The 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Skinny Dip at Park City Mountain Resort
Some people have a propensity for making a lot of money.
Others for being great with kids.
Mine is for repeatedly getting locked out in precarious situations.
With the kids. And without any money.
My family just returned from a ski trip to Utah. I am a proud contributor to Park City Mountain Resort’s new social media site, Snowmamas and Marketing Director Krista Parry pulled all the stops with showing us a great time. Hitting the slopes is a lifestyle that affords itself all kinds of pleasures and for us those included two days on the mountain, a daughter in ski school, a son in childcare, riding the alpine-coaster and fine-dining at Zoom and Butcher’s Chop House & Bar. (Read my official write-up here.)
We stayed in a beautiful two-bedroom Town Lift Condominium. Our accommodations had all the luxuries of home with one huge bonus: a private hot tub on the deck. After hitting the slopes each evening, we would soak our bodies as we overlooked the pulse of Park City’s Historic District.
On one such night, we had been in the hot tub for about an hour when we decided to turn in for the night. My chivalrous husband Jamie hopped out of the tub to grab our towels inside. Or at least he tried–he turned the knob to the door and nothing happened. After a chilly 5-second investigation, he surmised that the door was unlocked but the handle was loose and practically falling off its hinges. He jumped back in the hot tub to warm up before repeating his attempt multiple times.
Nada.
So, there we were: roasting in the hot tub with two little kids and no apparent way to get back into our room. Realizing the situation could quickly turn dire, I called down to a pedestrian on Main Street. He obligingly went to the condo’s lobby and had a staff member come out to assist us.
Kind of.
The staffer told us he would grab the key to our condo and let us back in. And then we waited. And waited. And waited. After about 15 minutes, I knew something was wrong. This was confirmed when the staffer stuck his head out the window of the neighboring condo.
“The door is locked,” he yelled.
No duh. Isn’t that what the hotel’s master key is for?
“I’m not talking about the dead bolt,” he expounded. “Someone put the chain on the door so we have no way to get in.”
That “someone” was me. And my little attempt at safety had proved to be quite the opposite.
I envisioned the fire department racing to the scene and a crowd gathering around snapping pictures as we were rescued from our second-floor entrapment. Our exposé would be included in the local newspaper and I would be infamous…in my bathing suit.
Not exactly Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition worthy.
Just as I was starting to have a panic attack, my faithful 4-year-old daughter suggested she say a prayer. Shortly after she explained her mother’s incompetency to The Man Upstairs, the staffer was able to break into the condo.
Despite all the drama, it could have been worse. Later that night after the kids had gone to bed, Jamie and I were surreptitiously planning a little skinny dip of our own.
Talk about front-page exposés.
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Lol! Well at least you had not been skinny dipping. You need to permanently fasten your keys to yourself every time you leave the room.
SO glad that wasn’t me, I would have totally panicked.
Oh, that is So funny! Glad you got back inside without having the fire department come.
SOme of the adventures you get to have… lol… glad you all got back in before it was a bad situation…. what a great job she did with her prayer.. since it all worked out… =)
Tyfs!!!
I found myself laughing once again at this hilarious story. And to think this happened less than two hours after you told me the story of Costa Rica. Always up for an adventure!
LOL you make me laugh…how you get yourself into these situations I’ll never know!!
It sounds like an episode on some rather funny sitcom-but of course on TV they would’ve been skinny dipping!!! You seriously should start selling your life stories to tv writers. You can’t make up stuff this funny!
I hate it when that happens!
I just locked myself out of the church the other day.
Thank goodness I had on clothes!
As always–HILARIOUS, but like you said, it could have been A WHOLE LOT WORSE!!!!
hehehe…well at least I wasn’t only one in a precarious not-so-glamous situation this weekend. lol
And here I thought that you were skinny dipping.
Oh no!! I’ve always heard that it’s best to stick with what you know…but your talent seems to keep getting you in trouble!
I’m glad you were rescued without the aid of firefighters and the paparazzi. 
A private! Hot tub! Swoon. No wonder you were tempted to skinny dip. That would have been an even better story for your blog.
I think this is the second locked out of your hotel room adventure I’ve read on your blog. How funny! I think you should start wearing those key holders around your neck
It doesn’t go well with bathing suits, but it’s better than being in distress while scantily clad.
My kids can always fall back on cat burglary if we can’t afford college. After all the times I’ve had to throw them through a window to unlock the door after locking us out, they know all the ins and outs of getting into a place.
Hilarous! You were like sitting ducks…well, roasting sitting ducks.
I love your writing. Amazing.
Very fun! I’d bet H wasn’t the only one praying !!!!!!
Oh my goodness!!! lol That is so something that would happen to me! lol
you have the most incredible luck! As it happens, I might have been driving past on the highway- not that I would have heard you- but still.
You couldn’t make this stuff up.
This is a classic!
My cousin found himself locked out of his home and it was about 1 am and -40f. He’d sent the cab driver away and was locked out of the house with no coat, no mitts, not boots. Just a tux and dress shoes. The nearest neighbours are about 3 miles away.
He’d given his keys to a sober friend and cabbed it. He wasn’t worried about getting into the house as his parents always beat him home.
Not this night …
He had to strip to his underwear and get in the hottub to keep from freezing to death. His mom and dad rolled in about 4 am to find him very wrinkled and rather desperate.
I LOVE this story. It’s precisely something I would do, my travel twin, in my excitement about being both safe and luxurious and having fun with my children… I’m glad it all turned out all right!
Very funny…believe it or not, have been there. Same story except we were on a patio on the 30th floor in our bathrobes in Bangkok in 90 degree heat. My husband, the ever safety guru, had also put on the chain. Too funny. I still tell that one.
Great writing. Best, Hilary
mommynmartinimommynmilk.blogspot.com
how do these things keep happening to you? did you leave the door OPEN while you and jamie were out there the second time… with no clothes on! =)
Maybe it’s a mountain thing? This is twice in the mountains that you guys have been locked out.
Glad everyone is okay.
Naturally!
Too funny, Amber! At least you got a good story out of it. If you’re looking for more chances for fun, check out our blog for Portland outdoor fun:
http://www.pdxfamilyadventures.com/.