Hello fellow Avilones. It's December 11th - the night the lights went out in Avila. The wind is howling and the rain coming down in sheets while we lazily watch television. Heavy potted plants on our front deck are rocking, and lounge chairs are toppling. Thoughts of previous electricity blackouts cross my mind - a too often occurrence here on the Central Coast. Should we get up from the comfortable couch and retrieve flashlights and candles just in case? Nah, surely things will be okay this time. 10:00 p.m. - Bam! All goes dark. Darn - why didn't I trust my instincts and get ready! We wait a few minutes, hoping the lights will come back on. They don't. It's late, so just go to bed - all will be fine in the morning. Ha! Still no power at 7:00 a.m. Friday morning. How can this be?!? My first thought is about the $100 in groceries purchased yesterday - a lot of it perishable. My second thought is the need to find some coffee, followed by concern that my Smart Phone may not have much juice left - it doesn't. So, hop into the car, plug in the mobile phone charger, head to Food 4 Less for ice and Starbucks for coffee. I'm certain this will all be for nothing because surely power will be restored by the time I return to Avila. It isn't. At least it's light enough to read the newspaper while enjoying the Starbucks coffee. Not! The "Tribune" didn't arrive and the coffee is lukewarm. No problem - light the stove with a match since the electronic starter is out. Heat up the coffee and make some toast the old fashioned way. Read a book, relax and wait for power. All is quiet in the neighborhood - not unusual for Pelican Point. 9:30 a.m. and I call the PG&E hotline hoping for some news. I am connected with someone in San Jose, who tells me about a broken power pole in SLO affecting our area that should be repaired by noon. I hang around and read until noon - still no power. No problem. I head to the Pismo Beach Athletic Club, where I work out, swim, shower and return home, feeling confident that all will be back to normal. After all, it's been more than fourteen hours since the lights went out in Avila. Lesson learned?
Evening is approaching, the sun is setting, and I'm mentally preparing to spend the rest of my life in the dark. Once again calling the PG&E hotline I'm told that power should be restored by 7:00 p.m. With fresh batteries in the flashlights and the fireplace blazing, there is enough warmth and illumination to finish off the book I started in the morning. It's 7:00 p.m., still dark, and my book finished. Now what do I do? I just lay there for a few minutes, then, suddenly, Pop! - the lights come on, the furnace ignites, the television starts rebooting and the dog springs to life - as do we. We take the perishables out of the ice coolers and return them to the fridge, blow out the candles, but hang onto the flashlights just in case. Ahhh - the t.v. has rebooted so we settle down and watch pre-recorded shows from the previous days. Normalcy has returned. Now the big question - what have we learned after 21 hours with no electricity? Something like this - or worse - will happen again sooner than later. It's time to look into emergency preparedness information - such as can be found on PG&E, and American Red Cross websites - then collect and store the items essential for at least three days of independent living, since more storms are arriving next week.
Okay, I'm back from my visit to the past and here in the present to welcome everyone into the new year. 2015 marks a few changes and new challenges for the Avila Beach Community Foundation, first of which is saying "goodbye" to longtime board Trustee Bill Gerrish. After 14 years serving the organization, Bill is making a promise he made to himself to step back from his many volunteer activities by the age of 70. Thank you, Bill, for all you have done! We also thank and bid farewell to Trustees Chris DeWeese and Justin Hodges, both stepping down after completing their three year terms. With up to four slots now available, one of the Foundation's first orders of business will be to identify and recruit new Trustee candidates. Also on the agenda this year is hosting another Live Well Symposium - fashioned after our previous one that brings various professionals in the health industries together to share with Avila residents ways to live better, happier and longer. And moving up from last year's "backburner" is launching an Avila Beach public art project. A committee will be formed to establish criteria, reach out to area artists, review proposals, etc. We will also be working with Port San Luis Harbor District to help address the failing Avila Pier, now badly in need of repair. So, 2015 is shaping up to be busy for us. Stay tuned for more, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!
Evening is approaching, the sun is setting, and I'm mentally preparing to spend the rest of my life in the dark. Once again calling the PG&E hotline I'm told that power should be restored by 7:00 p.m. With fresh batteries in the flashlights and the fireplace blazing, there is enough warmth and illumination to finish off the book I started in the morning. It's 7:00 p.m., still dark, and my book finished. Now what do I do? I just lay there for a few minutes, then, suddenly, Pop! - the lights come on, the furnace ignites, the television starts rebooting and the dog springs to life - as do we. We take the perishables out of the ice coolers and return them to the fridge, blow out the candles, but hang onto the flashlights just in case. Ahhh - the t.v. has rebooted so we settle down and watch pre-recorded shows from the previous days. Normalcy has returned. Now the big question - what have we learned after 21 hours with no electricity? Something like this - or worse - will happen again sooner than later. It's time to look into emergency preparedness information - such as can be found on PG&E, and American Red Cross websites - then collect and store the items essential for at least three days of independent living, since more storms are arriving next week.
Okay, I'm back from my visit to the past and here in the present to welcome everyone into the new year. 2015 marks a few changes and new challenges for the Avila Beach Community Foundation, first of which is saying "goodbye" to longtime board Trustee Bill Gerrish. After 14 years serving the organization, Bill is making a promise he made to himself to step back from his many volunteer activities by the age of 70. Thank you, Bill, for all you have done! We also thank and bid farewell to Trustees Chris DeWeese and Justin Hodges, both stepping down after completing their three year terms. With up to four slots now available, one of the Foundation's first orders of business will be to identify and recruit new Trustee candidates. Also on the agenda this year is hosting another Live Well Symposium - fashioned after our previous one that brings various professionals in the health industries together to share with Avila residents ways to live better, happier and longer. And moving up from last year's "backburner" is launching an Avila Beach public art project. A committee will be formed to establish criteria, reach out to area artists, review proposals, etc. We will also be working with Port San Luis Harbor District to help address the failing Avila Pier, now badly in need of repair. So, 2015 is shaping up to be busy for us. Stay tuned for more, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!
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