We'd been promising to take the kids tubing for the last several years, so I booked a wonderful cabin in the mountains, that had a gorgeous view, a hot tub, and bunk beds for the kids. Bonus: Amber could come with us! We were so excited to pack up and go on Friday
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What a gorgeous location! I just love mountain views. We had a beautiful sunset on Friday, and an even more beautiful sunrise the next morning.
Saturday we went tubing, and it was so much fun. There were even "moving sidewalks" to take us back up the slope after we got to the bottom, kind of like flat escalators. Awesome!
That night, stocked up with snacks, hot chocolate, and firewood, we settled in for a cozy few days while a winter storm arrived.
All day Sunday, we had a wonderful, warm time. We finished several puzzles, made s'mores, played chess, watched football, and CC worked on her cross-stitch. Bliss.
Monday morning, with the wind blowing hard and 4-5 inches of snow on the ground, we started to pack up.
"Where's your car key?" asked MJ.
"I always leave it in the center console of the car," I said.
"Well, it's not there," he answered.
"Hmm. It must be in my purse," I guessed.
It wasn't.
"Maybe in my camera bag?"
It wasn't.
"Let's just start packing," I suggested. "I'm sure we'll find it as we pack."
We didn't.
The storm was getting worse. We started to get worried.
We called several locksmiths, who told us they can't replicate this key, because it's a new car and only the Toyota dealership has the technology to do it.
The nearest Toyota dealer -- 30 minutes away -- was closed because of the storm.
Fortunately, the cabin rental company called and told us we were welcome to stay another night, due to the worsening storm.
"The key has to be here somewhere!" I told MJ.
It wasn't.
I figured I must have dropped the key on my way in from the car on Saturday, so I decided to dig out the snow around the car in the hopes of finding it. That's when we realized this mountain cabin had no snow shovels. I am not making this up.
So I bundled up and dug out the area around the car, using only my mittens. I did not find the key.
We were getting desperate. We decided to have the car towed to the dealership in the morning to get a new key. Then we'd be able to drive home.
After a sleepless, stress-filled night, I called the dealership. They were closed again, because of the worsening conditions.
There was now several feet of snow outside.
At that point, we had no choice but to ask someone to bring us our spare key from home. My dad -- bless him -- offered to do it, but it would have been an insane amount of driving. Fortunately, MJ's friend Brett has a 4WD vehicle and was able to come, so while we waited for him to arrive, MJ and I headed out to dig out the car and the very steep driveway. Again, with no shovels.
Sweet Pea was a champ and helped us out the whole time, but it was backbreaking work. She and I used lids from pots and pans, and MJ used a broom. It took us 3+ hours, but we eventually did a pretty darn good job at clearing the way for my car.
The brutal wind and snow finally stopped, and the sun came out. Despite our circumstances, the area was gorgeous, and the kids came out to play in the snow. They built a huge snow fort; took turns jumping off the roof of the playhouse, and made snow angels. I tried very hard to let them enjoy the magic of the moment, and to appreciate the incredible beauty of our location, while I internally had a panic attack about our situation.
Amber came out to frolic in the snow, and in this picture (and the one of Sweet Pea, above) you can see the depth of snow we had to dig through. Have I mentioned that there weren't any snow shovels?
Brett showed up with the spare key, and we figured out pretty quickly that MJ and I had not cleared enough snow. For the next several hours, Brett helped us dig around the car wheels, physically push the car another few feet, then dig again and repeat. Finally we made it to the top of the drive, where the roads were blissfully plowed. And we headed home.
As we drove away, I said many heartfelt prayers of thanks that Brett was willing and able to come rescue us. CC said, "This weekend was so much fun! Can we come back again every winter?"
MJ and I just looked at each other.
I don't think we'll ever see that cabin again.
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