Monday Moaning--The PA Turnpike=Highway Robbery!

This is one of those—I have to get this off my chest blogs. I beg your understanding ;- )

Today was the day I spent 10 hours doing what I lovingly ? call the Breezewood Transfer. Whenever my oldest son, who due to health reasons no longer drives, is coming from or going to visit his fiancée in the Maryland/DC area, we meet at the Breezewood exit of the PA turnpike.

I haven’t been on the pike since January, so I was absolutely shocked when I had to shell out an additional 75 cents when I made the drive from the Ohio line to the first exit at Cranberry. Then imagine my horror when I saw that they had also added an additional 2 dollars to the fare from that exit to Breezewood, making the roundtrip toll $23.75. The toll from Cleveland to the PA line is only $3.50 on a road that is almost three lanes the entire way.

Granted the mileage is around 85 miles in Ohio as opposed to 161 from the PA border to Breezewood, however figuring out the cost and mileage, Ohio is still the better bargain! Especially when you consider the shape of the PA pike. The majority of the road is a travesty--poor road conditions, twisting and turning lanes, tunnels with tiles falling off on the inside, etc. etc. They have added an additional lane at the Ohio line, but even though the lane has been completed for months, it is never open. Heading eastward, it seemed like every 20 miles we were squeezed down to one lane by orange cones only to come out of the one lane miles down the pike seeing NO road work in the coned lanes. Most disturbing.

Breezewood, PA--Crossroads of North and South on the Old Lincoln Highway

Fortunately, today should be the final Breezewood Transfer since financee, J-9, will be moving back to Cleveland in June. I think the better and cheaper method of heading down to the DC area from now on will be traveling on FREE interstates.


And now for the cup half full and genealogy related portion of this ridiculous blog.

While I was sitting in my car, waiting for my son in the parking lot of the Shell station in Breezewood, I thought I spied an old cemetery hidden on the hill in front of me. Once we had the cars unpacked and packed, I asked my son’s indulgence and we headed up the hill and down a short gravel road. There it was, a small, pioneer cemetery. No name was posted, but the tombstones were older and many had the “tree of life” carved on them. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me, so long story short….I just might have to shell out the money for a final trip down the pike to Breezewood, just to get photos of that cemetery, but the return trip will be by interstate.

Addendum: After checking out findagrave, I found out that the name of the cemetery is Ray's Hill Cemetery (old).