Rewind 90 minutes. Plane lands on the Big Island. We emerge from the belly of the 757 to the sweetest, cleanest smelling air I can remember since going to Arizona in 1992, I think? Anyway, the wind was warm and constant and it was so energizing to think we were finally here.
The airport "terminal" looked more like a picnic or rest area at along the Carolina coast - multiple, open air pavilions, soft, night lighting, gentle breeze, sweet smells - overtly tropical and instantly relaxing. Hello, Paradise.
The sweetest gentleman picked us up and shuttled us to the rental car area, and gave us a quick orientation to the Island. Very kind and welcoming.
We made our way easily (with the GPS) to our condo, which is to serve as headquarters for our many jaunts over the next few days. Right on the water, we could hear the ocean as soon as we opened the car doors to get out.
Bill and the kids dropped me off at the front to get our keys. At the front desk, two older gentlemen (older than me) were asking the woman at the front desk directions. The men seemed very concerned about something, but the woman didn't seem as concerned. When the men left, she checked us in, gave me the keys, the usual drill. Then, she gave me a separate piece of paper that said "Tsunami Warning" at the top. She said, very non-chalantly, that "3 days ago, there was an earthquake in Japan, it's just a watch, nothing's going to happen, but if you hear sirens, then you go here or here like it says on this sheet, then you'll be ok, but it's nothing, I was just talking to the (I couldn't make out what she said, but I took it to be an official) and it's no big deal. So, believing her (like a dufus), I gathered all my new papers and went back to the car and gave Bill and the kids a big 'thumbs up' as I crossed in front to get in on the passenger's side.
Well, Bill had the radio on, and they were saying phrases like "tsunami warning", "sirens will sound", and "immediate evacuation of inundation zones" that clearly portrayed the gravity of the situation. And, the earthquake in Japan hadn't happened 3 days ago, it happened 3 hours ago, thank you Hotel/Restaurant Management Association's Front Desk Professional of the Year, and it was an 8.9 very big deal.
So, we found a parking spot under the complex and hauled our bags up to our room and turned on the tv to some horrible pictures coming out of Japan. Heart-wrenching images that harkened back to Indonesia a few years ago, Haiti last year, and it was all very sad to know that in the coming days, the extent of the devastation would reveal itself and it would be horrible.
Then, the tsunami sirens went off. We had been in our room 5 minutes. We had time, though. It was 9:00pm and the first waves were predicted to hit at 3am. What some people would give to have 6-hour's notice.
The minds of 6- and 8-year-olds, though, aren't set to appreciate the long view (that we were really going to be fine, inconvenienced, yes, but fine, overall). What they saw were images from Japan (that looked like they could be from anywhere), and what they heard were very (approriately) serious voices on the radio describing what I'm sure seemed apocalyptic to them. So, naturally, they begin to panic, even though Bill and I were very calm and matter-of-fact about what we would do. And of course, this is all happening at what we had told them would be the END of a very long day. We'd made special emphasis of the fact that after 3 flights and 2 layovers, we'd all be grumpy and tired, and that we'd have to work extra hard to be nice to each other at the end if this long day. So, at the end of this long day, when they had worked so hard to be extra-nice, now there is this strange threat that sounds like nothing they'd ever experienced at home, and topping that with a scoop of We-Are-Not-In-Control, and you have all the makings of a three-way meltdown, arguably richly deserved.
But, we needed them to keep it in check and not lose it, because the truth was we had never been in this kind of a situation before, and we had no bearings, and it was dark, and we needed to stay calm to make sure we didn't do anything stupid. So, we implored them to take their cues from us, and remain calm, which, bless their hearts, they did.
So, not knowing whether this wave would have any real teeth or not, and since we had not unpacked a thing, we decided to take our bags back to the car, so as to, like our dear friend Winnie-the-Pooh, be Ready for Anything. We got in a long line of cars and drove up the side of the mountain, until we finally reached that landmark of all capitalist landmarks, WalMart.
End of Part 1.
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Location:WalMart parking lot - Part 1
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