This summer I drove my van with its nice comfortable bed and joined The Wife at Boy Scout camp out in the wilderness. I think I had been there about fifteen minutes when I realized I had locked my keys inside. The Boy Scouts have a program called High Adventure. I don’t think it is similar to trying to get AAA to send a locksmith to the north woods but I think it should qualify. It took all of a day including one amusing moment with the two of us on our cell phones. The locksmith saying “I am driving around in the parking lot and I don’t see anyone” and me “I am standing in the parking lot, there isn’t anyone driving around”. We discovered there are two similarly named scout camps six hundred miles apart.
Eventually we got it all sorted out and I got the joy of sleeping in a tent but ever since that time I have been thinking it would be really handy to have a door key made. Because the van ignition/door key is one of the new chip keys, it is expensive. About $70 I think to have one made. But I just need to be able to get into the vehicle. What can be done is just to make a standard key. I won’t be able to start the van with it but if it is in a magnetic key holder someplace hidden I will be able to unlock the doors. This has been something on my todo list now for months. I tend to think about it as I am driving down the road, or in bed trying to get to sleep at night. I remember thinking about it earlier this week in fact. But, I never get around to stuff.
Tuesday night I drove to the shop where I have been working. I had a couple little things I wanted to work on. I came up with the plan of spending the night there. We have had some sunny days so the solar panels had the batteries charged up real nice. In the morning I would have plenty of power to brew up a nice fresh cup of coffee. Then coffee’d up a bit I would drive the van over to the donut shop by my work and pick up a couple of their great cinnamon rolls to chase my second cup. This all seems so easy, right?
It was really nice rolling out of bed in the morning. I brewed a cup and was sitting in front of the furnace vent. Yeah, I was probably admiring my floor some as well. I happened to think, “I should start the engine.” it was about a twenty one degree day. I leaned up into the cab and fired it up. I was really surprised how little engine noise there is in the back. I really wouldn't have known it was running once the choke open up. …or actually I guess it would have been the computer simulated choke of the electronic ignition.
I sat in the back and enjoyed my coffee and the warmth. But then I started thinking…and that is when things usually start to go wrong. This was no exception.
The night before I was building something with some half inch hardwood plywood. When I was done building, I had ended up with a four inch hunk of scrap. At the time I had just chucked it into the scrap barrel. But now, examining what I had built, I realized that scrap could be cut to form a separator between two parts. I had been thinking I would use some 3/4” —but I wasn't positive I actually had any 3/4”. I reasoned the half inch should do the job since it was hardwood.
But my keys were in the ignition and the van was running. I didn't want to shut the van off and restart it, right? Isn't that bad for the engine or something? I separated my keys rings to pull the token which opens the security door at the shop and left the van key in the ignition of the running van. Y’all can see where this is going right?
A couple other things moved back onto the bed. I was ready to go. I exited via the side door locking it behind me. Of course realizing my mistake nanoseconds later. The van was now locked up, engine running, keys inside.
<sigh>
I had my original key (the one I replaced a few months ago - The Key To Saving Money blog post) hanging from the wall of my cubical. I called for a Lyft to get to my office and back. I suppose maybe 45 minutes round trip. The engine was certainly all warmed up. I am just glad I bought gas the night before. I had sure considered pushing it off until my drive in. I had been really low and I am pretty sure the van would have run out of gas adding another layer of complexity to this cluster.
Of course the real tragedy from this story is I no longer had enough time to get cinnamon rolls.
thinking is always my down fall!!
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