Our Midwestern month has come to an end, and we are back in the unseasonably cool weather of the East Coast. It was a wonderful month, full of time with family and friends. But the last week stands out with 3 rather jarring events.
Yes, Dave felt the earthquake.
The girls and I were still in Chicago, when we received a call from the United States government. Dave called from his office phone to tell us he was alright, before we even realized what had happened. Apparently the first few seconds were scary - when the State Department begins shaking, the first thought is a bomb rather than an earthquake. Looking out the window, he said he could see a retaining wall moving like waves on the ocean - after that, everyone calmed down and enjoyed the ride. The pictures on our walls were crooked when I got home, but no other damage.
We just missed Hurricane Irene.
We missed it by a few hours. We left Chicago on Saturday morning, camped outside Cleveland on Saturday night, and drove the rest of the way on Sunday. Apparently power went out throughout most of Northern Virginia around 9pm on Saturday night and was restored to our area by Sunday morning. When we drove through on Sunday afternoon, we had to search to find evidence of the storm. Our house fared just fine - even the beachball and inflatable pool we had left in the backyard.
But we did succumb to a nasty stomach bug. While camping.
It was ugly. I started feeling queasy before dinner. I limited myself to chicken soup and bread, but still felt queasy after dinner. I chalked it up to the junk food we'd been eating for the last few days. By 10:00 or so, I could no longer blame the food. And by midnight, I had lost most of the contents of my body. The nearest bathroom was a 5 minute walk away from our beautifully isolated campsite - and didn't flush.
It hit Lilly around 1:30am, before it even woke her up - leaving a disgusting mess all over her sleeping bag, the tent, and her hair. Poor child. She stood shaking in the chilly night air, nightshirt peeled off, while I tried to rinse her hair from a water bottle.
By 3:00am we had cleaned up, broken down the tent, and moved to a nearby hotel. Dave held it together until the girls were snug in bed, and then it hit him. He and Lilly were up every hour or so for the rest of the night.
He seems to have recovered by Sunday evening. Lilly still has very little energy, and I'm also a bit off. Luckily, Sophia missed it entirely.
But it has rather put me off of camping for a while.
Yes, Dave felt the earthquake.
The girls and I were still in Chicago, when we received a call from the United States government. Dave called from his office phone to tell us he was alright, before we even realized what had happened. Apparently the first few seconds were scary - when the State Department begins shaking, the first thought is a bomb rather than an earthquake. Looking out the window, he said he could see a retaining wall moving like waves on the ocean - after that, everyone calmed down and enjoyed the ride. The pictures on our walls were crooked when I got home, but no other damage.
We just missed Hurricane Irene.
We missed it by a few hours. We left Chicago on Saturday morning, camped outside Cleveland on Saturday night, and drove the rest of the way on Sunday. Apparently power went out throughout most of Northern Virginia around 9pm on Saturday night and was restored to our area by Sunday morning. When we drove through on Sunday afternoon, we had to search to find evidence of the storm. Our house fared just fine - even the beachball and inflatable pool we had left in the backyard.
But we did succumb to a nasty stomach bug. While camping.
It was ugly. I started feeling queasy before dinner. I limited myself to chicken soup and bread, but still felt queasy after dinner. I chalked it up to the junk food we'd been eating for the last few days. By 10:00 or so, I could no longer blame the food. And by midnight, I had lost most of the contents of my body. The nearest bathroom was a 5 minute walk away from our beautifully isolated campsite - and didn't flush.
It hit Lilly around 1:30am, before it even woke her up - leaving a disgusting mess all over her sleeping bag, the tent, and her hair. Poor child. She stood shaking in the chilly night air, nightshirt peeled off, while I tried to rinse her hair from a water bottle.
By 3:00am we had cleaned up, broken down the tent, and moved to a nearby hotel. Dave held it together until the girls were snug in bed, and then it hit him. He and Lilly were up every hour or so for the rest of the night.
He seems to have recovered by Sunday evening. Lilly still has very little energy, and I'm also a bit off. Luckily, Sophia missed it entirely.
But it has rather put me off of camping for a while.
No comments:
Post a Comment