The Thruway

When you travel on I-90 - the only Interstate in New York - you have to pay a toll charge.  You receive your ticket when you enter the Thruway, and if you look closely at GEVEVA on the right-hand side, you can see the Triple X's.  That's where we got onto the Thruway.  The toll charge you pay depends on where you exit, but the cool part, is that you can see what you'll have to pay before you exit.  Yes, there are ATM's all along the way.

As a California driver, I was completely aghast at this system.  I know understand why we call them "Freeways" when New York called it a Thruway.  I quickly learned that there are some pretty awesome perks to paying to drive such as the Travel Plaza.  These things are SO COOL! You get to know what's ahead and you don't have to guess and hope that you'll be able to find services - you have a list of what's available and there's always a gas station right there.  Not to mention, the building is beautiful and accommodating!  Ken laughed at me when I was awe-struck with these places, but having nothing like them here in Cali, I was amazed!

Here's one of the travel plazas.

You can also pick up a Directory:

The map of services was better in the directory, but not as up-to-date:

At various Travel Plazas, there is information regarding the area you're in so you can learn more about the history of where you're standing.  

Inside the Travel Plazas, there is a gift shop, vending machines, CLEAN bathrooms, and the restaurants that were advertised.  There were TV's as well in order to get the news on weather conditions and updates on local news.