A blemish...

...on my perfect driving record...?!!! Wah?????? And for something I truly, honestly did NOT know I was doing wrong! Surely there have been times they could have rightfully ticketed me for speeding or not coming to a full stop...but this time, I honestly had NO CLUE what I had done wrong when the officer pointed at me to pull over!!

I had Anthony with me, and we were on our way to Sage's birthday party in Temecula, which is about 35 minutes from where we live. I haven't been to Temecula in about 4.5 years, and I've NEVER been on this particular freeway off-ramp before. I had never been to the place where the party was being held, so I was just focusing on following the directions to find the place. Well...APPARENTLY, there's a sign - nay, TWO signs, says the officer, saying "no turn on red," at the end of the off-ramp. So, the car in front of me comes to a stop, looks to make sure no cars were coming, turns, and I did the same thing. We made the next turn, and a motorcycle cop sitting in the median flips on his lights and motions at the car in front of me to pull over. I thought, "What did she do wrong? I didn't see her do anything!" And then he pointed at ME to pull over too! And I thought, "What did I do????"

So I patiently waited for him to go talk to the driver in front of me, all while listening to Anthony ask me a dozen times, "Why are we stopped? We have to go to Sage's birthday!!" The officer came over and asked for my license, reg, and insurance, and I obliged, and said, "Could I ask why you pulled me over?" He said, "What color was the light at the off ramp?" I said, innocently, "Red, I stopped, looked to make sure it was safe, and turned." He then informed me of the signs.

I tried to explain to him that I'd never been there before, that I was from out of area and trying to find my way to a new place, but he didn't care. He said they have a lot of accidents there and that's why they're out there giving tickets. Well, um...maybe you should be giving tickets to the people who LIVE there who intentionally blow the signs on a regular basis...that might cut down on the accidents...giving me one, someone who will likely never be at that intersection again...not really gonna do so much! And did I mention that I have a PERFECT driving record????? Had. Had a perfect driving record.

As Sage's mommy said...that was the most expensive birthday party I've been to in a long time!! Good thing I made my own laundry detergent to save money last week, huh? :)