So, I met this girl and thought I would like to show her a good time and immediately thought about taking her out paddling.
She was amenable, and suggested putting in near where she lived, in Kingwood, in the West Fork of the San Jacinto River where it feeds into Lake Houston. I borrowed a canoe and we agreed to meet at River Grove Park.
River Grove Park, Perfect Place to Launch, for Residents
We arrived at the parking lot, and I noticed several signs posted that announced that if you did NOT have a Kingwood resident sticker, your vehicle was liable to be towed.
Signs Mean Nothing
I pointed this out to Terry, and she laughed and replied that she had lived in Kingwood for several years, and in all that time, never once had known anyone that had their vehicle towed from the park. And she had never had a sticker and parked there all the time. (Cue deep foreboding music…)
So, we unloaded the boat, dragged it to the river and proceeded to paddle down toward Lake Houston for an enjoyable several hours on the water.
Beautiful Launch Site
Only to notice on our return, that both of our vehicles were gone.
As in, not there. Gone.
Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs
No way.
There was a number to call the impound lot to see if our vehicles were there, so we called them and were assured that our cars were, indeed, there. But it was a Friday afternoon at around 4 pm, and they were closing for the weekend at 5, so if we wanted to reclaim them from the impound lot, we needed to get there quickly before they closed, or we would have to wait until Monday to pick them up.
After having this conversation, and noticing that the parking lot was nearly deserted, and hadn’t had any traffic while we were talking about it, I threw caution to the wind in a last desperate effort to find some way out of this mess, I went up to the only other vehicle in the parking lot, and asked the old couple who were sitting there if they could possibly see their way to give me a ride to the impound lot before it closed.
By the grace of God, they agreed. While Terry sat and watched the boat and our gear, they drove me to the impound lot.
Where I discovered that retrieving them from the impound lot was going to cost $450.
Per vehicle!
Now, at the time, I was a poverty-stricken graduate student, and rarely had more than a couple of hundred dollars in my bank account. It just so happened that my stipend had just come in, and I had enough to cover the $900 to bail out both vehicles. Which brought up the next obstacle.
The lady wouldn’t let me bail out Terry’s car. I wasn’t a close relative, nor was I on the registration or anything. And I wouldn’t be able to take both cars at the same time anyway.
Near tears, I explained that IT WAS OUR FIRST DATE, and Terry was the one who had assured me that our vehicles wouldn’t get towed and we both needed to get to work on Monday, and if I called Terry and she talked with Terry and got her permission to let me take the car, could I take Terry’s car outside the gate, and then get my car and go get Terry and our boats?
I think the concept that it was our first date, and she was impressed with young love that convinced her. Or talking with Terry. Or maybe it was my tears, but she eventually relented, and allowed me to pay for, and remove Terry’s car from the impound lot, and then come back in and get my car.
I thanked the old couple for bringing me to the impound lot, and they left without giving me a chance to repay them or find out their names.
I went and picked Terry and our boats up, and we came back to the impound lot and retrieved her car. WHEW!
But I gotta tell you: Most Expensive First Date EVER.
See You On the Water!