Horrible ending to a great weekend

From last Thursday night to last night at about 8pm, Liane and I were having a great time visiting campuses, sights, and friends in the San Francisco area. That all came to an abrupt end last night when we went to return our rental car to the airport and head home.

After visiting Berkeley yesterday, we had several hours to kill before we needed to catch the red-eye from SFO, so we decided to head over to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner. We parked the rental car down by Ghirardelli Square and proceeded to have a great time sampling chocolates, walking along the water, and taking in a delicious meal. When it was about time to go, we jumped back in the car and headed for the airport with plenty of time to spare.

When we stopped for gas, Liane decided to take the opportunity to change into her more comfortable jeans. When she didn't see her clothes bag in the back of the car, she got a little panicked and asked me where her bag was. I told her that we probably just put it in the back seat instead, so she looked there. It wasn't there either. Now I started to get panicked. What happened to her bag? Did we leave it on the sidewalk back in San Francisco? We then realized that not only was her clothes bag gone, but also her backpack was missing! And my laptop bag was nowhere to be found either! Now in full oh-my-God-we-just-got-robbed mode, we were overcome with shock. Both of our laptops? Gone. Her Visa and passport? Gone. The jewelry that her mom got her in Australia? Gone. And the list goes on.

We couldn't take the car into the police, so we will have to file a report today either online or via the phone. Let's hope that homeowner's insurane comes through!

I had never been robbed before, so I had never experienced that feeling of utter helplessness and emptiness. I was sick to my stomach.