Mr & Mrs Peters

This morning we had breakfast with Justin’s parents, sister, and nephew to celebrate my in-laws 37th wedding anniversary. The plan was for them to enjoy a day in Laguna Beach after breakfast, and for me to head to work once done with the meal. Seems like a simple plan, right? Well, maybe for someone slightly less “special” than myself it would be.

Let me explain myself: Justin bought me a cool new phone awhile back that has Google Maps built in. This allows me to get custom directions using satellite technology all from the convenience of my phone. So… I briefly went over the directions with Justin to make sure I understood them right and then left for work. Things were all going according to plan until I realized that the freeway I was being directed onto (per my phone) had signs posted all over that said, “Toll Road.” Well, never having been on a toll road, I assumed this meant that a part of the freeway was toll, and that I could exit before that part came. You can imagine my surprise when a mile or so later I had nowhere to go but straight into the toll booths. The panic escalated when I saw the numerous signs saying, “Cash Only,” and realized that the measly $1.25 in my wallet wouldn’t be enough to cover the $4.50 charge. (Seriously people??? I already have to pay almost 4 flippin’ dollars a gallon for gas and you are going to charge me to drive on a road that I NEED to take??)

 Once I got to the booth I started to try and explain my case to the toll booth attendant but quickly was interrupted. He thrust a business card in my hand and said, “Call this number, they will explain what to do.” After wondering what would happen if I never called and being assured by Justin over the phone that they most likely had camera footage of my license plate number, I tried to focus on getting to work in one piece.

So, once I was a safe distance from the toll booths and had recovered from the worry of thinking they might cut off my right hand as punishment for not having cash, I began to consider two subjects.

1. What a spectacularly crappy job it must be to work as a toll booth attendant. Seriously, all day long you have to interact with people who are either bitter that they have to pay upwards of $7 for a toll during peak hours, or retarded (like me) and don’t understand the concept of toll roads and carrying cash.

2. I always say to myself, “Melanie, it would be handy if you kept $20 hidden in your wallet for emergencies.” Today, as you can imagine, I was particularly bitter that I never put that into practice. Herein lies my problem- what constitutes an emergency? I am perfectly willing to admit that I could probably convince myself that being hungry and not having money to buy a bagel at work is emergency money-worthy. I could end up having to replace the $20 fairly often, if you catch my drift.

Once I got to work, I started my research on the web… Panic came again quickly as I saw that certain violations can result in a $47 fee. (I will NEVER use a toll road again!) Thankfully, I was able to handle the issue with a somewhat friendly Toll Road employee and paid the $4.50 I owed with my credit card over the phone.

Thus ends the saga of Melanie and the evil toll road.