Passport Peeved

I went and applied for a passport today.  Yay.  Strangely there was no line at the place I went to, however there were the following peeves:

1.  The passport is $75.  Apparently even though I can only get a new one at specific places, I have to pay $25 for the privilege to do so.
2.  They don't take cards. 
3.  I have to pay the $25 separate from the $75.  I only brought one check with me (which I had only brought along just in case). Luckily there's a bank across the street.
4.  NONE of this was outlined on the website.