"I am now used to hearing loud booms and having my windows shake and rattle throughout the day. The first time I heard the artillery from base, I jumped up yelling "EARTHQUAKE"...Then I remembered we weren't in California anymore..."
Well... this week I learned that EARTHQUAKES ARE POSSIBLE! And when in doubt....DUCK AND COVER!
Wednesday morning, I could hear the boys blowing stuff up on base as usual, so when the rumbling started from the earthquake, it didn't startle me. However, as the rumbling and shaking continued and intensified, I grabbed the nearest "weapons" to me (a broom and a can of Raid) and braced myself to confront whoever was charging down my staircase. My adrenaline was pumping as I readied myself to confront this assailant. When no one appeared at the bottom of the staircase, I started to realize that this may not be artillery training from base OR an intruder. There I stood, dumb-struck, with a broom in one hand and my Raid-pepper-spray in the other, watching the kitchen chandelier sway over head...What the heck is going on I asked myself? I finally decided, whether it be an intruder or reverberations from base, I was getting the HECK out of this creepy house! I dropped my lethal weapons, swooped up my howling pup, and ran outside. I then noticed a few of my neighbors also were out on their front porches. When the shaking subsided, I went back inside and started googling earthquakes... it couldn't possibly be, could it? My internet searches didn't produce any information. Now, thoroughly perplexed, I flipped through every news channel....NOTHING! Finally I came to my senses, and checked facebook. People started posting about the 5.9 earthquake that rocked VA. Where were they getting this information when I couldn't find it on the news or internet?!?!??! Thank goodness for FACEBOOK, the only reliable and up-to-date information source :)
Turns out, we did experience a 5.9 earthquake. It was centered just SW of us in an area called Mineral, VA. However, you wouldn't know it based on the news coverage. I was so frustrated as I watched the evacuations taking place in D.C. (nearly an hour further from the epicenter than us) and NYC (over 5 hours and 300 miles away from the epicenter). Instead of focusing on the damage and destruction done to this small town of Mineral Virginia, they were interviewing people who "felt" it in Rhode Island and Ohio!!!! I was so annoyed at the news stations at that moment, such drama and no information!
Thank goodness nothing was too damaged here, especially considering I stood there during most of the earthquake like a helpless idiot, watching the windows shake and chandelier sway overhead. One of my girlfriends did have minor water damage as their water heater pipe broke and flooded their downstairs carpet. Apparently, Target had some issues as well:
After I realized we did in fact encounter an earthquake, my first thought was JORDAN and the 1950s buildings on base, one of which he was probably trapped in. Apparently when the earthquake hit, Jordan and a few of the other California guys sprung out of their seats and sprinted outside. They were not going to go down with these ancient, condemned buildings! Our cell phones were utterly worthless after the earthquake. No one could make a call, send or receive a text message. Finally, one of the wives received word (through facebook-since the phones were still jammed) that the barracks were still standing, and all was okay at Camp Barrett. Once again, facebook saves the day ;) .
It was quite entertaining hearing all my non-Californian friends' accounts of their first earthquake experiences. Most reported being scared out of their minds and not knowing what to do. Obviously, duck-and-cover or running to a doorway are the first things that come to my mind, if in fact I realize I am experiencing an earthquake, but not everyone had school earthquake drills every year and emergency family plans growing up. Some girls jumped into their bathtubs, as they would do in the case of a tornado; however, I am not really sure if that would have helped during an earthquake or not! My friend Amy was at the gym on base and almost fell off the elliptical as it started swaying back and forth and tiles started falling from the ceiling. She thought WWIII had started, and the Quantico base was being bombed! All in all we survived, and it made for quite a few laughs.
Now that we have survived one natural disaster, we are bracing for a second in the same week. Hurricane Irene will be passing by us this weekend. Jordan and I are calling it our dress-rehearsal for Florida.
It appears that we will be right outside the danger zone (we are in the Woodbridge/Fredericksburg areas on the map), and can expect heavy rains, winds of approx 40 mph, probably some downed trees, power lines, and therefore power outages. So I headed to the store to stock up on bottled water, beef jerky, flashlights, board games, beer, and more! We are ready!!!
In all seriousness, I am a bit worried about this bendy-lookin tree:
I may convince Jordan to move a mattress to the basement if the winds get too strong. That tree looks like it is ready to slingshot into our bedroom! So come Monday when the storm has passed, we will see how prepared we are for Florida.
And on that note....some exciting news. Jordan has gotten orders to report to Florida October 30th! He graduates from TBS at the end of September, so we only have a month of wait-time. This is such great news considering we have known people in the past that have had to wait 6 months to a year before reporting to flight school, because of over-crowding. So, granted we don't have any other crazy natural disasters before then, Florida here we come!!!!!
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