Breaking and Entering, Minus the Breaking Part (Hopefully)

OK, so along with my many more advantageous dreams, I have a set of less impressive, but still very real, goals in life. One of them was accomplished tonight!

I am the kind of guy who really likes to help people out of jam. If I see an old lady on the side of the road with a flat tire, I stop and help. If someone is lost I’ll try to help him or her find their way. Sometimes however, my desire to help is limited by my knowledge and skill set. For instance, we were waiting in a huge traffic jam a couple months ago, and this car in front of us erupted in a plume of steam and smoke. As she pulled over, I said to Mandy – “I bet that’s her radiator. She’ll need water poured into it so she can keep going, and we’ve got water! (We were on our way home from our kids’ soccer game.) The problem is, I really have no idea what to do with the water, where to put it, or how it works. Fortunately though, a guy who drives a big truck (good sign that he’ll know something about cars, I thought) stopped too. Between his know-how, and my water, Ms Smoky Car was on her way in no time.

One of these types of “spirit is willing, know-how is weak” situations is the keys-locked-in-car dilemma. I have ALWAYS wanted to solve that one. And I have tried many times. This summer we went camping at Ricketts Glen (amazing) with good friends of ours (Nathan and Shannon). It was a great three day camping trip. And the very last thing we did was spend the last morning canoeing on the beautiful moutian lake amongst huge fields of white flowered lilly pads. Amazing.

As we were loading the boats on Nathan’s truck I hear Mandy exclaim, “the keys are in there!” That can’t be good.  Nathan and I tried and tried, but couldn’t get in. And then we called the ranger, and he tried and tried with his instrument he has (slim jim), but couldn’t get in. Then I paid $80 and waited 30 minutes for this tow guy to come and try. He pops out of his truck, grabs this rubber wedge, a mallet, and a stick. In 30 seconds, it was over. Car open. That made me mad! If only I had that rubber wedge, it was so easy!

OK , so that’s way too  long of an intro for this: Tonight, God gave Nathan and I a second chance, and we were resolved not to fail again. My friend Jessica locked her keys in the car tonight, and I sprang at the opportunity. Nathan just happened to be at church with me, so I said – “You ready to try again?” I rummaged through the Latshaw basement and came up with some instruments that I thought resembled the rubber wedge. And I got a hanger.

The wedge worked! But the hanger did not – not strong enough to press the unlock button. So then I tried a stick…it broke…in the car. That’s not helpful. So then Nathan had a brainstorm, as we were combing over a tree looking for a better branch. What about one of those thin sticks we use to show the plow where not to plow? We raced to find one, and yes! We got one! And sure enough, with the right instruments, and a little know-how, the car was unlocked! Victory!

That’s my exciting story for the night. It was very fulfilling to see that door open. Quite a sense of accomplishment. And now I’m considering carrying wood shims (the wedge) and a plow stake in my car for other opportunities to save the day!

Camping!

Well the camping trip is over, but the laundry continues! What a great three days! It really was beautiful up there, and we had such a wonderful time. There were some crazy and difficult moments as well of course, but overall it was a fantastic trip.

I was most amazed by my kids. On the second day we did a 5.5 mile hike over “Very Diffficult” terrain. This hike was a mile walking down very steep steps and trails, and then a mile back up, plus three miles of hiking to get there.  It was long, hard, and exhausting. The adults were all very tired by the end – but the kids were incredible! Even Mathea who is only 4 only complained once that here legs were tired. The rest of the time she bounded up the steps with joy. Elliot was a non-stop social bug, talking to everyone and taking it all in, and Samuel was Mr. Leader. That guy has some serious stamina. He was always pushing ahead. One time I just decided to stop holding him back, and I just let him go … and tried to keep up with him. He and I ended up like a quarter mile ahead of everyone!

It was so much fun – we saw 18 beautiful waterfalls on the hike, ate like kings (who were camping), and had an amazing canoe ride during which we floated through a huge “field” of lilly pads and flowers. Wow.

We also had some challenges :) Our first morning, without much warning, it decided to rain for 2 hours – hard. We weren’t really prepared since the forecast had not called for any rain, so we ended up rushing into our tent with our breakfast! It was fun actually, but then our tent started to leak. And then Nathan and Shannon’s tent REALLY started to leak (flood). 

When the rainstorm was gone, instead of being able to head out for a day of hiking – we had an hour of cleanup. That was a pain. My sleeping bag was never totally dry.

And then, Mandy’s sleeping accommodations. I had worked hard to get two air mattresses, one for her and one for Shannon. I felt like I had done something so great for her! Unfortunately, it did not work at all! It was great when she went to sleep, and then slowly through the night, she sank closer and closer to the ground as it deflated! Frustrating!

And also, Samuel got really hurt on the hike. It was so sad- he flew off the steps of a bridge and nailed his head and back on the ledge. He was in so much pain. We were very worried about him actually. But, after about 20 minutes or so, he was back in the lead. Amazing. He is tough.

Here are some pics – I recommend Ricketts Glen to everyone – it is such a beautiful place!

Going Camping

We are headed to my favorite nature place that I’ve been to on the east coast (so far) – ricketts glen state park. We’ll be camping for three days! So no blogging for a few. I’ll be back with pics and stories soon!