Ready, Set, Go.... to DMV

May 16, 2011... We said good-bye to the house and walked down to get in the cars.  Francis and Prue were going to drive the TT and Stella and Charlie, the Xterra.  As we walked up to the cars, Prue looked at the license plate to the TT and noticed that it had EXPIRED! Reluctant to drive, as they should have been, a discussion ensued as to what to do.  Easy... just go to DMV on the way out of town and get the registration up to date.  Easy, right?  Well, read on.

So Charlie and Prue went inside DMV while Francis and Stella took a box to the post office.  Only the DMV has suffered such cutbacks that the line to go inside was out the door.  Twenty five minutes later, they met with the reception person who gives you a number so you can wait for a person to help you get registered.  This person was not in the best mood.  Charlie explained that this was moving day and that we wanted to get the vehicle registration renewed. "Let me check," he says.

After a few minutes there is a major glitch appearing.  It seems that when Charlie paid off the vehicle earlier in the year, his bank did not send him the title.  Finally, after learning they had not, he requested the title and eventually received it.  Even though DMV had the records stating he was now the owner, they had to physically SEE the title.  He did not know that and what's more, the title was packed in a box headed for Asheville, NC!!! The man said that without the title, he could do nothing. No title. No Registration. Next in line.

So Charlie goes outside and looks through the one box of papers he kept for stuff happening in 2011. Nada. By now, Stella and Francis have joined them and the four decide to go back inside and plead the case to a supervisor... not the man at the desk.  Bypass...

Only now it is lunch time and the line is 25 people deep. Wait... wait... wait...

With only two people in front of the four of them, a new DMV hostess comes up and sits down to help direct people. Charlie has worked with her before and she is nice.  He crosses his fingers as to which to get. And as the Universe would direct it, he gets her! Oh happy day. The four are filled with optimism.

She hears the sob story, replete with Francis and Prue attesting to their Australian origins by speaking in Australian accents.  She takes pity on the crew and decides to send them on to a window where the person waiting on them can decided their fate.

Thirty minutes later they are standing before the DMV representative named Joseph.  They repeat the story, accents included. Joseph listens... can't tell if he is sympathetic or not. But at the end, he gets it all straight and says he might be able to help us.  He goes to see a supervisor.  She gives him authorization to give us a current registration only if Charlie signs a document promising to take care of this when he gets to North Carolina.

Two and a half hours after they began their quest, the happy group is on the road at 3:15 pm!!!!.

Jubilation! but driving time to our destination severely curtailed.  Change plans.  We drive to Mt. Shasta and forgo our reservations at Crater Lake Oregon.