Tsunamis at Bedtime

We took a road trip to Dar es Salaam so that Nelly could see her friends and so that we could get some visa work done at the Kenya Consulate. We spent two nights down there in a very lovely home that sits about 60 meters from the ocean. There's nothing nicer than the sound of the waves and the feel of the breeze as you climb into bed with big windows open beside you.

Our first night was like that.

Our second was a wee bit more troubled...

"There's a tsunami warning for all of the Indian Ocean," Dyan announced as we began to make our way toward bed. She had just been on the news site and found out about the quakes in Indonesia and the subsequent wave warnings. A few moments after she said this, a blaring public address system (speakers on the back of a truck) drove by shouting the news up and down the road that we should all be ready to leave by 11pm as a tsunami warning was in place.

The kids were already asleep and the five adults in the house wondered what we should do. We looked on-line again and now the warning was saying that a "massive" wave was expected to hit the Kenya coast and that both Kenya and Tanzania had issued warnings to evacuate the beach areas.

Byron had already climbed into bed but I went in to tell him that the word "massive" was being used. We thought about "massive" and we thought about the 60 meters between us and the sea. We tried to get the foggy disbelief to dispel out of our brains so that we could make a plan of action.

The wave was expected at 11:39pm, they said.

Just as we were concluding that we really better move, Dyan came back with more news. She had called a friend at the U.S. embassy. Yes, there had been strong warnings issued but those were now lifted. We didn't have to back up and roll out of there after all.

Ninja Nelly stayed up late supposedly making her video but REALLY standing guard in case we were all wrong to turn in. We appreciate your vigilance, Jenelle! We should always have you with us on road trips.

Go to the site of Mz Nelly and view her darling 3 min video log of our journey. I wish I was as clever as she is!