On a recent trip to Fort Worth to cover the dairy shows at the Fort Worth Stock Show, I had the pleasure of taking my daughter and another young woman to help me. Of course, we had a great time. These young ladies work hard, roll with the flow and can work through the toughest of obstacles.

They are farm kids; need I say more?

As we headed back to the airport, we asked my phone’s Siri for navigation tips. We were driving from Fort Worth to Dallas in morning traffic and, needless to say, we put too much confidence in Siri to get us there without incident.

When I signed the rental car agreement, I declined to take the toll road protection. I was not going to use the toll roads, so why pay for it? But Siri had different plans for me.

A toll was charged only if you used the express lanes. Until Tuesday morning, I had no need to use the express lanes, but Siri thought otherwise. When she told us to take Exit 23A toward the airport, I listened and obeyed. What I didn’t realize, until it was too late, is that Exit 23A was an express lane.

As we whizzed by all the traffic jammed up next to us, I thought about the expensive tolls we were now going to have to pay when we turned in the rental car. But look at us, going 70 mph in a clear lane – maybe this wasn’t such a bad choice after all? We would get to the airport quicker and, honestly, how much could one toll cost?

Every time an exit came to get off the express lane, the traffic was so backed up, we just decided we would stay on. Mile after mile, we cruised in the fast lane, enjoying a clear path to our destination.

Suddenly we saw the exit for the airport – the only problem was, there was no exit to get off the express lane. As Siri was telling us to use the right lane to take the airport exit, she didn’t realize there was a cement barrier between us and the other lanes.

We drove past the exit and remained calm, knowing there would be an opportunity to get off the express lane and turn around. Mile after mile, we cruised in the fast lane and the longer we went, the more anxiety began to build and the more tolls we racked up.

Soon our express lane was turning into the highway to hell. The minutes kept ticking, and so did the miles.

Finally, we were able to get off and turn around and get back to the airport in time to make our flight. When we turned in the rental car and saw how much they charged for the tolls, I realized why people pay for the protection plan.

As we sat in the airport, waiting to board the plane, I looked at the girls and told them that express lanes are like sin. It looks like fun at first, but when you choose it, it takes you to a place you never thought you’d go, keeps you there longer than you ever thought you’d stay and makes you pay a higher price than you ever thought you’d pay.

Note to self: Be careful where you place your confidence.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.