Clear Skies... Sunny... With a Slight Breeze...

Alternate Title: That Time Irene Came to Visit

My East coast adventures have allowed me to experience a lot. I've now driven in and know my way around most of the major cities in the US. I've met some pretty cool people and ate some amazing food. I've gained a greater testimony of  Heavenly Father's love, Jesus Christ's Atonement, and the truthfulness of the gospel. I've become a pretty adept operative and even won a few races. I have come to love the person that I am and, most days, I'm happy to be here being me.

In all of that... I've also experienced some pretty amazing weather over the past couple of years too.

I experienced a Nor'easter in Boston and my first white out. This came after my first New England Fall and seeing leaves in colors and tones that I didn't think were possible on earth. I experienced the fog of San Francisco and trying to get around that city. I sweated out 1/3 of my body weight in the summer humidity in Iowa. I had already experienced, but gained a greater understanding of Arizona Monsoons and dust storms. In case the Nor'easter wasn't enough I got snowed in not once, not twice, but 3 times in the winter of 2009-2010 with historic snowfall all around Virginia and DC. I had trees fall on my house and fence when lightning struck in DC. There've have been plenty of days at the beach - bundled up for a New England clam bake, basking in the sun of the Outer Banks, and even a brief glimpse in Florida in 09. I've experienced the beauty of the cherry blossoms in DC at peak bloom in the Spring. All of that with plenty of sunny days in between.

Up until this week... that was already a fairly impressive list. I thought I had gotten a robust weather experience and, for the most part, held my own when it comes to self reliance. That was until this week. I'm still holding my own, but that list has grown in ways that I wasn't expecting.

Tuesday was primary day here in Virginia. I was standing outside of polling places gathering petition signatures for my presidential candidate. (If you don't know who that is.... you've been living under a rock for the last 5 years of my life) I had been helping several ladies with walkers up the slight hill to the entrance of the school so they could go vote. Coincidentally at that moment the earth began to rumble and shake. It really sounded like a train was coming through the school. A 5.9 earthquake hit with an epicenter in Mineral just down the road from my home (between Charlottesville and Richmond). According to twitter it was only the 25th such earthquake since VA had become a state. Can someone say earthquakes in divers places?

We've had several aftershocks since then. There has been some reported damage to primarily older structures and buildings closer to the epicenter in rural counties. I was just fine. My apartment was just fine - Lori texted me to let me know that the only thing disrupted at our apartment was a larger picture of the Savior was no longer level and some pictures of us had fallen off the wall. No damage. The beltway was a mess the rest of the day and some polling places had to finish voting in the parking lot the rest of the day otherwise life went on as normal. I even went to the Nats vs. D-Backs game last night with some friends.

That in and of itself would be a big deal. Add that one to my list. BUT we're not done yet. We're also in the process of tracking and preparing for a CAT 2 Hurricane that is headed our way. Seriously.

I am actually a little (read: a lot) excited for the storm. I have a closet in my new apartment solely devoted to food storage. We've got a portable stove with fuel, all of the provisions we would need and plenty of things to keep us busy. I really just want to sit out on the balcony or just inside the window and watch the storm roll through. I love rain and I love storms.

I'm sure this will cause a lot of damage on the coast and some folks may even be in serious danger, but I'm doing just fine. We're on the 3rd story. We're in a new building. We're prepared.

So...

As the breeze outside is just picking up and I'm catching tornado warnings and regular updates about the storm coming through North Carolina on my blackberry... I'm also looking back at the crazy storms that I've experienced since I started campaigning.

I also happened to pick up the last Conference Ensign tonight to read President Boyd K. Packer's talk "Guided by the Holy Ghost" where it talks about how wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes in divers places, etc could not prevent the work of the Lord from moving forward. Surely a hurricane or an earthquake in Virginia could keep good things from happening.

I'll keep you all posted as this progresses and as we find new ways to pass the time. Have a lovely weekend!