I live in Beaumont...and we did have quite a ride for both the Big Bear and later the Landers. Two in one day was waaaay more than I needed. I watched my house be twisted like a giant with a shoe box. Stuff flew everywhere. What was really fun was following a crack in the ground go across ten acres of property...across the paved road and into an empty field across the street. The crack was about 1" wide.
They get your heart pumping, that's for sure. I'm a California native now living in Las Vegas...the ground is very still here. A good thunderstorm/flash flood is about as close as Mother Nature gets around here.