Sitting at our desks shortly after 4pm on Thursday, Sept. 8, the lights shut off and the computer screens turned to black.   The Cuvier Club had lost power and we would  soon find out that all of the surrounding community had lost power as well.  We turned on our car radios and did some quick searches on our smart phones to find that this power outage was wide spread and would turn out to be one of the largest power outages in US History.  What could have been a disaster for some, fortunately, was not for us.

Do we shut down and go home or wait it out?  Many other venues did have to shut down. Traffic was at a stand still and getting out of La Jolla would take a several hours, one of the club managers was already stuck on Interstate 5, so some of us decided to hang back and walk around to find something to eat.  It was a good thing we had decided to stay because our huge, walk-in refrigerator full of meat and fish worth thousands of dollars was beginning to rise in temperature.  Lucky for us we now have an ice machine on the property so we, the property manager and three employees, packed coolers full of ice and meat and sealed off the fridge.  Other venues were not so lucky, events had to be canceled.  It was a good thing the power returned in the early hours of the morning though or we would be out some delicious fish and short ribs.  This was an adventure we don’t wish to experience again but we were well prepared for and even got to socialize with some of the neighbors for a change.