Tool Time

The past week here at Mission Bay RV Resort was interesting. Last week, the park began to fill up. By Thanksgiving Day, the park was nearly full. There were more RVs and kids in the park than we’ve seen since we first arrived here September 20th.

I had no idea so many people would spend Thanksgiving with their families in an RV park. On one side of our site, a family of four moved in with a travel trailer. The two kids were elementary school age. They bicycled every day together around the area. They smoked a turkey over charcoal in a Weber grill on Thanksgiving Day.

On the other side of our site was another trailer. It was occupied by an older couple with their dogs. They erected a wire enclosure around their site so they could let the dogs out without worry of them running off. The park was mostly occupied by families and it seems like they all brought dogs. The mornings were noisier than usual.

Last Saturday, people began packing up and pulling out. By Sunday evening, the park was nearly empty. We have four open sites on either side of our coach now. The sites behind us and directly in front of us are empty. There are more people leaving the park than arriving. Those who arrive seem to be using the park as a stopping point in their travels and only stay one night.

We’re beginning to plan our exit. Nothing is cast in stone, but we may move out of here on the 21st and stay somewhere else in the area until the 26th. Then we’ll head east and spend some time on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.

Yesterday I cut the drawer liners for my tool box to size and installed them. Once that task was completed, I started organizing my tools. I took a few pictures showing my handy work from the day before.

The wheel chock for the scooter front wheel

The wheel chock for the scooter front wheel

Tie down fixture for the scooter

Tie down fixture for the scooter

Toolbox and tie downs

Toolbox and tie downs

Plastic chair sliders screwed to the floor to hold the tool box in place

Plastic chair sliders screwed to the floor to hold the tool box in place

Drawer lined a tools in place

Drawer lined and tools in place

I have about 10% of the tools that I had prior to the theft. I have the basics covered. If I need special tools down the road, I’ll buy them as needed. My insurance claim is settled. The insurance reimbursed approximately 64% of the dollar value of our loss.

Read your policy carefully and pay attention to the definitions. In our case, replacement cost didn’t mean what it costs to buy a new trailer. It’s a hypothetical replacement cost. What the adjuster did was call a few trailer dealers and describe our trailer. Then he asked them how much they would sell it for. Of course, the trailer dealers say they would have to sell it for less than the new trailers they sell. They establish a hypothetical  price and that’s the replacement value. It doesn’t matter that the hypothetical trailer doesn’t exist. They pay that amount, even though I couldn’t find a six- month old trailer in excellent condition for that price if I tried. I’m just glad the insurance hassle is over. It was a real learning experience.

I heard a few rain drops overnight. This morning is partly cloudy and cool. I don’t expect the temperature to be much over 60 today. Low pressure to the northeast of us has the jet stream dipping down to southern California, bringing cool air from Alaska. This is likely to continue through the weekend before we warm up again next week.

Today I’ll run a few errands. Donna has a lunch meeting with her sister, Sheila, to discuss a brochure for her business. I plan to set up my amp and practice guitar this afternoon. Donna likes that idea because she’s planning to do some hoopdancing.