Mama Nomad’s parents came to Connecticut for a visit and to go on some adventures with us. The first day after they arrived, we decided to go on a relaxing adventure to Vermont to see the leaves. They were supposed to be changing to all manner of reds and yellows.
So, we loaded up their vehicle, a tan Chevy Trailblazer, at 9am and we were on our way. We were headed down the interstate near an area called Old Saybrook and East Lyme when I noticed a vehicle following us a little behind and to the left. I was driving and told Mama Nomad that some car was shadowing us. I know…it sounds crazy right?
After about 10 minutes, this unmarked car had some blue and red lights come on that were mounted inside the car. I was not speeding or breaking any laws. So, I proceeded to pull over onto the shoulder and rolled the window down. A man in slacks, a button up shirt and tie got out and approached the car. I saw him in the side view mirror. He had a sidearm, as most law enforcement does. As he approached, he placed his hand on it, tapped the back glass of the car and told me to show him my hands! I was thinking that maybe because of all of the anti-police activity that has been happening that they were being sensitive and cautious.
The State Police Officer approached the car after seeing my hands were empty. When he looked inside to see my three boys, Mama Nomad and her parents he relaxed. It was at this point that he told me why we were being pulled over. Just moments ago, a bank was robbed by a tan Silverado with out of state plates. Although we were driving a Trailblazer, sometimes eyewitnesses get make and model wrong. Our vehicle had out of state plates. And, when he tried to run them, their system was not pulling data from the state where Mama Nomad’s parents lived. So, the officer could not tell if it was stolen, registered or anything. That is when he pulled us over.
He took the registration information from me and went back to his car. He called in the information to headquarters and it seems that he was able to determine that everything was in order. He came back to my window and cleared me as being the Bank Robber! He apologized for any inconvenience and told us we could go. We told him to “be safe” and “we hope you catch the bank robber.” With that, he was in his car and was on his way before I had my window rolled up. He was anxious to get back to hunting down the bank robber.
We rolled up our window and headed on down the road. We have had a lot of adventures. And, at times, we have had to speak to law enforcement as we drive the roads a lot. But, I will admit that this is the first time I have been pulled over because they thought that me, my wife, three boys and their grand parents were possible suspects in a bank robbery! What a way to kick off the day! We did go onto Vermont and had a fantastic and relaxing day absent of any further law enforcement interactions or bank robberies. Life as a Nomad is always interesting. Safe Travels!
