It does actually happen…..

This little car park ticket showed me yesterday that there are still some good things happening out there.

I’d planned to go to one of those big discount pharmacy chemist warehouse type stores late morning after the Musical Memories activity had finished at the nursing home.  Now normally I’d combine the visit with other shopping but that wasn’t the case yesterday, so given I had a choice of three branches out in the eastern suburbs and being an indecisive Libran (meaning I’m terrible at making choices) I was all in a dither 😊

I could drive 12 kms down the road to the branch at Chirnside Park (medium sized shopping centre) and try to get a spot in the car park there. Oh yeah, school hols just started lots of things for kids to do mothers and babies and kids all over the place maybe not.

Or I could drive on a further 4km to a branch in Lilydale – reasonable idea, larger shop more products wouldn’t be any ‘entertainment’ going on but further from home wih no guarantee of a parking spot.

And lastly there was one of the original branches in Ringwood just a little way back up the road from the nursing home but in the most awkward place on the main highway with minimal parking at the rear. Lots of recent development around there –  huge enlargement to Eastland means traffic here there and everywhere and my car only knows one way in and out of that place and it’s nowhere near where I needed to go!

Rationilising with myself I came up with the idea that if I went back to Ringwood I could easily get onto Mt Dandenong Road from there when I’d  finished, which meant I could be home in 15 minutes. So, decision made.  A gap in the traffic could get me over into the right hand lane, make a Uturn and come at the store from a different spot on Maroondah Highway.  Good thinking Catherine – now to find somewhere to park!

And what about the parking ticket I hear you say

Well as I drove into the (badly signed entrance to the) car park there was a car facing me almost in my path with an arm sticking out the driver’s window.

Coming alongside a voice yelled out – Would you like this?

What is it?

The pay and display ticket  There’s still some time left!  I’ve finished what I had to do in less time than I thought and there’s still three quarters of an hour left.

I was a bit taken aback……because I didn’t realise it was pay to park….as I said badly signed frontage and entrance…..but didn’t say no.

I was in and out of the shop in less than 10 minutes and still can’t get over how disappointed I felt when I couldn’t pass the remaining 20 on to another short stay parker 😎

So now it’s my turn – my turn to spread the love and pay it foward (quietly)