Travel Tess, I didn't see your post. That is very sad, much worse than my situation.

PM, sorry to hear about your "adventure". Sorry, that's an inside family joke from the time my husband and I had our car towed in Ft. Lauderdale after a concert (and we lived in Naples and had to be at work in about five hours!).

Anyway, I was wondering if you went to Esther's? I know it's too late now, but if that's where you went, a really good place to park is Carmelo's, or really any other restaurant's valet parking. It may cost $5 or more but it's definitely worth the hassle of parking downtown.

I hope you and your husband at least enjoyed yourselves at the club!

Kal???

If I travel to Vermont, will I see 3 Blind Moose?!!!

In my new Born slippahs, I traveled to the front door to pick up my just delivered case of Trader Vics Mai Tai Mix.

Then I traveled to the grocer for some Parma Proscuitto and Figs and Goat Cheese.

Then I got on a Greyhound bus and traveled to fodorland...dontcha know?

Hello, AustinTraveler. We went to Capitol City Comedy Club at 183 and N. Lamar. There were 6 of us in 3 different cars (all parked illegally) yet somehow our car was the only one towed. I'm glad our friends didn't get towed, but I suppose it's just bad luck that we did. The signs really weren't clear at all. If you ever do go to that comedy club, be careful not to park near that little grocery store on the far end of the parking lot.

P_M...a long time ago, when we drove a Volkswagon bug, we were towed and the poor little thing was dragged through the streets, getting all sorts of damage. We called the police..it was their pound too! and they made out a complaint for us for the insurance. Your car was not damaged because it was parked in the wrong spot, It ws damaged because of the towtruck driver !! Call your attorney..ggggrrrr....

michelle, we are househunting in Portland, planning a visit to NY

Thanks for the heads up PM. So, despite the towing disaster, how did you like the club?

AustinTraveler, that's almost like saying, "Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"

I'm kidding!! It was actually a great show and the comics were very talented. If we ever do go to that club again (and that's a big IF) we will get there a lot earlier to find a better parking space.

You are so right, Scarlett, IMO the damage and the illegal parking are 2 seperate incidents. They had a right to tow the car, but no right to damage it. My insurance agent agreed with me, but he said the claims dept will not commit or make a decision until the claim is filed. They told me to keep after the impound guy and I will. But we're still thinking of suing him ourselves. If nothing else, suing him might force him to give us the insurance info.

I would SO love to get this guy in front of Judge Judy!! But that could backfire--she might yell at us for parking illegally.

That was very funny PM! Thanks for the laugh! And thanks for the location of the comedy club. We live about half way between there and downtown so we're always looking for new places to go and we love comedy clubs. We will definitely be careful about parking though! My husband doesn't think our "adventure" in Fort Lauderdale many years ago was quite as funny or memorable as I do!

Absolutely wonderful! Temp in the low 80s, not a cloud in the sky, and all kinds of Seafair activities.

WEEKEND IN NYC !!DH and I had a GREAT time -hot weather but we walked everywhere.Walked Brooklyn Bridge,Went to the Top of the Rock,Ice tea @ Tavern on the Green ($5.00 for 2 ice teas !!Saw Dan Hicks and Pure Prarie League play @ BB King's Blues Bar,Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty,SOHO Little Italy and Chinatown. Yummy restraunts too. I LOVE NY

mjks, that's an amazing amount to do in only 1 weekend!

PM, if the parking sign was not clear, can't you take some legal action or fight against whoever put it up? Is it the town/city? Did they hire the tow company?

Cut the grass, wifey cooked up some good vittles, Sunday mornin meetin . . . not a bad weekend at all! ;-)

Hi, mclaurie. The little store that put up the sign did hire the tow truck and I agree they need to improve the visibility of the sign. I would like to take action against them too, but for now we are mainly concerned about getting the car fixed. But dealing with the store might be my next project.

Oh, P_M! I'm so sorry to hear about your misadventure. To have that happen anytime would be awful, but during your husband's birthday celebration was just adding insult to injury.

And, frankly, it makes my blood boil to think the tow truck driver/company could get away with it. As Scarlett said, your car was damaged because of them not because it was parked in the wrong spot. Seems to me their job is to tow cars, not to damage them! It's clearly negligence and surely there has to be some way to hold them accountable?

I may be completely off the wall with this but... Was the grocery store open at the time? If not, it seems to me to be poor PR to be towing people, especially with an incompetant towing company, at a time when neighboring businesses are busy but they aren't. Doesn't seem like it would be good for either their relationship with their neighbors or with the public. Of course, if they were open, it's a different story.

If you continue to have problems settling this, I wonder if there's some way you can get this story out to people in Austin? Do any of your local stations or newspapers have a consumer advocate? This strikes me as a story that needs to be told. Yes, you were parked illegally. The towing was justified. But the damage to your car most certainly wasn't.

Good luck! And keep us posted on this situation.

BuffaloGirl, I'm sorry you didn't get to Plimoth Plantation. But, as you said, there'll be other chances. I think the others would've enjoyed it. But, if they'd been moaning and groaning about going, it would've made it harder for you to enjoy it!

PM, oh my goodness! I hope everything gets resolved very soon for you.

BuffaloGirl, you poor thing! I know what it can be liked being "outnumbered" by the men in my life, lol. I can just picture you storming out of the car! Ah, family time...we take what we can get and make the best of it, no?

My oldest son returned from Washington, D.C. over the weekend only to get a message from his credit card company that someone had fraudulently used his cc number!! They charged nearly $800 at a grocery store. This, apparently, was shortly after he made a $20 purchase at his local grocery store. He doesn't know if the theft took place at the same store. They cancelled his card and are now investigating. My poor boy.

Sorry for you son's misfortune stw, I hope that gets corrected soon.

UPDATE--After more arm-twisting the tow truck guy gave me his insurance info. The bad new is the claims adjuster is in San Antonio, (80ish miles away) so if I have to take a day off work to drive down there, we will definitely take him to small claims court to cover expenses and time missed from work. I'm hoping she will come here to look at the car. I called the claims adjuster but of course got voice mail, so I hope she calls me back today.

Although this problem is far from resolved, at least progress has been made. Thanks for all the good vibes, it DID help.

Note: to answer CAPH's question above, yes the grocery store was open and it was the owner who called the tow truck when he saw us park in his space. I wish he would have come outside and told us to move, that's what I would have done. That jerk.

Now I am even more appreciate of the GC North Rim staff who saved me from a $350 ticket. I missed it by seconds!

Friday ~ ate a good dinner saw a great band at The DownTown Bank Club (Crystal Lk IL)
Saturday.....slept in (needed it!) Dress shopping at Woodfield for a wedding coming up.

Sunday ~ rain kept it quiet by me. Enjoyed a day of boating on the Fox River (N IL) and a cocktail at Blarney Island.

Monday ~ took advantage of weekday boating and headed down the Fox down to Algonquin.

Tues.....Cubs game in Milw.

Great long weekend! Work is getting in the way of my fun!