Home, home, again

Home, home at last.

Carrie, Shane, and I got back late last night from our first family vacation. Carrie's parent were gracious enough to host us for a night and then watch Shaney for the next couple of days while Carrie and I went off from R&R. (That stands for roller coasters and restaurants this vacation!)  We really enjoyed the time off, and Shane really enjoyed some time in a new locale with all sorts of new trouble to get into.

Wednesday, the earthquake hit. It was a 5.8 magnitude shaker than was felt up and down the east coast. People in Canada felt it, and the epicenter was in central Virginia!

I never felt a thing.


Carrie and I must've been on a roller coaster at Busch Gardens when it hit. The first inkling we had that anything had happened was when we walked over to Apollo's Chariot. When we got there, we were told the ride was closed indefinitely. We scratched our heads, but the day was young and there were other coasters to visit, so we made out way over to the Loch Ness Monster. It was closed, too. Another couple in front of us asked an employee why the ride was closed. The employee replied that there had been "some sort of mini-earthquake that was registered and the park had to do a maintenance check before the rides could be reopened." Carrie and I decided to head back to the hotel to check-in and rest while the situation resolved itself.

It was on the way out, we started to hear people talking. By the time we'd gotten to the park exit, we knew most of the pertinent details. On the way to the parking lot, there was an announcement over the park loudspeakers that confirmed what we'd heard.

Earthquake. In Virginia. 5.8 magnitude.

I was still skeptical of the impact of the quake. Carrie was worried. We tried to start calling people we knew, but none of the calls would connect. The networks were busy. Eventually, I was able to get through to my friend, Igor. He told me that there was broken glass in his office building. Later, Carrie got through to her parents. Her father had bolted down the stairs calling for his wife to grab the baby and get outside! Shane thought the whole situation was hilarious. My son was laughing as the walls shook around him (all those times I've shaken his playpen and shouting "Earthquake!" may have influenced his perception of the event). He pooped his britches while Grandpa was holding him, as well.

Other friends of mine have interesting stories of their earthquake experience. Bill was in an elevator. Dan was working next to a high pressure steam furnace that was supposed to be off start to shake and rock. Mom's prayer group raced into the basement, only to have my Dad say "What are you doing! Get outside!" One of my coworkers said it interrupted his nap-time. My brother, Matt, thought it was fun and wanted to do it again.

As for me and my wife, we never felt a damn thing. I'm honestly disappointed. Here was a chance to feel an earthquake that was strong enough to be felt, but not strong enough to be hurt. Make no mistake, I'm not hoping for any aftershocks (I slept through a 4.something magnitude one the next day), but it would've been neat to feel history as it happened.

Carrie and I ended up express mailing a housekey up to my parents to check on our house and cats. There was an unsecured mirror above where the little stinks eat and Carrie was worried enough to suggest driving four hours one way to go check on them (we'd tried adhesive mounts that fell and needed to pound some nails in....we weren't expecting a tremor!). The USPS came through, and mailing the key was much cheaper than the gas and time it would've taken to check ourselves. Thank you so much, Mom!

Some highlights from the rest of the week/vacation.
-Chilly's sale was finalized. Hallelujah!
-We watched The Deathly Hallows part 2 late at night.
-Shane sat-up from his belly for the first time on his own, while we were on the phone with Carrie's mother (on Thursday!)
-Carrie and I visited the Nauticus exhibit in Norfolk and got to walk around the Iowa class battleship USS Missouri.
-After the museum, we went to Doumar's were the first ice cream cones were made! Guy Fieri went there on an episode of "Drive-in's, Diners and Dives" and I happened to remember it was in the VA beach area.
-I had the best burger from Cheeseburger in Paradise and Carrie and her mom provided some great home-cooked meals.
-Hurricane Irene was predicted to smash-up the coastline and traffic on 64 was backed up with people evacuating.
-I talked Carrie into visiting a local gaming store in Newport News with me. Neat place, but they didn't have what I was looking for. I was disappointed that the owner didn't say hi to us and never got up from his chair even when I asked if he knew where something was. A gaming store owner should be passionately nerdy, yet know how to let someone browse with stalking them. This guy was just totally checked out.
-I played my first LOL game in months with Matt, and won! I'm really looking forward to Dominion when it comes out because of the shorter play-time.

I'm going to need to write a post about the horse sale, and about Nauticus later. Shane's 9-month update post is just around the corner, too! Good times, good times....well, except for work starting next week, but that's life.