So I thought, “$18 isn’t so much. What’s the big deal?” Then my wife and I drove up to Hearst Castle last Saturday. We could barely get a tour and were thankful to drop down $48 for the two of us to take the 90-minute Garden Tour. It was fantastic and made us appreciate even more where we live.

When we purchased our tickets, we mentioned the concern of our parks being “padlocked.” The ticket agent told us, “This place will never close; it’s too much of a revenue generator!” Hmmm, now I know not all parks are revenue generators, but where does all that Hearst Castle money go?

I would gladly pay $5 a trip to enjoy our beautiful Montaña de Oro park. Perhaps if we were charged, we could fix the leaky restroom roofs. And as for the $5 fee discouraging the less fortunate from visiting, I’m sure we could somehow provide free access. And after all, how many Californians actually go to the parks? Perhaps those who do should pay to use them, instead of those of us working all the time to pay our taxes paying for them.