I love how slow my reaction to sudden emergencies is (yes, let’s just play around and consider yesterday’s 5.8 earthquake an emergency). Like any good office worker, I reacted by continuing to stare blankly at the computer screen until a coworker went “Earthquake!!!” and we all giddily ran outside. Nothing really happened though, thank goodness, except stuff getting knocked off onto the floor (both at the office and at our apartment), and a huge crack surfacing in the plaster of the wall above my office desk, sending sprinkles of flakes all over my workspace. Cool.
The other thing that took place afterwards was Pure Commuter Hell. I mean, given the traffic light outages, panicky commuters, government (and other) building evacuations, and the general faults of the DC transportation system, no other outcome could have been possible. I usually commute from McPherson Square Station, but before I even swiped in, I spotted the swarming mass of people crowded on the platform, waiting for the train that won’t take even half of them, and will get them home way later than usual. The entire metro system was crawling at 15 mph due to required inspections for quake damage. Weighing in my options, I decided that anything was better than elbowing my way onto that platform. Anything. My next option was to take a Capital Bikeshare bike to Arlington, but seems like everyone else had the same idea, so there were no bikes to take. My only other option was to walk. Yup, I walked to Virginia after work.
It took me about an hour and 20 mins (with getting the tiniest bit lost a few times), but I eventually found my way to Gravelly Point right outside of Reagan National Airport. That was an ideal place for Joe to pick me up, so I just chilled and watched the planes set over my head (the park is right at the end of one of the airport’s landing strips). Joe joined me in a bit and rescued me. Apart from a completely destroyed heel, thanks to brand new shoes I decided to wear on that day, it was kind of a nice experience. Pictures from Gravelly Point below:
