh about it now! And NY, well, it is a truly fabulous state.


About a month later, after shelling out loads in toll money while traveling up and down the east coast, in an “ah-ha” voice, George says, “Now I get the true meaning of the word freeway.”