Wake up call in the Northeast.
We last left our fellow Parolees wondering if you can get a decent Philly cheesesteak in south-central New Jersey (you can) and just how much the toll system was going to take us a for a ride driving I-95 through New York City.
We made our way north from DC to a nice little KOA campground we had stayed in a few years ago in Clarksboro, NJ. Unfortunately, our expected meeting with long-time friends Tom and Bobbie Barbarese didn't happen due to their vacation plans on the Jersey shore. But the pool onsite was nice and the cheesesteak search was underway.
If you ever tried to order a cheesesteak at Pat's Steaks in south Philly, you know there are only two ways to order them; Wid or Widout. Wid is with peppers and onions, and Widout is plain steak and cheese. Failure to order in this exact manner at the window gets you sent unceremoniously to the back of the line, and there is no appeal. Back when I was in the Air Force, my great friend Dan Barbarese introduced me to Pat's but failed to mention the proper way to order, leaving him laughing his head off at my expense.
I bring this episode up because while in New Jersey last week, we found a cheesesteak place called Whit or Whitout, which – while not honoring the method of ordering as with Pat's Steaks – comes close to honoring the quality of the cheesesteak itself.
So yes, you CAN get a pretty good cheesesteak in New Jersey.
Heading north after a relaxing 3 nights at the KOA, we attack the infamous Northeast corridor of I-95 consisting of the northern leg of the Jersey Turnpike, the George Washington Bridge and various and sundry tolls into and through Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Understand, this is a route I had always vowed to NEVER drive in a motorhome, but the alternative to visit places on the coastline meant hours and miles of detours both north and east if I tried to avoid I-95.
So we bit the bullet.
The smallest state with tolls, Delaware, charged us $24.00 to drive about 30 minutes in their state. Normally $5 for a car.
New Jersey hit us up for $26.90 for a heck of a lot more miles and time from Clarksboro to the George Washington Bridge exit on the Jersey Turnpike.
Drove through New York during what is called “non-peak” hours (middle of the day) and thought we'd get a break on the tolls due to us having an EZ-Pass transponder on both the RV and the Jeep. Come to find out later that EZ-Pass discounts are only given to people who bought their transponders from either NY or NJ, and screw every other EZ-Pass customer across the rest of the country!
And here's the sticker shock: For an RV with a tow vehicle with a total of 4 axles (two on the RV and two on the Jeep), the great state of New York charged us - $102.68!!!!!!! Just to CROSS the George Washington Bridge! During NON-PEAK HOURS! Then they tacked on ANOTHER $8.73 to LEAVE the state after crossing the bridge!
Oh, and they also tried to charge us an additional $23.30 for a car when their system picked up our Jeep transponder behind the motorhome, but I disputed that since they had already charged us for the extra 2 axles in the initial $102 toll. Snakes.
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| I paid $102.68 for THIS? |
I should have kept my vow and never driven this route . . .
Fortunately, the rest of our trip across Connecticut was uneventful, and our three days in Mystic, CT were very nice, with a visit to the USS Nautilus and downtown Mystic. I was fascinated by their second epic voyage back when I was just 9 years old, so it was really cool to see what captured my attention more than 60 years ago. The Sun Outdoors park we stayed at had a very nice pool, and I got to speak with some locals who gave us good suggestions for places to see while we were there.
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| Realizing a boyhood dream . . . |
Next, we're off to the last state in the Northeast we haven't stayed in - Rhode Island - and a short trip to Bourne, MA on the Cape. Can't wait to see what is ahead of us in the next Parental Parolees installment!
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