Yesterday, the morning was cool and damp. I wrote my blog post while Donna was at her exercise class. Donna returned the rental car and then made breakfast. I spent the morning indoors reading a book. By noon, it warmed up and the was sun was breaking through intermittently.
Around 1:30pm I went for a walk to stretch out and get a little exercise. I was walking toward the park entrance. When I walked around the curve in the road and looked at the office, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The parking lot behind the office was empty.
Empty? My cargo trailer was supposed to be there. I walked to the office and told the girl at the counter I had a problem. My cargo trailer was missing from the lot. She looked up my information and saw that I paid to store the trailer through November 20th. She walked to the back door and looked out at the empty lot. She came back to her computer and looked for records of towing activity. She didn’t find any tow records.
She contacted the RV park security. They weren’t aware of the theft. The last time I saw our trailer was Saturday evening when we went to Halloween party. I called the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) non-emergency number and reported the theft. The person on the line checked towing records and didn’t find anything. She dispatched an officer to the park to make a report in person.
I walked back to our motorhome and told Donna about the theft. While we waited for the SDPD officer to arrive, we made a list of items in the trailer. We had a lot of stuff in there. All of my tools. Motorcycle jackets, pants and boots. Bicycle gear, parts and clothing. Hiking boots and backpacks. Two expensive double barrel shotguns and a hunting rifle. A 2×12 speaker cabinet for electric guitar. The carrying case for Donna’s electronic keyboard. And much more.
We kept coming up with more items as we thought about what was in there. It’s only stuff, but what makes it hard to take is that it’s the stuff we wanted keep when we downsized everything. The SDPD officer arrived a little past 3pm. He was a nice guy; his parents were full time RVers. They were domiciled in South Dakota, just like us.
I had a lock on the tongue of the trailer, but a determined thief can defeat any lock. I doubt if we will ever see the trailer or its contents again. I’m glad our scooter and bicycles weren’t in the trailer. It took about 45 minutes to complete the police report. Today I’ll open a claim with our insurance company. I’ll have to shop for a new trailer.
Our enthusiasm was dampened for the rest of the day. Last night we watched a NetFlix movie called Billy Elliott. I told Donna it sounded like it would be a chick flick. It was a chick flick.
We have a few rain showers again this morning. The weather should clear and the forecast for the rest of the week is beautiful.
Our trailer
Have you checked local pawn shops for your stuff…within 25-30 miles? Never know. Craigslist or EBay?
That sucks…….any video in park or surrounding streets….etc?
What a bummer… don’t let these bad apples spoil your sunny outlook.
All I can say is….damn….wow….what a bummer!!! I can’t believe that security at the RV park is such that someone wouldn’t miss a trailer. However, I guess there are people coming and going all the time from the park. I wonder how many other thefts there have been at that location? So sorry to hear about all the “things” that are missing, they obviously had meaning for you both or you wouldn’t have hauled them all the way across the country.
OMG!
I am so sad to hear that your trailer was ripped off. Someone must have been watching it for awhile to be brave enough to hook it up and take off. That take a pair! Does the park any type of security cameras that they can go back and review the comings and goings of the front entrance?
In about a week or two, start checking the pawn shops on your spare time, people are that stupid to cash in right away.
Wishing you the best as always!
Gary
Well at least if those jerks try to pawn anything the the police will be notified…are they going to be on the lookout for the trailer? I can’t believe this happened to you guys. Sounds like the place needs more or better security!
Wow, so sorry! What a bummer.
I’m so sorry to hear this. It’s awful when someone takes something that isn’t theirs. My Fiance’s ability van was stolen this passed Summer with all his needed equipment. He has MS and can’t walk long distances. His power chair, lift, manual chair and walker all gone in one night while he was sleeping. Woke for work the next morning and his driveway was empty. I had to go out buy a walker and get a manual chair to get him to work. It took us 3 months to replace the van that was found but destroyed. It’s all replaced over $10,000.00 later and the help of the fundraiser done through his church. He then lost his job because he missed 5 days due to the theft. His job is all he has to make him feel productive. These people have no clue what their actions do to others lives. They’re just concerned about their own. Makes me sick! I hope it’s found soon and they catch the person(s) who did this to you, They’ve yet to find the ones who took John’s van.
I remember reading about that, Deborah, and it made me so sad. I think that thieves (the ones with any semblance of conscience anyway) may figure that insurance will cover everything when in fact, it often does not. Plus, there’s all the time and effort that goes into claim the loss and replace everything that you can’t ever get back.
pfff, This is pretty shitty, and all the hassle that it takes, we wish you luck getting money back. luckily it was not Donna they got, sorry bad joke
love ad & karin
Karin, you are so funny!
I know how you feel. It was just stuff, but it was YOUR stuff. We worked at Stone Mountain Park in Georgia one season, and lived in the campground there. My husband worked in the campground, I worked in the park office. We had a trolling motor that I had bought as a get well gift for him when he was going through the worst part of his treatment for oral cancer–a gift that let him think of future fun outings. It wasn’t an expensive one, but it was the one I bought for the man I loved. (yeah, it screams chick flick, hahaha) We had the trolling motor stored in the boathouse on the campground grounds, so that whenever we had time off we could just walk over there, get out motor and take a boat out to go fishing. Someone broke into the boathouse and the only thing they stole was our motor. I just hope that whoever took it needed to have a vision of a fun future.
I felt much the same way about the thieves. I hoped they needed the money to feed their starving children! I trust your husband is fully recovered from his ordeal with cancer. Thanks for taking the time to write.
Happy day,
Donna
Theft always stinks. But I really feel for you since you’d already downsized as much as you possibly could. This theft represents a high percentage of your earthly possessions!
Yes, Hazel. You are so right. Theft stinks!
Happy day,
Donna
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Mike,
I followed this link (from the future) and re-read this story. Just so you know, this post originally made me very sad, introspective, and had a profound influence on me to sell everything or give everything away or throw everything away ON MY TERMS. Especially my bass guitars from my 80’s band “glory” days, once a sacred cow that I “could never sell.” Once a ticket to a fun and festive lifestyle… Now, they are an impediment to my freedom. Like my autographed albums and CDs. Awesome, but I’m collecting memories now instead of “stuff.” Hard to believe we collected a shot glass from every trip we’ve taken over ten years. Just sold all of them for $2 at a garage sale. Ouch… but yaaay!
They say there’s Five Stages of Grief. I say there’s at least Five Levels of Getting Rid of Your Stuff. Sounds like a chapter in a Donna Smallin Kuper book. (Might already be.)
We have much more to go, but just like the best way to eat an elephant…
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