picture this.
we're in st. augustine, florida & we find the perfect beach parking lot. no 'no parking' signs, clean bathrooms, central location.
we park, take a short walk for mexican food [ it was incredible ], hop back into the van & make our way to a brewery.
we drive back, park again, take a short walk to a dive bar [ which has a special on - every time you order a drink, the bartender flips a coin. if your side comes up, your drink is free ], enjoy the company of some locals & head back to van for a good night sleep.
& then it happens. the sound that every van dweller dreads. 'rap, rap, rap' on the window, followed by a 'st. augustine police. open up.' [ or something similar to that ].
we're in st. augustine, florida & we find the perfect beach parking lot. no 'no parking' signs, clean bathrooms, central location.
we park, take a short walk for mexican food [ it was incredible ], hop back into the van & make our way to a brewery.
we drive back, park again, take a short walk to a dive bar [ which has a special on - every time you order a drink, the bartender flips a coin. if your side comes up, your drink is free ], enjoy the company of some locals & head back to van for a good night sleep.
& then it happens. the sound that every van dweller dreads. 'rap, rap, rap' on the window, followed by a 'st. augustine police. open up.' [ or something similar to that ].
we are startled & sleepy & scrambling to make sure we are dressed appropriately but somehow i manage a calm 'yes officer'. we slide the side door open & are greeted by two officers, holding two flashlights, both pointed directly at us.
the police have no idea what to expect when we open the door, so are ready for anything, but as soon as they see us & realize we were fast asleep just seconds prior, the male officer relaxes, asks us what we are doing, explains that due to a meth problem in the county it is illegal to sleep in your car, asks for our id & makes his way to the cruiser to look us up. the female officer, however, continues to stand guard, flashlight still pointed directly in our faces, unrelaxed af.
ten minutes later, just as we are accepting our fate [ that we'll be ticketed & sent packing ], the male officer returns to the car with our id & says 'clearly all you two are doing is sleeping so i'm not going to write you a ticket. how long do you plan to stay in st. augustine?'. we reply, 'thank you officer, until tomorrow morning'. 'what time will you leave?', he asks. 'by 7 o'clock', we say.
& then he says something completely unexpected. he says, 'ok, it's late. stay here & get a few more hours of sleep but i don't want to see you here tomorrow.' then he shakes luke's hand, bids us good night & they get back into their vehicle.
we went back to sleep & were out of there by 9 o'clock.
ten minutes later, just as we are accepting our fate [ that we'll be ticketed & sent packing ], the male officer returns to the car with our id & says 'clearly all you two are doing is sleeping so i'm not going to write you a ticket. how long do you plan to stay in st. augustine?'. we reply, 'thank you officer, until tomorrow morning'. 'what time will you leave?', he asks. 'by 7 o'clock', we say.
& then he says something completely unexpected. he says, 'ok, it's late. stay here & get a few more hours of sleep but i don't want to see you here tomorrow.' then he shakes luke's hand, bids us good night & they get back into their vehicle.
we went back to sleep & were out of there by 9 o'clock.
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