Part II - Locked Out!

Last week I shared with you the story of Mason "walking away from home." That same day after delivering Mason to the Boys & Girls Club (where he would have been had we not had plans to go to LegoLand), Dave and I decided to take a drive up to Lake Tahoe and have lunch. The plan was to just spend the day together and drive home via highway 89 to 88 and back home on highway 49. We had a lovely time on our way to Lake Tahoe, we had a hamburger for lunch and then got back on the road for the scenic trip home knowing we had to be back to pick Mason up by 6 PM.

Other than some road work that had us sitting and waiting a few times, the drive was uneventful until we reached the summit and Caples Lake near Kirkwood. As we were getting out to go walk around the lake, I asked Dave to lock the car. He said, "Nah, we won't be here that long." I noted that I wanted to leave my purse in the car so as I got out of the car and Dave was already out, I hit the lock button and closed the door. The look of horror on Dave's face said it all! Not only was Dave not worried about my purse, but he left the keys in the car as well. He was thinking that we were going to walk 30 feet to the waters edge, and there was nearly nobody at the lake, so no big deal. NOT! I had my camera and thankfully Dave had his phone on his hip. I suggested he call USAA and he said it would take way too long and we immediately realized that the sunroof was popped up. We tried everything we could think of, we found sticks that we thought might be long and strong enough to hit the button to unlock the doors. Nope. The buttons require we pull them down, not push them up and with the access through the small space of the sunroof, we had no leverage the angle was all wrong, too.

Not long into our crisis, another couple pulled in dealing with a situation of their own. They had a tire that was nearly flat and they had hooked up a mini compressor to inflate it. I was sure if we had a wire hanger, we could get in the car. My thought was the flexibility and strength of a hanger may be able to pull the release on the lock or possibly hook the handle to actually open the door from the inside. The young man inflating his tire offered to call AAA for us and also offered to drive Dave to a local boat rental shop (that was ready to close - they knew because they had just stopped there themselves) to see if they had a hanger - they did! Dave finally called USAA and the estimated time of arrival for a tow truck was over 2 hours. This hanger was our only hope.

Dave tried to slide the hanger in under the window, he attempted to go in through the sunroof but nothing was working and that's when I had an idea. I climbed up on top of the car and on my belly I attempted to reach with the hanger into the car and hook my purse that was on the passenger side floor. Dave said, "No way. The hanger is not strong nor long enough." He was right about it not being long enough so I told him I needed a string. I asked him to take the neck strap off my camera and hand it to me. He handed me the camera strap and asked, "Who do you think you are, McGyver?" I tied the strap to the hanger, wedged my hands in under the sunroof as far as they would go and went fishing. Dave guided me noting that not only might this work, but all the other teams had left and we were now in last place, to which I replied, "Let's just hope this is not an elimination round."* as I hooked my purse and slowly lifted it up, up, up and it dropped! I hooked my purse again and this time I got it all the way up to my hands where I could grab the handles and get inside. Dave was nervously chanting, "Don't drop it, don't drop it." My hands were falling asleep and I couldn't find my keys in the bag. I pulled it through the small space as much as I could and in the end, I ripped that purse to shreds but finally grabbed the car keys and we got in the car. The couple who helped us out stayed and shared a picnic saying they just had to see if my plans were going to work.

I was able to call and arrange for Heather to pick up Mason and by the time our adventure was all said and done, we had stuck together, kept our cool and most importantly, kept our sense of humor. The reference to other teams and an elimination round was referring to the reality television program The Amazing Race. Based on the events of this day starting with Mason walking away from home, I would say Dave and I have what it takes to win the million dollars. We finally arrived home sometime near midnight and the bruises on my forearms have finally faded. To say it was a day to remember would be a understatement and ladies, it has not gone unnoticed that when I suggested we call USAA it didn't happen but when the young man offered to call AAA, Dave noted that calling road service might be a good idea. So typical! :)