Friday, February 21, 2014

My Grandsons are in JAIL - and the police question me! :)

When we took the San Diego Trolley, we got off at the Seaport Village stop and had lunch.  On one side of the village is the old police department, which had been sitting empty for years, deteriorating.  It was on the Historical Landmarks list, so they couldn't tear it down and of course the property was worth a fortune.  So they refurbished a small section with some jail cells and tore down the rest and built shops and restaurants and a courtyard all around that area.

We had a great lunch at The Cheesecake Factory (and split a couple of Godiva Cheesecake slices with real whipped cream - yummmmmm), then walked around a little. I wanted to see the jail section, and we found it near the courtyard.  The hallway going to the cells was lined with photos, and I took some pictures of the old photos - I thought they were pretty neat.

First, though, the two dangerous criminals being measured:


Pretty small cells for two people - see the upper and lower beds?


And here they are, the two shifty criminals inside their cell:

 

They don't look very happy, do they?  Such good actors!


And here are the old photos:

 The Fleet of Police Cars:



I guess this is how they used to take mug shots:


And the fancy firing range:


The motorcycle police:


Of course, San Diego's location and the variety of scenery and architecture, the hills, ocean, bay - such a wide variety of locations! -  make it perfect for filming TV shows and movies.  If you're interested, this link will take you to San Diego Film Commission's Trivia Page.

Between a nice family breakfast, church, and our drive to Old Town San Diego to catch the Trolley, it was a super nice, very full day.  The night before we had our overnight at Grammy's and the couch and dinette were put into service as beds.  What a mess The Palms was - but kids don't notice those things, and we all had a great time.  We watched a movie and ate jelly beans.  When we got back to their house late Sunday afternoon, Tom helped me put The Palms back in order and I said goodbye to everyone and drove to my exciting sleepover in the medical office parking lot where I met two of the area's finest.

The second night I spent in the medical offices parking lot was not quite as calm and the first.  It was last Sunday night, and I planned to finish up two appointments then "hit the road."  So Katie and I were all ready to go.

We were parked at the far corner of the parking lot - there are lots of lights and it feels very safe.  We went to bed -  and around midnight I woke up with the entire inside of The Palms lit up.  I peeked out the side window of the bunk over the cap, and saw a policeman there, talking to another policeman out of my sight near the rear of the rig.  They had two cars, one pointing to the side of The Palms, and one behind us, so we were blocked in and couldn't have "escaped" if we were bad guys.  Both cars had their bright headlights pointing at us, and their spotlights too, and both policemen were shining their flashlights back and forth across the motor home. Whew.  I climbed down, pulled on a shirt and jeans, and heard knocking on the truck's passenger door.

I pulled the curtain over that separates the living area from the cab at night and had a light shining in my face.  Long story short, he wanted my name, what I was doing there, etc.  I was ready for my appointment early the next morning and told him that, and had my appointment cards, ID, Medical card, and credit card banded together to take with me the next morning.  I showed him, but all he wanted to do was glance at my Driver's License.  I guess I matched the license photo and the info that I'm sure they ran on The Palm's license plate.  He asked if I was alone.  I guess he wanted to make sure I wasn't being held against my will.

He said, "Okay, We had a call and they were worried. We're just checking to make sure you are okay."  Then they said, Have a good night, got in their cars and drove away.  I knew that sooner or later that was going to happen and I had my story and "props" rubber-banded together and ready and it was all good. 

After my annual physical the next morning, I went to the Member Services Department and asked to speak with someone in Security.  I explained to him what happened the night before, and said it never occurred to me to ask permission, since the facility closed at night and the lot was empty.  He said they had not called, it was probably someone from the neighborhood.  It was fine if I wanted to park in their lots the night before appointments, but probably a good idea to check in with security and let them know.  Then if there's a problem, I can say I have permission.  Yes, Sir, will do!

So... that's the story of my grandsons in jail and me being questioned by the police.

From me and Katie, have a great Friday, everybody!  :)

20 comments:

  1. What excitement! Your grandsons probably wish they had been with you in the parking lot!

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  2. Dang, I would have probably come to the door with a gun in hand, and then it could have gotten ugly. . .Or I could send my wife to see who is at the door in the middle of the night (grin). You handled the situation very well, good job.

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    1. You are SO funny! I can just picture both scenarios. :)

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  3. If that would have been me, I would have not slept the rest of the night. It makes perfectly good sense to stay there the night before your appt. Maybe a sign in windows and doors saying staying with permission would omit that awakening in the night?

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  4. Kind of reassuring that they were keeping an eye on you. Kind of...

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  5. This is an object lesson about having your ducks in a row. The paperwork probably made all the difference. Fulltiming is a full time job, literally. From the checklist before driving out of your site to having your papers and keys in a regular place where they can be reliably found, its all very important. Good job.

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  6. Glad it all went well... despite the confusion. I've always been glad we have a Class C RV and (usually) don't unhook at night when we're in that situation. While we wouldn't "escape" the police, we know we don't have to go outside our rig in order to vacate the premises.

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  7. I wonder if there's something you can put on the windshield that says "overnight, have appt in morning, already have permission" or something like that.
    I would have totally freaked out with the lights shining like that.

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  8. When you hang out with criminals like those two you pictured you can expect to be hassled by the cops on occasion.

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  9. Well, I guess you're just a bunch of lawbreakers! That happened to me one night in a hospital parking lot (my first stealth-camping experience). Yikes!

    Your grand kids are absolutely ADORABLE. Even in a line-up.

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  10. First of all, great photos and experience for all of you with the old police station.
    As for the police visiting, I guess I'd try to be thankful that they (the neighbors) cared enough to alert the police. It was an irritation - but not too bad. Are you a Kaiser member?

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  11. Fun post! I think I would be reassured that the police are keeping a watch but still - getting awakened in the night like that is bound to be disconcerting. Loved all the pictures - especially those cute grand boys.

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  12. Well, THAT was scary!! I would have peed for sure!! :)

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  13. Those grandsons of yours look like hardened criminals that need to be locked away!
    LOL!
    --Bob

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  14. I have to agree with those who said your grands look like hardened criminals! They are SO cute!

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  15. And Loree, I'd pee my pants too! So glad you were prepared, Barbara. Whew! Quite a day--loved the old photos--I never would've guessed they're photos of photos!

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  16. Handled like a solo woman pro. No muss, no fuss, and no further problems. Good for you.

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  17. Are you sure you weren't smuggling undocumented immigrants, or running a meth lab! ?!

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  18. Wow. What an adventure. Sounds like you had a good plan in place for just such an experience. Speaking of plans in place, my friend recently lost her home to fire. She reminded everyone again how important it is to have your "essential" documents ready to go. I am determined to gather up all important documents so I'll be ready. You did a good job by having your info ready to grab in the middle of the night.

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  19. Wanted to give your readers some helpful advice that could really benefit them when it comes time to hire a bail bondmen. The one thing that you need to do is treat this like a job interview. Go to the bail bondmen office and ask questions of that bail bondmen. The most important, will the bail bondmen be there 24/7 365 when you need them.

    Eliseo Weinstein @ JR's Bail Bonds

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