(This is the view from Belvedere Point. Way higher and farther from the water than necessary. When we had talked to the manager the night before, he had said worse-case-scenario, we would have to go up the resort driveway to the road.)
In the lobby, the manager makes an announcement that a tsunami is expected to hit about 6:00 a.m. and that all guests must go to the restaurant area. They don’t specifically say it, but we get the impression that it’s more precautionary than anything else, although some guests are starting to look very nervous. (Apparently, they didn’t have the luxury of a prealarm freakoutlike I had!)
We are actually allowed to go back to the room where we stow our luggage as far up in the closet as possible (just in case). We pack all our valuable electronics and some books and stuff in our backpacks (I still haven’t realized I’m not wearing any underwear) and head to the restaurant.
The next several hours are…well…pretty boring. I stare at the water, trying to detect any kind of measurable change, for so long that my eyes start to hurt. The resort staff gets the breakfast buffet ready as quickly as they can given that it’s still early enough that breakfast wouldn’t have normally started yet.
(That stuff sticking out of the water to the right of the palm tree is the coral that normally is under water. That was our only visual cue that we were in the middle of a tsunami.)
By about 9:30 a.m. the warning was over and we all got to go about our day in tropical paradise (and I finally get to put on some underwear!). So, like I said in the last post, it was a lot of build-up with little payoff thankfully. I’m okay with having experienced a tsunami measured in inches instead of feet.
But there are still a lot of people suffering from the aftereffects of the earthquake in Japan. And that is why I’ve decided to donate $1 to the Red Crossfor every person who comments on this blog post (up to $100). Thanks in advance to everyone who comments…I really hope to reach the maximum!
Great idea Katie – I hope you get lots of traffic and reach your goal. In fact, I may send out a few e-mails with a link to your blog…
Nothing like going commando during an emergency!
Underwear should ALWAYS be optional! Good work KT and good luck!
That's great that you're doing this. I hope you reach 100 comments.
What a wonderful cause!!!! Here is my $1. Can't wait to see you in the Poconos too!!!!
Oh those self proclaimed geologists… Of all the areas of fake expertise they could have chosen they went with geologist. What a poor fake career choice.
So glad you are safe, but what a thrilling story to tell your child someday! Every time he/she comes home with a scraped knee or hurt feelings, you'll be able to say, "Kid, you survived a tsunami-you can survive this."
Maybe leave out the part about the underpants. Kids tend to get a little queasy when their mom talks about her underpants in any way.
Good luck reaching 100 posts!
Judy
Came over here from Kim Sabatini's blog. Commenting for the cause!
Thanks to everyone who commented!
I just knew that people would latch onto the whole underwear thing…at least I wasn't caught wearing dirty underwear.
Incredible! Thanks for doing this.
Sounds like it was a scary experience, even if it all turned out ok in the end. Glad you're safe. Thanks for sharing your story. Hope you get 100 comments!
Wow, what an experience! Glad you're safe!
What an amazing experience! Good luck with this.
Thanks, Katie! My thoughts are with Japan…
-Diana (bb'er)
Thanks again everyone! I'm keeping the commenting period open for a little while longer, so keep sending people my way please.
I was a little worried when your dad woke me up and told me there was a tsunami heading your way. So what's a mother to do? I went back to bed for my beauty sleep. Although, I was relieved when I got your e-mail and knew that you were safe.
This is awesome, Katie! Glad you manage to escape disaster and praying for Japan in the days to come.
Oh yeah…Go Commando, baby!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented and give you an update. I ended up rounding up and donated $25.