Seattle, Part 2: Friends and "Fam"

It took me a week and a half (thanks to Mother Nature's one-two punch to the East Coast), but here is part two of our Seattle trip!

We went to Seattle because one of my very best childhood friends, Maitha, got married (more on the beautiful wedding later)! It was so cool to have a group of our middle and high school friends all together again after moving different places (well, okay, I didn't move away... but most of the rest of them have). The wedding was held in the groom's hometown so we got to meet a bunch of Andreas' friends and a lot of his family as well. We spent an entire week in Seattle and when we left we felt like we had a new family and some great new great friends. We all had so much fun together that it was hard to say goodbye!

Part three, the beautiful wedding, is coming!

Irene, You Crazy.

Hey, Mother Nature. You got some beef with the East Coast?

Well, I kinda love you but you made it hard to do this week.

First an earthquake and then a hurricane?

I shouldn't complain. We didn't get hurt and our families are safe.

And now we have pre-made water bottles thanks to me filling every single one we own. 

And cookies from my mother-in-law.

And chile verde from my pop.

Some were not so lucky though.

My heart goes out to those who Irene hit hard.

Photo of Irene vacating the area and leaving a gorgeous day in her wake on Sunday.

Earthquake in VA

We're fine, home safe, and only my shampoo and our waffle iron suffered from the quake.

As earthquakes go, this didn't cause major damage. I've seen a lot of humor, joking, and mocking - which I understand and have laughed at - but I've also seen some fear. Some people had flashbacks to 9/11 today. I know it's true in D.C. and I'm sure it's true of NYC as well. Most people around here aren't accustomed to earthquakes but we do know that we're in our nation's capital and it's always a potential target for terrorism. When things shake around here, most people's first reaction isn't "earthquake" but rather "bomb." I think not knowing initially what was shaking the ground made people extra freaked out. At first I was offended by people mocking us East Coasters - between the uncertainty and not being able to get in touch with family for over an hour I felt like I was going a little crazy. In the end, I think the humor helped me get over it. RIP waffle iron.

One scary bit of info about the earthquake still remains though: After the disaster in Japan a few months ago, Jason and I did a little research about Lake Anna's nuclear power plant since we spend a lot of time down there each year. We learned that it's the 7th most at-risk nuclear power plant for earthquake damage in the US (out of 100+ plants) and was only built to withstand a magnitude of 5.9 – 6.1. Today's earthquake was a 5.8 and the epicenter was a mere few miles from the plant. That's a little too close for comfort if you ask me. Maybe we should work on fixing the plants so they're a little more earthquake-ready? Yeah?