We looked at each other and the earth moved...

August 24, 2011 - Upper Marlboro

Serry and I were biking yesterday on the Indian Head Rail Trail in southern Maryland. We stopped by a wooden deck overlooking a lake to check out the birds and butterflies when the deck and surrounding ground began to shake. For a moment we thought a train or something was causing the shake, but since there are no trains anywhere near, we quickly realized it was an earthquake! We'd never experienced an earthquake before (and figured we never would), so it was kind of amazing to feel the earth move like that. When we got home we found a couple of things had fallen off shelves and a few pictures hanging askew, but no damage of any kind.

Others were not so lucky. Serry visited a friend this morning who had a dresser topple over and a TV fall from a wall, among other things.

One of our friends was kayaking on the Patuxent River when the quake occurred. She said when it started it felt like a huge fish brushing the bottom of the boat, and then bubbles rose. Finally, the river seemed to erupt, with churning water and waves, something that never happens on the placid Patuxent.

An article today in the Washington Post said the quake lasted about 30 seconds, but it seemed to last no more than about 5 seconds where we were. Perhaps that's because we were in the country, where there were fewer things to shake than in the city, or perhaps it lasted longer in some places than others. Whatever, since we weren't harmed, it was an interesting experience, one we never expected to have--certainly not so close to home.