The Tote Story
07 September 2022 | Frankfort
John & Susan Robin | 76
Today, we were all quite busy, cleaning the boat, repairing dings suffered during the trip, troubleshooting the auto pilot, and strange as it may seem, buying a tote.
Now; many forms at airports think that Susan and I are some kind of Refugees, when they see two or three Rubbermaid Roughneck totes on our baggage cart. Now, this is not something we go on vacation with, but travelling to and from boats, is indispensable. First off, they are TUFF! Airlines can very hard on fragile things. Secondly, they have 18 gallons, 72 litres of capacity. A similar suitcase would be $100.00+, thee are $20.00! Now, as you know, the tops come off easily. I drill 4- 1/4 inch holes on the top, and use zip tyes (the wraps) to hold the tops closed. I do not the wrap until it passes the customs X-ray..
Then- I have 2 strips of duct tape on the sides, which I apply after checking the bags through the ticket agent. That gives additional closure while traveling. Then- I apply two strips of duct tape to the top, so the ticket agents can apply the airline tags. They do not stick well to plastic. One last thing, we inventory everything in a tote, and take pictures, put a business card taped to the inside, and one taped to the outside. Pretty well a bomb proof way to travel, and waterproof. Once on the boat, they are used for storage!
This evening we drove to Onekama to visit Steve and Darci, and have dinner together. They are loving the Looper lifestyle, and meeting lots of Looper boats and couples. Balclutha too is looking great, and will be a fantastic vessel for cruising down the rivers this fall. Susan and Inope to meet them in Florida this January. Happy cruising Steve and Darci!
New photos in the gallery.