It seemed like a good idea.
Saving precious mileage on my Saturn Ion2, I'd rent a car from Avis for the 300-plus mile trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.
I'd done it before.
Several times.
Enough that I have an Avis Wizard number.
There's an Philadelphia Avis location right across the street from where I work, so it's easy.
Take the train in the morning. Pick up the rental that night and drive home.
Hit the road in the morning.
So that's what I did.
We're halfway around Baltimore, on one of the 95's that have sprung up all over the east coastal metropolii, when my wife points at the dashboard and says,
"You're going to expire in two days."
I wasn't worried.
The insurance was paid up.
"I love you, you wonderful man," she said.
Well, not exactly what she said.
It was a lot shorter than that, and had a couple exclamation points after it.
Turns out she meant the inspection sticker on the windshield.
It was a March 09 sticker.
It was March 31.
In Pennsylvania, we carry two inspection stickers.
One for the actual inspection.
The other for emissions.
Which only matters if you live in one of the major Pennsylvania cities.
<<Insert comment about Alabama here>>
I was driving a car that only had one sticker on it.
Expired, but still.
One sticker.
Okay, count on the grace period.
I'm driving on out of state plates, so I should have some grace period to move my foreign car around Virginia's road system.
I only need a week.
I said as much to my wife.
She turned to me with adoration in her eyes.
I understood then that I was driving on Virginia plates.
Heading to Williamsburg.
Virginia.
