Shaker

This is from a while back, but I had to reach back and include it.  Liz and some of her girlfriends planned a food and wine retreat in Napa one weekend in late August- a beautiful time to be in wine country.  So imagine five women, with eight kids between them.  One of them a mother of young twins on her first weekend away from her boys.  They are having a blast being chauffeured around, eating, and drinking at every stop, and documenting it all on Facebook.  I couldn't resist counter-posting, letting them know that the dads were having a good time too.

Their relaxed weekend took a wild turn early Sunday morning though, in the form on the strongest earthquake in the bay area in the last 25 years, centered just 4 miles from their hotel.  Napa is far enough from our house so that I was barely woken by the shakes. But in their hotel, they felt the full 6.1- drawers flying open, dishes on the floor, and car alarms blaring.  And soon, moms screaming. They had no idea that they were on top of the epicenter, and that down here we barely felt it- in their minds, a 6.1 in Napa meant a 9.1 at home.  So I was surprised to get a phone call at 3:30 am and even more surprised to hear an adrenaline-amped Liz on the other end.  In my deep sleep, I didn't even realize that she wasn't in the bed next to me or that Huelan was spending the night at Uncle Anh's.

Thankfully, everyone ended up being just fine and Napa only saw mild property damage.  But all that relaxing got shaken out of the girls, so they'll have to plan another weekend.