Things we see driving around - original content (pictures you snapped)

Who was on the 33rd floor of this building during the 1989 earthquake?

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We took the Christmas guests ice skating. The rink is Peanuts-themed and the Peanuts Museum is next door. I posted pictures earlier this year, here are a few from this outing.

Charlie Brown says hi!


Home for Christmas. Why can't Cuddles be more like Snoopy?


It's almost like the topiary from The Shining (novel not movie) all over again.


Zamboni in action


The LEGO rink model Zamboni included!


giftshop


 
Gebrekkend said:
Who was on the 33rd floor of this building during the 1989 earthquake?

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You are probably referring to me. I was on the 30th floor during the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Attached is one of the chapters about my earthquake experience from a book I wrote for my family about my life.

Scott

----------------------------------------
1989 Earthquake: Will Death Hurt?
----------------------------------------

In 1989 the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s met in the World Series. It was called the Bay Bridge World series. Game 3 of the series started Tuesday evening, October 17 1989. Nearly the entire Bay Area region of 10 million people were watching the game. I wasn’t a baseball fan so I, along with about a dozen other colleagues, used the opportunity stay in the office and catch up on miscellaneous business.

With so few people in the office it was pretty chill. About 5 PM I started packing up. I walked to the elevator lobby and saw fellow colleague Michelle Sxxxxxx standing there. I always found Michelle a bit intimidating. The color of her eyes was completely black, something I call “shark eyes”. She had this habit of maintaining a laser locked, penetrating type of eye contact during conversation that always made me uneasy.

But she was good at her job and we liked and respected each other. Happy to see her on my way out I remember swinging my briefcase forward and back in wide arcs, acting like a dorky cartoon character. While waiting for the elevator we exchanged some friendly chit chat. And then........BOOM! The entire lobby jolted with a powerful, rumbling blow. Michelle and I knew instantly it was an earthquake. We retreated to a corner in the lobby and crouched down over the floor side-by-side with each other. I remember putting my right arm over the top of her body to help steady us. All hell was breaking loose!

After that initial jolt the building swayed like a stunned boxer on the verge of going down. Then, about 4 or 5 seconds later - BOOM! An even larger jolt hit us. But now it was a constant series of jolts and the building was getting hit blow after blow in quick succession. I remember Michelle and I pressed our heads together to further brace ourselves. I vividly remember hearing Michelle grunt repeatedly in absolute terror, but thankfully she never screamed!

The building started swinging wildly from side-to-side. I’ll never forget the sounds. The building protested and made deep, structural groaning sounds like those of a sinking ship in a movie. I vividly remember thinking the building was going to fall sideways and crash down to earth like a tree being blown over in the wind. I remember wondering whether Michelle and I would float weightless until we finally crashed to earth.

At this point the thought crossed my mind that we might actually die. Remember, we’re 30 floors up. They say when a person is near sudden death their entire life flashes before them in an instant. That was not my experience. Instead, I vividly remember wondering exactly what was going to kill me and whether or not I was going to suffer any pain. My mind raced at light speed. I actually remember thinking that, regardless of how I might die, there would only be a few moments of terror and pain before it was over. Wait for it, wait for it...

But just an instant later, falling sideways to our deaths became a lesser concern. Delivering yet another blow – and the worst one so far - and one seemingly in a different direction than the others.....BOOM!!!! The entire floor of the building began shaking up and down like a trampoline. This one caused a large section of the ceiling in front of the elevator doors to come crashing down, light fixtures with exploding bulbs hanging by their metal electrical conduits. Ominously, the brass elevator doors jerked and open and closed randomly in front of us, exposing bare elevator shafts, as if they were beckoning us forward so they could swallow us alive!

As this point I was fully convinced we were going to die. The floors were going to pancake down one by one on top of each other until our 45-story tall high rise was reduced to a 6-story tall pile of rubble. Let me assure you, when you truly believe you are just moments from death, it’s a serious head rush and is something you’ll never forget. This was that moment for me.

But then, thankfully, after about 15 seconds, it was over.
 
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slo town said:
You are probably referring to me. I was on the 30th floor during the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Attached is one of the chapters about my earthquake experience from a book I wrote for my family about my life.

Scott

----------------------------------------
1989 Earthquake: Will Death Hurt?
----------------------------------------

In 1989 the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A’s met in the World Series. It was called the Bay Bridge World series. Game 3 of the series started Tuesday evening, October 17 1989. Nearly the entire Bay Area region of 10 million people were watching the game. I wasn’t a baseball fan so I, along with about a dozen other colleagues, used the opportunity stay in the office and catch up on miscellaneous business.

With so few people in the office it was pretty chill. About 5 PM I started packing up. I walked to the elevator lobby and saw fellow colleague Michelle Sxxxxxx standing there. I always found Michelle a bit intimidating. The color of her eyes was completely black, something I call “shark eyes”. She had this habit of maintaining a laser locked, penetrating type of eye contact during conversation that always made me uneasy.

But she was good at her job and we liked and respected each other. Happy to see her on my way out I remember swinging my briefcase forward and back in wide arcs, acting like a dorky cartoon character. While waiting for the elevator we exchanged some friendly chit chat. And then........BOOM! The entire lobby jolted with a powerful, rumbling blow. Michelle and I knew instantly it was an earthquake. We retreated to a corner in the lobby and crouched down over the floor side-by-side with each other. I remember putting my right arm over the top of her body to help steady us. All hell was breaking loose!

