Beat this one if you can.
I am currently in Nova Scotia in Lunenburg relaxing repairing my window, my solenoids and seeing the sites, Kayaking, biking, running, the Wx has been pretty good until last night.
Friday night is steak night, I break out the tenderloins, the grill good bottle of red wine, baked potato, beer and maybe even a rum and coke Appleton Reserve last night. I had my beer, my rum and coke and was getting ready to put the steaks on the fire, the cell phone rings, one of those restricted # rings, which I sometimes do not answer especially at night.
I pick up the cellphone anyway. The caller asks if I am who I am, I answer I believe so as this is my cellphone, and who are you (female on the other end) She responds,"I am officer so and so from the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police). I am somewhat surprised by this, as I have not shared my cell phone numbers with the RCMP. She asks me if I owned a "Big Silver Bus" and was I towing a car with yellow kayaks on it. I said yes of course, what is the reason for the call ( Thinking all along that I might have run over a mother and baby in carriage going through a busy town somewhere and never noticed with too many distractions) she says did you fill up your motorhome in a XYZ town at a Soby's gas station on Tuesday last. I said yes. She asked if I had paid at the pump, I said yes, she said she has a report that a Big Silver Bus placed $700.19 of fuel in their bus and left without paying. I said that is impossible because I swiped my credit card received authorization and lifted the nozzle and turned on the pump and spent the next 20 minutes filling the bus using a slow auto diesel pump, talking with passers by and blocking traffic. I finished and got back inside and left for my seven day stay in Lunenburg.
The officer said that the owner of the station has filed a complaint with the RCMP and she had to resolve the issue.
My response was that A. I did nothing wrong, B. I am having a 20 minute cellphone conversation at .70 cents a minute and C. Its my cocktail hour and D. Just have the manager call me and I give him my credit card. She said she would take D. and have the manager call, get the card and it would be over. I said I would standby. I hung up and told Pam this isn't over, and I think that these fine folks think that $700 big ones is equal to kidnapping in Nova Scotia.
Its still raining, but its time to cook the steak and frankly I am not going to let this minor inconvenience get in the way of steak night especially after 1 beer, Rum and coke and now starting my first glass of wine.
Steak is on, getting close to ready, rare and juicy.
then all of a sudden an RCMP police car rolls up, This isn't over until the RCMP decides it is.
Needless to say the meal is on hold.
Officers both get out (PS> I have now made friends with neighbors on two sides, Prevost owner from Stuart fl and Country Coach owner from Stuart Fl, they are having dinner, but are now watching the 2 officers, the lights and of course their new best friend from Jupiter.
Anyway, I walk over to them, bad move, and say that I have already been in touch with your headquarters and am waiting for the Soby's manager to call so that I can give him my credit card. That did not fly, and they did not believe me for one second.
I asked them would you try and steal fuel at a gas station in a 45 foot silver bus with a car attached, blocking the entire gas pumps with 2 yellow kayaks on the roof. They did not reply to my question other than to call me an asshole, which was possible at the time as I was missing my dinner, getting wet and this was not my Friday night plan.
Finally I convinced the female officer to call her headquarters and confirm my story, she did and they conferenced the gas station manager in and I gave them my corporate credit card and all was good.
I waved goodbye explained to my neighbors what had happened ( they had come out to ask, be helpful I guess) went inside to complete my meal and drink the rest of the bottle of wine.
Today Pam and I were laughing about last night, thinking that it could have been worse, its over and from now on we will remember in Nova Scotia one can pump $700 worth of fuel without swiping his credit card or getting any type of pre-approval.
Later this morning I posted a thread on the solenoid leak. Brian, Jon and others gave me some great tips on how to fix the problem.
I gathered all the necessary tools, including my stool, opened the steering bay, sat down to start my brain surgery on the solenoid. I had it all apart, carefully putting all pieces on a clean rag.
I am working away when my neighbor 2 coaches down gets a visit from their children. everyone greets each other and hugs and kisses.
One son has the Halifax paper in his hand. He says out loud, "Did you see the story on the front page about the motorhome that filled up their tank with $700 of fuel and took off". I am stunned. Needless to say I got up and went over to introduce myself as the bandit in question and could I please read the article. They are now stunned and recognize the bus in the front page picture. they hand over the paper, all along wondering if there might be a reward when they turn me in to crime stoppers, no kidding about this. As a bandit one does get what they ask for, they surrendered the paper without a struggle and I had Pam scan it, see attached.
So if you do not see or hear from me again, it is because I did not make back to the US border, fighting my way through the hordes of bounty hunters who are now perched on the roadsides waiting for the "Big Silver Bus" to sneak past them in the dark of night.
This isn't over, and I am sure the next campground will have posters up by now. Great fun.
PS> Its was bad enough to have paid over $6 per gallon, but this was insult to on the injury. Next time I will have added the 298 gallon tanks to get me back to the US before fill ups, that is if I get back.
See Link: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1070987.html
