Back From Vacation
I just got back from a week in San Diego with the family. After months of begging and pleading, I finally gave in to my family's desire to visit Disneyland. I am a generally cheap person and have a difficult time paying inflated prices for brand-name items (or for theme parks). With over four hundred dollars spent just to get in the gate, I expected a reprieve on the price of food or souveniers; I was wrong. What kind of wealthy people are out there that can afford such things as:
snack-sized bag of Doritos $2.75
1 slice of cheese pizza $6.00 (or $32 for a whole pizza)
1 5x7 picture of family on a ride $13
1 pair kids' sweatpants $22 (these were the cheapest)
I haven't totaled up the entire trip yet but will probably be soliciting for recommendations on a good bankruptcy lawyer soon.
The night before the vacation began, I asked my Seargant if I could leave a little early to finish packing and to get some sleep before the long drive. This is the first time I've ever asked to leave early and should have guessed Murphy's law would soon be kicking in.
That afternoon we got a call from a luxury resort about a room reserved with a fraudulent credit card. When the resort staff asked the guests to leave, they ran out and left some drugs behind. They checked in with fake names and addresses but one of their friends came back to retrieve some property. We soon learned from him where the others were and drove to a run down apartment downtown.
We contacted the guy who rented the room and found more drugs on him. He was also wanted by a different police agency for fraudulent schemes. It was decided a search warrant was necessary to find evidence of fraud and/or drugs in the apartment. Guess who was assigned to stay and 'watch' the apartment while the men were booked into jail? Me, of course. Now, many things in law enforcement move slowly but not too many slower than getting a search warrant.
I sat alone in a dark, smelly, and dirty apartment for hours waiting for my squadmates to return with the warrant. The apartment was disgusting and obviously low rent but was filled with high-end laptop computers, a flat screen T.V., stereo equipment and even a Segway scooter. As I was standing in the darkness, the back door suddenly opened and guy waks in. "Police!!" I announced which scared him quite thoroughly. He turned out to be a friend that was there to check up on the guy we arrested since he wasn't answering his phone. He left and the rest of my squad finally arrived to conduct the search. I stayed to take photographs of a lot of good evidence we recovered. My request for early departure ended with me working overtime.
posted by Officer Gary @ 11:15 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
love your blog keep going
Gary,
That wasn't Murphy's Law, that was Providence. Didn't you say you needed the overtime to pay for the overpriced theme park?
Rob "Silver Lining" Drapeau
Please tell me you at least tested out the Segway...last time we were at Disneyworld there were people zooming around on them. I'm fascinated with them.
I am worried that my child will never go to a Disney theme park. My last visit in the late 90's was overpriced, dissappointing and I would rather save my money for $6 beers at baseball games
Murphy is most certainly your friend.
You know, for the cost of a reasonable American vacation away from home... I just can't justify it. I already have it planned... my next real vacation (as in, not to see family) with my family will be to fly to Bejing and ride the Trans-Siberian railway to Moscow.
I figure that if we are going to go on a vacation then A) it should be something that you just DON'T/CAN'T experience anywhere here, and B) it had BETTER educate the little bugger.
(and C) I had better at least find it somewhat interesting, and wasting time on a beach somewhere [that I could do in my own state if I wanted] or going to some amusement park [that I could also do in my own state] just doesn't qualify.)
And I figure a week on a train seeing China, Mongolia, and Russia, with lots of stops along the way in towns that you would NEVER otherwise see, DEFINITELY qualifies.
You know what? Disneyland has always been expensive. It has always been proportinate to what we don't make!!! If you think it is expensive with two kids try it with 3 kids, and then do it again with those 3 kids as adults and one grandchild! But, it is a wonderful experience for the kids. I know your little ones will remember it forever. I went with my parents the first year it was open - 1956! I still remember it.
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