$40 Cupcakes?

It's March, and it's FALL Break! We have a few weeks off from school and decided to take a 14 hour drive to Cape Town, South Africa. Most of the drive takes place on a smooth ribbon of tarmac, relatively free of traffic in an eco-rich countryside. In the first hour of our hilly drive, an oncoming car flashed its headlights at us. I didn't really think much about it. Then the driver in front of us slowed waayyyy down. What is the sum of slow thinking + fast driving? Zap! 

Across the street I saw a pair of police officers, a speed gun, and the long arm of the law reaching out to ME. The officer greeted us politely and asked if I knew the speed limit. Yes, it is 100 km on this stretch. Then came the long walk of shame to the other side of the road so that I could see how fast I was going. He showed me a chart with the breakdown of how much it costs per kilometers of infraction. The damage came to about $150. Problem: this is a pay on the spot kind of thing, and we had minimal rand. 

Me: That's a lot of money!
Policeman 1: Yes.
Me: Do you take credit cards?
Policeman 1: No.
Me: We don't have that much rand with us.
Policeman 2: (Polishing is belly) We are hungry. How much do you have? You can buy us something to eat or drink.
Me: Do you like cupcakes? I have chocolate cupcakes.

Policeman 1 escorts me back to our car to survey the cupcakes. He smiles, takes 4, and wishes us a good trip. I smile, thankful I made cupcakes the night before, and we continue our journey to Cape Town...much more careful about obeying the speed limit. If you are going to speed in South Africa, remember to bake the night before. Just a suggestion :-)