A guest-services worker at a hotel in Cleveland, Ohio, works by candlelight during the power outage. (Photo: Marvin Fong /AP Wide World)

Rachel Ridge, her mom, and her sister were getting haircuts at a shopping center near Cleveland, Ohio, when the power went out.

"People in the building were talking about it and everyone had different opinions," said the 11-year-old. "At first we thought it might be terrorism."

Despite the scare, the three moved onto a patio with the hairdresser to finish the cuts and even do Rachel's highlights.

The power was off throughout eight states in the U.S. and in most of Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, August 14. More than 50 million people were left in the dark. Many were without water, too. Cleveland was without power until Sunday. The water was out for a day or more in many parts of the city. When it did come back on, it had to be boiled for at least four minutes before it was safe to use.

"Having no water was the scariest," said Emily Rosenfeld, 10, also of Cleveland. "If we stayed without water, we would have to go somewhere different. It really scared me when we ran out of water, because you can't survive without water."

Mostly, however, kids affected by the blackout made the best of things. While parents made sure the family had plenty of water, candles, and batteries on hand, the kids played games and talked.

"We got together with our neighbors and listened to the news and played games," Emily said. "We really had fun. We were all together and even though it was a bad time, we made ourselves have fun to take our minds off of what was happening."

The Ridges, with Rachel and 10-year-old Sara, roasted marshmallows in a chimnea in the backyard. A chimnea is a large clay pot with a chimney that can be used to contain a fire. About 15 of their neighbors joined to make S'mores.

"I felt safe and knew everything would be okay if I was in my home and with my friends," Sara said.

The world looked and felt different to some kids who experienced the blackout.

"I felt a little cold inside because it was a lot of cities, not just Cleveland," said Elisabeth Rosenfeld, 10. "I felt a little serious about everything that was going on."

The Rosenfelds went to a neighbor's house to listen to the radio.

"We saw a lot of shooting stars I never noticed before," Elisabeth said. "I think maybe it could be a good thing to have the lights out every once in a while to notice nature."

Elisabeth and Emily's mom, Sherry, said the experience was a wonderful lesson for the kids.

"We took more walks together over the weekend and we talked," she said. "Why do we have to run around like crazy people all the time? We want it to last."

She said the family would also be conserving electricity in the future.

"We also realize we have to have more water around to be prepared," she said.

The Ridges were also relaxed about the outages.

"These kids were really young two years ago when 9/11 happened," said their mother, Diane Ridge. "It had an intense impact on them. They have a view that they are not quite sure they are safe. When there was no TV, no water, no air conditioning, it didn't seem to matter to them. They were just relieved they weren't in eminent danger."