Restonians Take Earthquake in Stride

Apparently, it takes more than a 5.9 magnitude earthquake to rattle Restonians. 

The golfers at felt the tremor, then continued to play.  Pat Pinkman of Reston National said that as a precaution they evacuated the clubhouse, but he figured  the safest place to be was on the golf course.

“I’ve never been in an earthquake before, the building was shaking like crazy,” said Pinkman.  “It was pretty unsettling.”

Over at the, the guests certainly felt the sway, but were more confused than distressed.

“Our guests were a little taken aback,” said Jessica Addison, Sheraton manager.  “They were more curious and actually wondered if there had been an explosion.”  Addison said that evacuation was not necessary and the Sheraton was back to normal in no time.

The lifeguards at can add earthquake experience to their resumes. The guards in the chairs noticed the motion first, but it was soon apparent to everyone at the pool that something big was happening. The slide was swaying and the water was sloshing.

“We’re in Reston – this doesn’t happen on the East Coast,” said one of the lifeguards.

But kids were back in the pool shortly after, as though nothing had happened.

The managers at both had experienced earthquakes in California. When the assistant manager heard the wine bottle clanking, he knew exactly what was happening. But, luckily, not a single item fell and nothing was broken. 

“No casualties,” laughed Johnny Lawless.

The same story was told over at .  Owner Vicky Hadjikyriakou felt the vibrations and she knew it was an earthquake right away.  She said her servers on the patio “noticed the umbrellas shaking, the birds flying away and then the whole patio shook.”  Everyone was calm, though some people decided to pay their checks and leave right away.

The preschool children at TLC were hanging out in the entry way of the Lake Anne Plaza. The teachers decided that they felt safer with the kids outside rather than upstairs in the building. They said the kids were “a little freaked out” when the shaking started, but seemed to settle down right away.  Parents were picking their children up early, just to be on the safe side.

Reston Association said that no facilities reported any damage or incidents.