The Incredibles!

Add this to our list of dumb things we've done: Last night we locked ourselves out of our Airstream. Robert was preparing dinner, homemade meatballs and spaghetti and had shooed us away like all good cooks (after I had to give him tips on how to make meatballs.) The trailer was steamy and fragrant with his blossoming creation. I could no longer see into the fogged windows. When he emerged to announce dinner, he pulled the door shut. It locked. Or the lock was set and it just caught the latch. We don't know. And worse, both sets of keys were in the trailer.

We considered all the possible ways to get back in. Which window would be the least expensive to replace? What possible orifice could a human pass through? There has to be a way. I suggested going in through the storage compartment in the back. We would have to squeeze in and remove the back panel to the bed platform. But that task looked improbable. The bed on the other side would be heavy to lift and we'd have little leverage. Plus we'd probably tear things up. We had some things in our favor: We had a spare ignition key to hidden on the Tahoe. My laptop and phone were in there. We could call a locksmith though it might be morning before one could come, if there were any in the area. Best of all, we were parked outside Grant and Joanne's cabin and we'd cleverly spied where Grant hid the house key.

But, waaaahhh, we want in our trailer. ME: There's dinner in there!" ALLISON: "My Webkinz are in there!" ROBERT: "There's beer in there!" WE"RE GOING IN!

Being the smaller adult I stuffed myself into the storage compartment and commenced to removing the rows of screws so intensively implanted there by high speed factory drills, no doubt. Anyone thinking this would be a simple route to break into an Airstream be forewarned: IT"S NOT! After the first three or four screws I was re-thinking the hijacked cabin as a cozy possibility, but I'm a trouper so I carried on. Allison fretted and worried for me and Robert spoke silly encouragements. With three more screws to go I begged him to finish the job. He stuffed what he could of his torso into the compartment and began work. When the screws were removed there was still the plywood separating the compartment from the interior to unwedge. Finally, when he managed enough space we called for Allison. Someone small was needed to squeeze through. She was in within seconds and running the seven or eight steps to the door. After some encouragement on how to manage open the lock, she let us in.

Cheers! What teamwork! We were as proud as thieves after the heist. Dinner was served and we all got to sleep in our own beds. That is, after Robert reassembled ours and reattached the plywood partition. How he managed, I don't know. By then, Allie and I were on to other things. Apparently, he was feeling so giddy from our success and the savings of hundreds of dollars in locksmith fees that he suddenly grew svelte and agile. He-he.

By the way, his meatballs and spaghetti was divine!