August 30, 2016

​Verizon charged me $255 for data overuse. I have a 24GB plan, and I was told when I bought the Jetpack that if I went over the 24GB Verizon would “speed limit” me via “Safety Mode.” I received one email from Verizon saying I was being charged $15 for an extra 1GB. Verizon did not send another 16 emails saying the same. It turns out that the customer has to enable Safety Mode via the Verizon app in order to avoid overuse charges. No one told me that. While I was on the phone with Verizon inquiring about their usury, the employee tried to walk be through the Safety Mode selection. I couldn’t do it on my iPad, so she turned it on for me. From a billing perspective, it is easy to see the Baby Bells in Verizon's DNA.

​Yesterday, I called the telephone number for the company my father said could inspect BOB when I return to Pennsylvania. The man who answered said his lift couldn't handle BOB's weight and I should call Tom. Tom didn't answer his phone – ever. My father said to try the RV dealer in New York near him. I called, but the dealer doesn’t do Pennsylvania inspections. The service guy said, “Call Joe in Athens, PA.” So, I called Joe, and he said that my windshield chip constitutes an automatic fail. Fabulous.

My father emailed another inspection resource for me. He had called and confirmed the windshield chip failure. He also suggested I call Safelite to replace the glass. I did that. The employee said he was "100% sure they did RV windshield replacements, but he could be wrong." Clearly, he never took statistics. He was wrong: Safelite stopped doing RV glass replacement because of the dimensions of the windshields. The math whiz referred me to Duncan Systems - 1-888-RVGLASS. Duncan, unlike Safelite, doesn't act as an intermediary with the insurance companies. I have to call Progressive and open a claim. OK, I can do that.

I want to ride the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad while I'm in Durango next week, and I want to do it on a sunny day. The forecast next Tuesday is perfect, so I called to make a reservation. I booked the Presidential car: it has 16 window-only seats. Hopefully, none will be occupied by children. The ride is three-and-one-half hours each way (~50 miles) plus two hours in Silverton. I asked the railroad employee whether there are any bike racks at the station in Durango. He didn't know, but he assured me that there must be some on the block since Durango is such a bike-friendly city. (He doesn't ride a bike, however.)

According to Google Maps (beta), it would take me an hour to cycle from the RV Park to the Durango station. I have to be there at seven-thirty in the morning, so that's a no-go since sunrise is after six-thirty. I called the RV park and asked for a taxi recommendation. Then, I called the taxi service and found out it would cost me $25 each way. I went online to check Enterprise’s car rental rates thinking it might be less expensive to have a car to drive to and from the station. There are two Enterprise rental offices in Durango, and one is three miles from the RV park. The website said the closer office was closed on the day I wanted to rent. I called the office and I was informed that is open a half-day on Saturdays, closed Sundays, and closed for Labor Day. Instead of a two-day rental, I now have one for five days because of the holiday weekend. I'm going to drive to Key West and back just to get my money's worth.

I called Jean this afternoon and she made the mistake of asking me what I'd done today: paid bills, downloaded statements, dealt with Verizon, learned that BOB’s windshield chip will cause him to fail inspection, booked the railroad excursion, booked a rental car, and did laundry. We discussed my options since I now have a rental car for five days, but most of them left me unenthusiastic. I am interested in going to the Four Corners National Monument because I’m a geographic nerd. But, I’m not very interested Mesa Verde National Park because Stone Age cultures don’t do it for me (I need the wheel).