Moving Violation

I thought this was it.  My last look at the trusted old friend of a 2012 Toyota Highlander as I walked away from it on April 30.  My three-year lease was over just as the previous six or seven leases ended.   With me saying goodbye to a vehicle that I loved.   Or sometimes just like.   Or, in the case of a 2009 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, didn't like at all.

This photo was bittersweet.   I loved this car.  I was never going to see it again. 

Think again.

Last weekend, I got a letter from Metro Express Lanes.   The folks that run the toll roads out in California and yes, there is apparently a West Coast version of EZ-Pass.  I had allegedly sped right through a toll on the 605 Freeway.   And attached to the violation was a black-and-white photo of my 2012 Toyota Highlander.  Complete with my old license plate.

Huh?

The date of the infraction was Friday, May 15.  Er, I had a completely different car on that date.   With completely different plates.  And, besides, I have never been on the 605 Freeway in my life.  I actually had to look it up on Google Maps to see where it was.

So, thanks to stupidity, several hours of concentration on more positive things in my life lost out to my need to get this fixed.   A letter went back to Metro Express Lanes.  Folks, not my car.   Not my road of choice.  Nothing even remotely connected to my life.

But, as I rightly figured, the real fault here was with Longo Toyota, the dealership that obviously had not removed my license plates.  My guess is that my poor old friend was still languishing around the lot.  Maybe somebody from Parts and Service needed a ride home.  My car became the loaner.  And, obviously, the dude was in a hurry to get home.

Of course, it's all a simple explanation.  Which means this will require several letters, a bunch of phone calls, and maybe even a rifle to get this corrected.  

Another day in America.

Dinner last night:  Sausage pizza at CPK.