LOL...thanks Cartman, if I ever find the person or persons I'll be sure to give you a call!  Call me naive, but it was daylight, the streets were deserted, and there were plenty of other cars parked around the area too.  Plus, I wasn't planning on staying long...I just wanted to get something to eat, and it was free.  Ultimately, I paid a lot for that free meal, and in retrospect, deserted streets are just what these guys like...no witnesses.

I only stayed about an hour or so, and it was still light out when I left.  When I got in my truck, I glanced back to where I had my bag hidden under the towel, and the towel was there, but the bag was gone.  Nothing else was taken, although they did leave my armrest console open.  At this stage of the game I'm assuming someone saw me make the transfer of the bag to the backseat floor and then cover it up.  Dummy me, I was so brazen as to walk back and forth a few steps to see if I could see it.  Hello Mr. Hindsight...are you listening?  I also assume this person had some sort of device to disable remote locks, because that's what I locked it with when I left.  Of course, since this is the first vehicle I've ever had that has keyless entry, the fact that they can do this was lost upon me.  Another lesson learned.

Fortunately, I had it all on my insurance coverage and it looks like I will be getting a reimbursement, but that will be after my $1,000 deductible.  I did file a police report some two and a half hours later when the police finally showed.  My insurance agent told me yesterday that there's no way I won't be covered for this, so I took that to heart and shopped for some new stuff, so I'm feeling much better today. 

In fact, I'm replacing my two stolen cameras with a single new one, a Canon 60D.  I also ordered the same large lens that I had, the Canon 100-400mm, and got a nice short lens too, a 15-85mm.  With luck, most of my new stuff will arrive over the next two days (I qualified for free two day shipping!) and I should be road testing the new gear as soon as tomorrow.

I can't tell you how upset I was at the outset of this, and even though it still smarts, I'm thankful I had the foresight to insure the equipment.  It took me years to accumulate and only seconds for it to all disappear.  Of course I lost all the photos from the day...(I couldn't wait to get home to work on my very first shots of an Osprey in flight) and I also lost photos from my niece's 17th birthday party taken the day before.  Also gone are my aviation scanner and telephone/appointment book, and several other things, but my Sportage wasn't damaged and I wasn't hurt, so it could have been worse.

By the way, I learned about that homeless shelter after the fact.  There was a nice gentleman who stopped when he saw us looking through the garbage cans and plants and shrubs and said that he would bet it was at the shelter, but when I mentioned it to the officer, he said "no way."

So, even though it sucked when it happened, and it feels absolutely strange sitting here knowing there isn't a single operative camera in the house, there is a silver lining in this.  For one thing, I'm getting new stuff, and for another thing, the loser who did this is now stuck with some well worn equipment that was already starting to act up on me.  So there!

I have to thank all of you again who supported me through this with your thoughts, well wishes, assistance offered and assistance taken.  Sure, they were just material things, but they were MY material things and I did indeed work hard to get them.  But things are looking up, and I'm actually excited about getting my new stuff!  I can't wait to see what this camera can do!

Thanks again, everyone...you all ROCK!