By now you all know that there was only minimal damage in our area from the Tsunami. It was a pretty surreal adventure! This is how it went down;

At 8 pm just as we were having dinner we began receiving text messages from friends here in Oahu telling us of a Tsunami watch due to the earthquake Japan experienced. We started checking the internet and NOAA to get details. It took a while for it to sink in, the gravity of it at least. It's not like a hurricane, they are better predicted and you can make decisions based on the category. With a Tsunami you just know that you are in it's path, there is no way to predict how big or small it will be.

At first we discussed staying here in Waialua and evacuating to the Sugar Mill which is our designated area. I was thinking we would wait until it got closer to 3 the time NOAA was saying the Tsunami would hit or maybe more like 1:00 and head out. The more we talked about it the more reality set in and it became clear we didn't want to be anywhere near the shore. Especially after the Tsunami alarms started going off, that was the turning point where we all looked at each other and didn't even have to say anything. The vibe changed and we started getting stuff done! But not before we walked down to the beach out of habit I think, it's what we do before a hurricane hits back home. We have several friends who are living at higher elevations and farther inland (or mauka in Hawaiian) who offered for us to stay with them. We packed literally everything that we wanted to see again. Which was basically everything we own here. Except the surfboards and a few pairs of shoes. They had to stay behind because space was limited. It was hard especially the surfboards for obvious reasons.

We didn't know what to expect traffic wise, it seemed like the streets were empty around here. Once we got on the road it wasn't bad, we drove from Waialua to Kapolei in virtually no traffic. We arrived at the home where David and Tammy Molnar have been staying along with 4 other families. In total there were 20 people staying in this place. Matt and I chose some prime real estate on the floor and fell asleep pretty quick. The Tsunami alarms woke me up a few times as they went off every hour. I also kept waking up to check my phone and respond to messages and phone calls, I didn't want anyone to worry. 3:00 came and I woke up to a text message and checked outside to make sure it was still there and it was, so I went back to sleep. Around 7 we all woke up and they announced the all clear on the news to return to your homes. So we went back and got some good footage of the tidal surge that was still happening. The worst damage in Hawaii occurred on the big island in Kona. A house fell into the ocean along with a few cars and there was damage to buildings on the coast. We are extremely fortunate that the damage was minimal!!! Thank you to all of you who kept us in your thoughts and prayers!!!!

As usual the Prices like to experience all a location has to offer that is why the first thing we did here was to learn what to do in case of Tsunami!! Here's our evacuation map, we live off of Apuhihi Street, the letters are small but it's petty much right on the ocean! This link will take you to a video where we documented our experience.