Hurricanes and Earthquakes

When I began this post, earlier today, the title was "Hurricane Irene" but after an eventful afternoon, I changed the title to "Hurricanes and Earthquakes." 


It's hurricane season in Florida... yawn. Ever since I moved to Florida, nearly 6 years ago, we've been spared from several tropical storms and hurricanes. We have had some epic storms, but nothing close to a hurricane. I'm thankful that we don't need to worry about preparing for a hurricane, but it would figure that Hurricane Irene would bypass Florida and head up the east coast toward Maryland. Luckily, it's only supposed to be a Category 1 when it passes over Maryland, but I'm certain it will cause flooding galore. Here's to hoping the sump pump in my dad's basement is efficient! 


Now, about the earthquake that rocked the east coast this afternoon... My mom and I planned a trip to the Maryland Zoo with Bella for this afternoon. The weather was absolutely beautiful, sunny and mild, and almost no clouds in the sky. We walked through the children's zoo and decided to treat Bella to a ride on the train. We purchased our tickets and were patiently waiting for the arrival of the next train. We sat on the ground, heard the train "choo-chooing" and commented that the arrival of the train shook the train station. We weren't far from the chimpanzee exhibit and we heard the chimps hooting and hollering, which isn't out of the ordinary when one is at the zoo. When the train emptied, we handed over our tickets and boarded the train. A few moments later, we were asked to get off the train because there had been an earthquake. 


An earthquake?!? WTF?!? Haha, very funny... but very true. I checked my phone and sure enough, Facebook posts confirmed there was an earthquake in Mineral, Virginia, which is about 140 miles from Baltimore. The earthquake was a magnitude 5.8 on the Richter scale! I tried to call Ian, but the call wouldn't go through, so I sent him a text message. I asked him if he felt the earthquake and he replied, "Oh, that's what that was? The dogs were pissed." Thankfully, there wasn't any noticeable damage at the zoo and we were able to continue with our visit. Knowing that everyone was safe, it was funny to hear people's different accounts on their experience during the earthquake. 


So needless to say, after an eventful day, we're all exhausted. Hopefully we don't experience any aftershocks or any other natural disasters for that matter. Never in my life did I think I would experience a earthquake, let alone an earthquake in Maryland. I suppose I can cross that off my list of unique life experiences. 


Love always,
Ian, Kim & Bella