Expensive Bread Pudding

Here’s a lesson for you. If you are looking for a parking spot on Robson Street and you find a vacant parking meter, don’t assume that it is legal to park there! On Monday night our friend Leslie was in town, so we took her downtown. We found a vacant parking meter only half a block from where we were going – perfect! The meter had a sign on it that said “Meter in effect from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week.” It was 7:30 p.m., so I put in enough money to get us to 8:00 p.m. and off we went for dessert and coffee.

Around 9:00 p.m., we came out of the restaurant, only to discover that our car was gone! Our first thought was that it had been stolen, but who would be brazen enough to steal a car on a busy street, in plain sight of many people? Our second thought – is there some reason why our car would have been towed if the meter had expired? So we checked the meter again and it clearly stated it was in effect from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. In my mind that meant that it was free after 8:00 p.m. – so where was our car?

Brian went into a pizza place nearby and asked the staff if they had seen a car towed away. The response – yes, because after 8:00 p.m. that area is a commercial loading zone! Who has ever heard of a commercial loading zone (or any restricted area) having a parking meter? Not to mention that there was nothing on the meter that indicated that you couldn’t park there after 8:00 p.m. Further investigation found a small sign on a telephone pole (facing in the opposite direction) stating that it was a commercial loading zone from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

Our car had been towed to the City impound lot! So we hailed a taxi, and off we went to discover the towing company doing a booming business as they brought in car after car, many of which were probably owned by unsuspecting suckers like us!

Anyway, at the end of the day, it was a story to tell our grandkids – but one that came with a price tag.

Coffee and dessert - $31.07
Taxi ride - $9.00
Busters Towing - $65.00
Fine for parking in a commercial loading zone - $50.00
Parking meter for 30 minutes - $3.50
Total cost for an evening of adventure - $158.57 (and you thought I was going to say “priceless”)

That’s the most expensive bread pudding I’ve ever had!!