Lesson learned

I knew there was a reason why I never drive into NYC - it's a traffic nightmare! But I thought it would be a good idea to drive into Brooklyn the other weekend.

The original plan was to take the train into NYC, then the subway to Brooklyn. But when my GPS told me I was only 35 minutes from Brooklyn (I was in Woodbridge, NJ at the time), I decided to drive. Plus, I wouldn't have to spend $13.75 on a round-trip ticket.

Because the weather was nice, everyone was out, so my 35-minute trip turned into an hour in the car. And once I got into Brooklyn, parking was limited. After driving around for about 15 minutes, I found a spot about a half mile from my destination and parked at the meter. I was so frustrated by the time I found the spot, that I didn't check to see if parking was free on the weekends. I guess I was used to the nice gesture because most NJ meters are free on the weekend.

But when I got back to my car a couple of hours later, I was greeted by a bright orange NYC parking ticket! The fine was $35. So my economical way of getting to NYC turned out to be $35 plus, gas, tolls and the stamp needed to mail the ticket!

Lesson learned. Public transportation is the way to go.