Jack and Sara's Summer Road Trip: Installment Three

Chapter Five: A Thief in the Night in their Hotel

When we left Jack and Sara last month, college sweethearts Jack and Sara got engaged on their way to New Orleans and made sure to add the new ring as a rider onto their existing renter's insurance policy. And while staying with family friends, Jack accidentally backed his car into their garage. Thank goodness for their homeowner's insurance provides coverage for damage to their property caused by visitors. Here's what happened next...

Sara really wanted to stay in historic New Orleans so Jack booked a hotel downton. During their first night, the pair leaves their room at a funky, quirky, neon-lit motel to go out for drinks. They lock the door behind them, but when they return in the wee morning hours they make an unpleasant discovery: Sara's digital camera, which she bought expressly for this trip, has gone missing. There was no safe in the room, and she'd left it on top of the table. Now it's nowhere to be seen. Further exploration reveals a bent window screen, indicating that a thief removed the screen, lifted the unlocked window, crawled into the room, and absconded with the Canon. A good travel insurance policy would cover stolen goods, including items taken from hotel rooms, but in the hustle and bustle of getting medical and auto coverage, Jack and Sara neglected to get basic travel insurance. Misinformed by friends, they thought travel insurance was only for those who are flying or taking cruises and need to be reimbursed for tickets they can no longer use due to unforeseen changes. Had they known better, they would have bought a travel insurance policy that had medical coverage built into it, killing two birds with one stone. Alas, now they're without a camera and Sara is out a few hundred bucks, but Jack manages to make her smile by rushing to the 24-hour drug store down the block and returning with a bundle of old-fashioned disposable film cameras bound to result in some charmingly retro photographs. Life goes on...

Chapter Six: Mishap in New Orleans:

New Orleans is known for its food and music, and one evening indulges in a little too much Gumbo, Crawfish Etouffe, not knowing that the particular shellfish he is partaking in is tainted due to an insufficiently cold refrigerator at the restaurant. Only when they return to their lodging does Jack begin to suffer symptoms of severe food poisoning. For the better part of the night poor Jack loses fluids from both ends. At dawn he is so weak and pained he can hardly get up from the bathroom floor where he's been camped out. Sara manages to half-carry him into the car and drive him to the nearest urgent care center, where a doctor rehydrates him with an I.V. and gives him a prescription for an extra-strength stomach soother. Though such a visit would typically cost upwards of a hundred dollars, Jack and Sara don't have to fret about the squeeze to their wallets because the traveler's medical insurance they bought will cover it.

With Jack on the mend and Sara hankering for a turquoise trinket or two, the pair proceed to the magical southwest. Their adventure is to be continued...