In our first week, the fire alarm went off at 5:00 in the morning. We were exhausted and Addie was terrified...the sirens have never sounded so loud as we tried to protect Addie's 7 week-old ears. We debated whether or not to evacuate like a good citizen should, and I think that if we didn't have Adalyne, we totally would have gone back to bed. But you can't quiet that little thought that you are putting your child in danger by ignoring the warning, so we went out into the chilly night. We were out there for at least an hour and I had to nurse Addie in the company car since she had woken up and was fussing. In the end, we were told that someone had burnt toast. Wahaaat??? Oh my. Back to bed.
The next night, it happened again, only at 3 am. I could have smashed the alarm in the room I was so tired and frustrated. Addie was startled awake, AGAIN, and this time we seriously pondered staying inside, feeling that it was another false alarm. But again, with Addie, we had to go. This time it was colder and we were outside even longer only to be told that it was indeed a false alarm and that the fire crew couldn't figure out what had set it off. I spoke with other hotel guests and apparently this has happened every year about the same time when they stayed there for a conference. GREAT. They said the last time it happened three times...thankfully, it remained at two.
Within a few days, Jon was in New York City for a job site tour on the World Trade Center when an earthquake hit the Washington DC area. He felt it and thought it was a subway or something...haha. First earthquake experience, ever. Thankfully there was no damage in New York and he only felt a small movement.
Five days later we were in the middle of one of the worst hurricane storms to hit the East Coast, Hurricane Irene. Thankfully, we didn't feel a thing. In fact, we slept right through it and didn't even notice the strong winds. BUT...we awoke to no power and by the evening, we learned that due to flooding we would be without power for three days.
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| Flooding in Pearl River, NY near where we stayed. |
But we are SO grateful that we were safe and well taken care of. Our county was one of the few that was hardly hit. Just five minutes away, there was severe flooding and damage. The ward we attended in NJ was incredible...the area authorities asked the wards in the East Coast area to only hold a 30 minute Sacrament meeting early in the morning and then go help the victims. They did this for over a month every Saturday and Sunday! The Saints were amazing and the stories they brought back to Church the next week were incredible and incredibly sad.
We belong to such an amazing Church and I loved seeing the influence for good this opportunity provided.
Hopefully, we've had our share of disasters for a little while...I think the only one we're in danger of in Chandler is drought. Phew!
Episode Five: Hilton Hotel Living
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