We drove down by the water steps which is close to PNC Park, where the Pirates play, and Heinz Field, where the Steelers play. And we realized that there was a baseball game that night. The parking was anywhere from $12 to $25. There were meters on the side of the road but there were signs that said "No Parking after 7 a.m.". When we got closer we realized that the date on the signs (at least all the ones we saw- which was about 5) was 8/26. That was Sunday so we were safe to park there. We parked behind a mini van at 3:50. I got out paid the meter and we were on our way. It was about a 1/4 of a mile walk. I could tell Andrew's foot was hurting him by the way he awkwardly stepped, but he didn't complain.
We got to the water steps and had a lot of fun. Riley was a little scared of the falling water at first, but once he realized it couldn't wash him away he had a great time.
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| This one is my favorite |
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| Drinking the water. . . bad parents |
I forgot to get a picture of the whole thing but there's one here, if you want to see it
When we were getting ready to go we couldn't find our keys. We searched the diaper bag, which we put everything into, including our phones, Andrew's shirt, credit cards, driver's licenses, and pedometers. We spent about 5 minutes searching the water, when we decided to search the bag again. We luckily found the keys hiding in the changing pad. While we were looking Riley was crawling around and fell and scrapped up the side of his face. Stuff like that happens when you are learning, but I still feel bad. Poor guy.
I got there and said something like, "This is my car!"
The large policeman on a motorcycle said, "Sorry, you have to go to the impound lot and get it. It's illegal to park here after 4." I didn't realize at this at the time, but it was right around 4:15.
By this point I was a little hysterical, stupid words just started coming out of my mouth and I'm pretty sure my arms were flailing around, "But this is my car. My only car. But my baby.."
"You have a baby ma'am? Who is your baby with?"
"He's with my husband"
"Since you have a baby we will give you a ride to the impound lot"
"Thank you! I need to go tell my husband because I have his phone."
"I'm sorry you will need to go now, it will take at least half an hour, but I will tell your husband for you. What does he look like?"
"His name is Andrew, He's wearing a red. . . (then I realize I have his shirt too) He's not wearing a shirt, we were playing in the water. And he has my baby."
"Okay, I'll go tell him"
I got into the tow truck. I was wearing a wet swimming suit, with a tank top and a short pair of shorts. I had all Riley's toys, food, and diapers. I hoped it would go quickly and that the policeman found Andrew and he wasn't wandering around looking for me.
The ride was really long. It was only 2 miles away, but the traffic made it a 45 minute ride.
* * *
Meanwhile, Andrew was walking (maybe limping) down the crowded street half naked with Riley. A policeman on a motorcycle pulled up to him and asked, "Are you Andrew?" Apparently he was easy to find, there aren't too many men without shirts walking around with babies.
Andrew confirmed that was his name, a little confused and worried.
"Your car is being towed, and your wife is going to the impound," and then he drove away.
Andrew and Riley found a place in the shade to hang out.
At some point a lady came up to Andrew and Riley and started asking them questions. "What are you guys doing? Where's his mom? What happened to his head?"
A few minutes later a policeman came up to Andrew and told him that there was a lady concerned about a shirtless man and a baby with bruises all over him. Andrew explained the situation and the policeman was understanding and didn't arrest Andrew for child abuse.
Andrew found someone to borrow a phone from and called me to find out how long I would be. After finding out that it would be a while he decided to go back to the water steps. It's less weird to be shirtless there.
* * *
I talked to Andrew while I was in the tow truck and finally we had made it to the impound lot. I had to sit and wait a little while the paperwork was getting processed. When the got my paperwork they told me I needed to show my driver's licence and proof of insurance or registration. I told the lady that stuff was in my car. I was hoping that I had remember to put the insurance card in the card or that Andrew put my name on the registration. She took me to my car and luckily my name was on the registration.
We got back to the office and the lady told me it would cost $115. I feel like that's a little outrageous. I handed her my credit card. She swiped it and told me that it had been denied. Awesome. Apparently we hadn't moved money around since we had driven here. It costs a lot to travel across the country. I knew that I could move the money with my phone so I told her it would be a minute. I knew Andrew could do it faster, but he wasn't there so I had to do it. I pulled up the web browser and started signing in, when I realized I couldn't remember our PIN number.
That very second I got a call from Andrew, checking to make sure things were still going well. I told him our card was denied and he gave me our PIN number. He also suggest that I download the app instead. I typed in the PIN and the browser crashed. I downloaded the app when a notification saying that I was down to 15% battery on my phone and not long after 10%. I was able to move the money and I paid for the towing. The lady at the desk noticed my Utah driver's licence and New Mexico plates and asked how long I'd been here. I told her we moved here on Saturday. As she handed me the receipt she sarcastically said, "Welcome to Pittsburgh."
I got to the car. Took off the parking citation and found out that I had another $93 to pay. I plugged in my phone so it wouldn't die and drove over to the water steps. Thinking the whole time I should have just paid the $25 for parking. Andrew called me as I was getting close, so I found them quickly. When I pulled up he was talking to his new friend, the police officer who made sure he wasn't a homeless child abuser. Andrew learned from him that when we parked it was legal for us to be there. But at 4:00 it became illegal for us to be there. If the signs had been right we would have known and not parked there.
I guess we will just be more careful about where we park from now on, and never leave Andrew without his phone or shirt again.
