Today has been an interesting day to say the least. If you happened to read my last post, you'd know that I traveled to Washington DC yesterday for training this week. And what happens on the very first day?
A freaking earthquake.
How lovely.
I'm sure some of you felt it as well, but in case you are interested, here's my story:
Shortly after returning from lunch, we were just sitting in class and honestly, I was pretty bored. Usually the first day is bland simply because the instructor is still going over the basics/objectives of the class. As we were in the middle of a discussion, the room started to shake a little...
My first thought was the air conditioning unit was kicking on and it was shaking the ceiling. But it kept going and I even said out-loud, "Is this an earthquake?!" But I was totally joking! It paused for about 2 seconds and my brain was still processing everything. And then the building started really shaking and I FREAKED OUT!
Everybody started screaming and sprinting out the doors. As I was running, I realized I had completely forgotten my purse. Hey, when you think you might die, who cares if you lose your wallet! But of course, I still turned around and debated what to do and fortunately, my co-worker was smart enough to have grabbed it for me! She must think quick on her feet!!
At this point, the shaking had stopped and everyone was evacuating the buildings. There must have been thousands of people in the streets. I figured it was an earthquake, but the rumbling was so loud that it almost seemed like we were being bombed! After all, I was in the nation's capital...a prime spot for attacks. That probably sounds dumb, but my mind just wasn't thinking clearly.
We all stood in the streets for probably a half hour-45 minutes until they started letting people back into the buildings. After being told class was canceled for the rest of the day, we went back to the hotel to cool-down for awhile. Perhaps I'm just a worrier, but I was still scared to be in my hotel building. My room is on the 4th floor...and hasn't anyone heard of after shocks?!
Even though all of the museums/monuments were closed because of the earthquake, we still met in the evening to go sight-seeing. I've been to DC many times, but I still love visiting everything! Here are just a few pictures I took with my iPhone...
In front of the White House
Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall
And lastly, the Washington Monument...with a helicopter.
It was flying SO close up, down, and all around the monument for at least a half hour looking for damage. Apparently there are now cracks at the very top. Crazy!!
So that was my day in a nut-shell...not quite what I was expecting. I can officially cross "experience an earthquake" off my bucket list. (Not that it was ever on there!) I'll take a boring day in class any day over that! Throughout the day, my mind kept thinking about those who were killed, missing, or affected by the recent Japan earthquake...I just can't even imagine.
I hope to have a less exciting/more boring day tomorrow!
Lots of love to you all,
5 comments:
We felt it here in Kentucky!
Glad you are safe and sound- hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly :)
Wow...what an adventurous way to begin your trip! I'm slightly envious that you're in D.C., it's one of my favorite places in all ofthe world and I would almost kill to go back sooner than later. I've only visited once and sadly, I didn't take advantage of all of the historical monuments and museums that the city had to offer. I went as part of a class trip in high school and my main priority was hanging out with my senior classmates...I think I'll regret that forever :/
I hope the rest of your trip remains calm...sans earthquakes, ha! ;) How long are you there for?
This has nothing to do with your post, but you left a comment on my blog and I'm just now getting around to responding to it! Thanks for the encouragement, I appreciate it! Also your blog is SUPER cute! Love the colors! Hope you are safe in DC after that earthquake!
My sisters felt the quake, I don't live in DC anymore so I didn't feel it. But it really was a scary feel so they said, just prayers would see us through.
Happy weekend to you.
Have always wanted to live in DC. Beautiful places to visit. What a crazy time to be there with all the natural disasters, though!
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