When we take to the road and make one of our periodic pilgrimages to Ontario's Banana Belt, we always, without fail, skirt Toronto on the 407 toll road. It's not cheap, and it's worth every nickel.

I think it was the 45-minute traffic jam on the westbound side near Milton during the summer of 2001. There we sat in a 1986 VW Golf without air-conditioning, and the temperature was 35 degrees Celsius with no breeze. After that, I considered the 407 cheap at twice the price.