A Moving Easter

Easter 2010 in Yuma  was both pleasant and surprising… Pleasant because our  friends Jan and Chuck and Joanne, Chuck’s mom,  included us in their family holiday.  We all had a delicious meal of Jan’s ham and Jerry’s mashed potatoes, topped off with apple pie ala mode.  The friendly meal was much appreciated.  Everyone was smilingly full so why not jump right into The Whole Enchilada.  And so we did.  Actually, there is no food involved.  Jerry and I had three experts teaching us a unique card game that is appropriately named as it builds to a crescendo on the last hand.  Our teachers were very generous with advice, but not necessarily with any allowances for beginners. Pay back is ………right?  After getting our fill of The Whole Enchilada, the girls attacked a jigsaw puzzle and the guys got involved in checking electrical circuits, or whatever it is that they do.    

Then came the surprising piece of the day.  Everything began to rumble and shake around us.  We all looked at each other for some explanation at first.  Was it just some big Arizona wind shaking the motorhome?  No, not this.  There seemed to be quite a bit of time ticking away as we saw Joanne’s car and the motorhome parked across the lot moving side-to-side.  Sure enough, here it was,  my first earthquake.  Wow! That’s the most descriptive word I can come up with for the feelings and thoughts that ran through my head.

Within a few short minutes Chuck had located the information about the earthquake on the USGS website. It occurred at 3:40 p.m. and was centered in Baja California, about 60 miles from where we are currently located.  There are now reported to have been approximately 100 aftershocks.  We felt several in the 15 – 30 minutes after the initial quake.

As I said, this was a moving day.  We’re all safe.  See you down the road.