After that initial jolt the building swayed like a stunned boxer on the verge of going down. Then, about 4 or 5 seconds later - BOOM! An even larger jolt hit us. But now it was a constant series of jolts and the building was getting hit blow after blow in quick succession. I remember Michelle and I pressed our heads together to further brace ourselves. I vividly remember hearing Michelle grunt repeatedly in absolute terror, but thankfully she never screamed!

The building started swinging wildly from side-to-side. I’ll never forget the sounds. The building protested and made deep, structural groaning sounds like those of a sinking ship in a movie. I vividly remember thinking the building was going to fall sideways and crash down to earth like a tree being blown over in the wind. I remember wondering whether Michelle and I would float weightless until we finally crashed to earth.

At this point the thought crossed my mind that we might actually die. Remember, we’re 30 floors up. They say when a person is near sudden death their entire life flashes before them in an instant. That was not my experience. Instead, I vividly remember wondering exactly what was going to kill me and whether or not I was going to suffer any pain. My mind raced at light speed. I actually remember thinking that, regardless of how I might die, there would only be a few moments of terror and pain before it was over. Wait for it, wait for it...

But just an instant later, falling sideways to our deaths became a lesser concern. Delivering yet another blow – and the worst one so far - and one seemingly in a different direction than the others.....BOOM!!!! The entire floor of the building began shaking up and down like a trampoline. This one caused a large section of the ceiling in front of the elevator doors to come crashing down, light fixtures with exploding bulbs hanging by their metal electrical conduits. Ominously, the brass elevator doors jerked and open and closed randomly in front of us, exposing bare elevator shafts, as if they were beckoning us forward so they could swallow us alive!

As this point I was fully convinced we were going to die. The floors were going to pancake down one by one on top of each other until our 45-story tall high rise was reduced to a 6-story tall pile of rubble. Let me assure you, when you truly believe you are just moments from death, it’s a serious head rush and is something you’ll never forget. This was that moment for me.

But then, thankfully, after about 15 seconds, it was over.
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I've told this before and I think in more detail.

Dad and I were visiting my grandparents at the time. We were walking just South of Market when the quake hit. Although we had been living in Sherman Oaks for a few years and were used to quakes this felt pretty bad, especially all the fires, smoke, and debris. People were surprisingly behaving in a civilized manner. We ended up at Union Square, trying to figure out a way to get back to Marin. The next morning we managed to get on a ferry to Larkspur where my Grandpa picked us up. I slept for 12 hours straight after that. Dad's car was destroyed as we found out a few days later.
 
That shell is tall enough for a donkey to stand upright!


The Ritz Carlton in HMB


The hotel tops the bluff and there's a large gold course. There once stood another hotel closer to the bluff's edge.


These pillars are part of the old foundation of the Bay Hotel that was supposed to be built there in the 1970s but they only ever built the foundation. The Ritz Carlton was built around 2001. These pillars were exposed only in 2017 when a part of the bluff collapsed due to erosion. Some of the foundation was removed with machinery out of caution.


Near the foot of the bluff are tide pools. You may even see a beautiful nudibranch but I wasn't so lucky.


My wife found a neat pebble with several holes and cavities.


Alliteration alert. I exposed my Aussie-made rabbit fur felt fedora hat to the salty air.


A few months ago I put a new headliner in.
 
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vavavroom said:
That shell is tall enough for a donkey to stand upright!


The Ritz Carlton in HMB


The hotel tops the bluff and there's a large gold course. There once stood another hotel closer to the bluff's edge.


These pillars are part of the old foundation of the Bay Hotel that was supposed to be built there in the 1970s but they only ever built the foundation. The Ritz Carlton was built around 2001. These pillars were exposed only in 2017 when a part of the bluff collapsed due to erosion. Some of the foundation was removed with machinery out of caution.


Near the foot of the bluff are tide pools. You may even see a beautiful nudibranch but I wasn't so lucky.


My wife found a neat pebble with several holes and cavities.


Alliteration alert. I exposed my Aussie-made rabbit fur felt fedora hat to the salty air.


A few months ago I put a new headliner in.
Click to expand...
truck is owned by the Department Of Dwindling Government Efficiency
 
I guess this belongs in this thread. There is a slightly curious journal entry from June 15, 2000. When traveling, I always make quick sketches, keep tickets, and keep records of locations. There is a not-quite-quip that shows I was aware of what had happened at this place. Can you spot it?




It says 'Stayed at the Cedar Lodge. followed by "OK."

California handyman and serial killer Cary Stayner who had been working at the Cedar Lodge in El Portal near the entrance to Yosemite murdered two teens and two women and also removed at least one head.

Within a year's time we stayed at the Cedar Lodge and, aware of the connection to the murders, I wrote a laconic, "OK." Now, what's for breakfast? I don't remember making this journal entry but I recall my fiancée was less than thrilled of staying at a hellhole with "axe murders and bloody torture-rapists lurking in every corner, waiting to dice us into fish bait." The Cedar Lodge was the only place with an available room.
 
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