Oh, there it is!

So, I called the non-emergency police. Although it was an emergency in my book, I figured 9-1-1 had more important calls to take. I told them my car was missing, that no, I had paid all my previous parking tickets, and no, I wasn't parked illegally. They checked my car make and model against their tow records and my car did not come up. A police officer was on his way.

Like any other nervous, stressed-out, emotionally-charged wife, I called Hubs and left a message on his phone: Hi Babe, it's me. Um, could you call me as soon as you get this? I think my car has been stolen. Bye.

It was 2 minutes later that I would learn my lesson about calling the Hubs before knowing the exact details. The police called me back. Sure enough, my car had been towed. My dear friend was gracious enough to wake up her daughter and drive me to the city impound lot. Not only did I get to pay the $53 to have my car back, but I also found a $20 ticket on my car for "obstructing a private drive."

What? I'm pretty sure if there was a driveway I would have noticed it and I would not have parked in front of it. As I look at the tow receipt I realize that my car was towed at 11:15am, just 20 minutes after I parked. I also remember hearing people inside of the house I parked in front of. Did they seriously call to have my car towed minutes after I parked there instead of just coming outside and politely asking me to move?

So, I went back to the place where I parked to investigate - ignoring the fact that I should be at home packing - and this is what I saw.

Above you see the sidewalk, then some random gravel, leading to a solid wooden fence. The picture doesn't quite give you the perspective, but the area is only about 10-feet long. Not really what I would call a "private drive." I actually thought it was probably once a driveway to a house, then they built a parking lot, put up this fence, and never tore out the old driveway to put in new grass. Like I said, not really the type of neighborhood with pristine lawn care.

My friend actually has a place to park behind her house, accessed by the alley. So, I drove around back to see if that was the case for this house. Sure enough, there were cars parked there.

Hubs and I went to the county attorney's office first thing the next morning to try and contest the ticket and the tow. We were told to file a case against the city and see if we could get our money back. 

Instead, we just paid the ticket. What a great way to say good-bye to the city.