For me, I was in the middle of some radiation therapy. I had left work and driven from San Jose to Palo Alto's Stanford University Hospital. I was making my way down into the basement floor to the Radiology Department. Walking down that long corridor, most people had left for the day; a few technicians were in their places, but I didn't see anyone once the ground started shaking. I made my way back to my car after the ground stopped rocking and rolling. I drove home down freeways that were eerily empty. Highway 280 from PA to Santa Clara was a long slow drive. Several places of this freeway showed cracks and buckled asphalt. I drove slowly, avoiding what I could of the debris and such.
By the time I reached town, there was no power, no street lights. Again, driving slow, making my way down familiar roads that now looked very unfamiliar because of the debris, and lack of the usual traffic. It took me nearly 2 hours to drive what normally takes about 30 minutes.
I arrived at my Mom's, where my kids were. They were all safe, no major damages here. I decided to drive to my apartment, to see what damages were. Pictures fell from the walls, knick knacks tumbled over, but things were pretty well there. I gathered up extra clothes for me and the kids, and headed to my boyfriend's house for the night. Things were fine at his house, as well. Still no power, but he had a generator. We hooked it up and turned on the TV, watching all the terrible images as they were made available. We didn't sleep most of the night, watching as the Bay Bridge had a section collapse. And in Oakland, a section of a double decker pancaked onto the lower deck and many were trapped in the mess.
This was a disaster of epic proportions.
Yet the people stepped up, helped a neighbor wherever they could.
Everyone in the Bay Area can answer the age old question:
Where were you when the earth quaked??
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