Thursday, November 1, 2012

Light...tunnel....



Oh joy, where to start. Where we left off--truck would be ready in 10 working days will probably become a reality. We saw it with all of its bandaids being applied to it in its assigned bay yesterday. Shooting for no later than Monday. 

The RV rig, which we thought was the easy part, arrived last Thursday at the collision center. The walk-around to start estimate process only took place yesterday and only because we arrived somewhat unannounced to check the status. But, they assured me it would be at least liveable by tomorrow, if you want to reside in a parking lot with full hookups in the middle of nowhere.We guesstimate we will stay in it Sat and Sun night to see if indeed all systems are "go". 

I am sure there will be a couple tweeks needed, so let's target next Wednesday as a departure date. Destination--1 hour drive down to Myrtle Beach--close enough to return if issues arise and far enough away to see if we can get our RV groove back. When Teri asked me today "What part of RV'ing are you most looking forward to returning to", I, being fully transparent with our readers, could not provide an answer. Seriously. Scary. I then concurred with her when she suggested her cooking. Again, there is an R and a V in the word groove, so time will tell.

As to hotel living, the Holiday Inn Express has served us well. Free hot breakfast, friendly folks, solid wi-fi and and an excellent gym we walk by every morning. Hey, walking is exercise and we have been faithful about using the stairs up/down to the 4th floor. Oh yes, we did stop in earlier this week and I weighed myself---no results, the scale just blurted out "Oink". Yes, dining out can be brutal, and we are on day 12! We have hit every 4-5 star eatery on Yelp in Wilmington. Thai, Italian, American, Mexican--every category of food except "pet", I do believe.

Our emergency vacation expense/trip interruption clauses are right on the edge of their thresh holds. 2 more days in hotel, 3 days of eating and 4 days in the rental car are all that remain. And then the difficult part---collecting reimbursement. You know what is coming-- "Dave, we are sorry, but according to Article 8, Paragraph 19, Section 12, Subsection B, Stipulation ii, we won't be able to reimburse you any of your submitted items".

As to the outrageous tow bill, I have created this site, but yet to really propel it into the viral world. It is about 90% complete and I have been careful to stay away from the slander cliff. So far, the 2 insurance companies haven't seemed overly interested in taking on the fight. GMAC has talked to the owner a couple times and he just gives the typical, indifferent response of "We applied our standard rates". Uhh no, that would be applying standard rape.

Regarding the incredulous "unsafe tire" ticket, I finally looked at the details this week. Fine: $25. The Court costs for NOT going to court: $243.00. So, let me see, endorsing the check for deposit and marking "Paid" in the final disposition field of their records computer system will take maybe 3 minutes?? Little high on their hourly rate in North Carolina, dont ya think? Maybe they are in cahoots with the tow company.

Day 210, a flicker of light...










3 comments:

  1. Hang in there David. Remember there are those of us living vicariously through you on this adventure. When things happen against the odds, assume tire blowout only happens to 1 in 100,000, I think well there will have to be 100,000 more blowouts before it is my turn again. Glad you are safe and making progress on the repairs.
    Love the comment about walking by the exercise room.

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  2. A glimmer of hope!! That is always a good thing!

    I also liked your comment about walking by the exercise room! It made me chuckle :). Once things quiet down for you two, you'll have to get back to your running program.

    Have a great weekend! Take care!

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  3. Is walking by the exercise room the same as my "imagery" aerobics I enjoy doing every day? ;) I know this is hard - keep looking at the light. HugZ to you both!

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