Travels with my Family Read Online Free PDF Page B

first thing you need to know about California is that the whole state is about to fall into the ocean. It really is true. We went to a place north of San Francisco to see a big crack in the ground, where a shaker — that’s what they call earthquakes out there — split the earth in two about a hundred years ago. We also saw a set of railroad tracks that swerve like a snake, as if a giant had picked them up with his bare hands and twisted them. Those are the kinds of things an earthquake can do.
    â€œWhat’ll we do if California falls into the ocean when we’re on it?” my brother asked.
    â€œIt won’t happen,” I told him.
    We all peered into the giant crack in the ground. You couldn’t even see the bottom. My mother held my brother’s hand very tightly. As if anyone would want to jump in!
    â€œI wonder what fell into that crack?” my brother asked, trying to lean over.
    â€œHorses,” said my father. “Trees, houses, people, anything that was near.”
    â€œIt’s really dark in there,” my brother said, worried. “I wouldn’t want to get swallowed up.”
    My brother worries a lot. I think he takes after my mother.
    But he was right. It was pretty dark in that crack.
    â€œAnimals know there’s going to be an earthquake before humans do,” I told him. “So if you see some animals acting strange, you know you have to be careful.”
    My brother looked very hard at a cow that was grazing in the next field. “Is that cow acting strange?” he asked.
    â€œIt’s acting perfectly normal,” I said. “For a cow.”
    After we visited the crack in the ground and the swervy railroad tracks, our parents decided we should go to the seaside. The second thing you need to know about California is that it’s not always warm and sunny. You’ve seen those television shows, right, with all the palm trees and the sunshine? Well, there’s not a single palm tree around Punta Reyes, near the big crack in the ground. That’s because there’s too much fog, and you need lots of sunshine for palm trees.
    I suppose that if you asked my parents, they’d say that fog is much more interesting than sunshine. “More mysterious,” my father would say. “More romantic,” my mother would add.
    It was chilly and foggy, and we had to put sweaters on. But I have to admit, there were plenty of cool things to see. Every time the tide goes out, it leaves behind all kinds of starfish and mussels and sea cucumbers in the pools in between the rocks.
    â€œWe’re going exploring, too,” my father said. “Have fun, we’ll be back soon!”
    Then he and my mother walked away.
    But we were too busy watching a starfish drill a hole in a mussel shell to pay much attention.
    â€œHey, look!” my brother shouted. “That starfish has only four arms.”
    â€œDon’t worry, it’ll grow a new one back.”
    â€œStarfish can grow arms? How do they do that?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I admitted. “It must be all the vitamins in the seaweed.”
    My brother started squeezing the little bubbles of air that seaweed uses to stay on top of the water. No matter how hard he squeezed, the bubbles wouldn’t burst. They were as tough as old leather boots.
    The rocks were covered with greenish-black plants. And when those plants got wet, they were as slippery as ice. And sure enough, my brother slipped and landed on his seat in the slimy seaweed. I helped him up.
    â€œHey, where are Mom and Dad?” he asked.
    We both looked around. The beach was deserted for as far as we could see. Long curls of fog were rolling in from the sea and reaching onto the land. They looked like witches’ fingers that had come to grab us. We jumped off the rocks and ran back towards the beach. No one was there, either. Just great piles of rocks and the waves