Sara dropped me off at DIA about 2 1/2 hours prior to departure. We said our goodbyes and I made my way to the ticket counter to check in. American only had 2 people working and the line was pretty long so that took a while. I was worried that my huge bag would result in an excess baggage charge, but luckily it was ok. A few people behind me in the security line was Michael Travis, drummer extraordinaire for the String Cheese Incident.
Our flight to LAX was delayed by almost an hour due to the freezing rain that had overcome the Denver area. The de-icing of our plane is somewhat symbolic, I suppose, given that once we finally arrive at McMurdo we'll be landing on an ice runway.
Our tickets said we'd be boarding the flight to Auckland at 7:30 Pacific Time, but they were about 45 minutes late getting that started, and then once we finally pushed back from the gate one of the air conditioning units went out on our Boeing 747. The air conditioner repair man was apparently on the absolute opposite side of the airport, so by the time we got there, got patched up, and back to our runway I swear we had taxied most of the way to San Diego. We finally got into the air a little over 2 hours late. No problem, what's another 2 hours when the flight is 12 1/2 long?
The 747 is a 3-4-3 seat configuration, and I was on the aisle of the middle section. Luckily there was nobody next to me because these seats are designed for someone 5'2". The guy in front of me reclined so far back that my face was no more than 6" from his scalp and he stayed that way the entire 12 1/2 hours.
Aside from the lack of leg room, the Quantas folks sure attempt to make your flight comfortable. Each seat is equipped with a TV that has 13 movie channels and as many music channels, including a James Morrison Jazz Station, which I listened to for many hours. The consoles also house a variety of video games including my favorites, Solitare and Tetris.
They gave us a sleepy time pack, which is a little pouch on a lanyard that contains a beauty sleep mask, a pair of socks (wuh?), and a mini toothbrush with toothpaste. You know it's going to be a long flight when they give you a toothbrush. At dinner I asked for a beer (they're free, you know), and the Australian flight attendant rattled off about 6 different Aussie brands. I must have looked dumbfounded because he smiled and said, "I'll bring you back a nice beer from Queensland." It was a "XXXX Bitter" and it was tasty enough that I ordered a second :-)
I was able to get a little sleep in short spurts, but not much. Most of the flight I read the new Al Franken book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. (Highly recommended by the way). I also found the highlights of the 1999 Rugby World Cup quite entertaining.
Due to the delay getting out of LAX we missed our connecting flight in Auckland. We took our time getting through customs, I got my first passport stamp ever, and we headed towards the Bank of New Zealand to exchange some US cash for some Kiwi cash. The exchange rate is roughly 1.54 Kiwi dollars to 1 US dollar, so for $60 I got over $90 Kiwi in return. The domestic terminal at Auckland is a one kilometer walk, so I sherpa'd the bags and enjoyed the beautiful New Zealand weather. It was great to get some fresh air. The Quantas people pulled a few strings, made a phone call, dropped the term "Deep Freeze" as they referred to us, and we were able to get on a flight to CHC right away. Had we not made that we would have had to wait another 4 hours in Auckland.
The flight from Auckland to Christchurch was just over an hour -- nothing by now for us seasoned travelers. The New Zealand scenery is breathtaking. I was on in an aisle seat but couldn't stop looking out the window, as the entire countryside looked either like Lord of the Rings or The Price of Milk.
I've been anticipating this day for about a year and a half -- since I first started working for the Antarctic Program. Back then it was more of a pipe dream -- "I love the outdoors, wouldn't it be cool to go to Antarctica someday?" I never really expected to actually be deploying so soon.
I'm getting antsy, anxious, nervous, etc., and just want to get this thing underway. The longest flight I've ever taken was just under 4 hours, so this will be a new experience for me. I'm not big on sleeping on planes, but hopefully I'll be able to or I'll end up being awake for almost 48 hours. That's assuming I can stay up all day Saturday in New Zealand to try and curb jet lag. I've packed my bags and know that I'm way overpacked, but how does one prepare for a 5-week Antarctic trip? I know we get all the cold weather gear we need once we get to Christchurch, but it just seems odd to not pack fleece and other warm clothing when you're going to Antarctica.
I bought a huge bag at the Army Surplus store this weekend -- it's a 42" rolling duffel bag. The thing holds almost all the clothes I own so I felt compelled to fill it to the breaking point. I'm carrying on my laptop, iPod, a couple of books, PDA, etc., so hopefully I'll be thoroughly entertained en route :-)
Sara should be home in about an hour and shortly thereafter we'll be leaving for the airport. It will be hard to leave her, but I know she's excited for me and supports everything I'm doing. I'll miss her (and Dexter) like crazy but plan to call and email often.
I forgot to pick up a New Zealand power outlet adapter so I'm going to swing by Radio Shack and see if they can hook me up. Isn't that exciting? ;-)
Sorry for the lameness of this entry. I sent out a blast email to anyone I thought might be interested in this and over 20 people have signed up for the auto-notification feature. I'll try to make the rest of my posts a little more interesting than "I packed my bag and it's big." I'm obviously a little anxious and just ready to get moving. My next post will probably be from New Zealand, and I'm sure I'll have something interesting to say by then.
Today is my last day at the office before I leave. It's hard to believe that I'm actually leaving for Antarctica in just two days. In my short career I've been fortunate to visit some great places on business travel -- Chicago, Washington, D.C., Orlando, San Francisco, etc., but never did I imagine my job would take me to the bottom of the world (at least not before accepting this position).
Yesterday my digital camera finally arrived so I familiarized myself with it and plan on taking as many photos as possible. I'll hopefully be able to post them on a regular basis. Check out the photo album link on the left nav bar to see them.
I just noticed it's currently -5 degrees at McMurdo. It's been getting warmer there, reaching the double digits at times, but it will still be an adjustment, I'm sure.
Some people have asked what it is exactly that I'll be doing in Antarctica. I work for Raytheon Polar Services Company, which is the National Science Foundation's main operational and logistical support contractor for the United States Antarctic Program. Basically, our company runs the three US Antarctic stations (McMurdo, Palmer, and South Pole), as well as two research vessels (Laurence M. Gould and Nathaniel B. Palmer). Our charter is to maintain the operations of these stations and to support the NSF-funded science events on the Ice.
In order for our company to properly support a science group (research project) on the Ice, we need to know every detail of what the group will require from a support perspective. Everything from how many people are going, when they're going, where they're going, what lab equipment they'll require, when they'll be in the lab, any custom remote field camp construction that they need, any frequency registrations they need, diving equipment, heavy equipment, explosives, etc., etc., etc. -- more detail than I can possibly list here.
That's where I come in. I'm on the POLAR ICE team (Participant On-Line Antarctic Research Information Coordination Environment). We built a web-based application to gather all of the above requirements from the scientists (grantees) and feed the data to the appropriate workcenters on the Ice. This system is used by every funded grantee that will be performing science in Antarctica via the National Science Foundation.
Traveling with me will be my boss, Scott, and POLAR ICE teammate, Josh. They each have blogs as well (see the left navigation for the links). Scott just returned from his first Antarctic deployment, where he visited Palmer Station by way of a cruise on the Laurence M. Gould. This will be the first time Josh & I have been to the 7th Continent. Our goal is to meet with as many POLAR ICE users as possible so that we can better fit the application to support the actual processes. One thing we've discovered along the way is that a lot of processes are not very well defined, and that many are done a certain way just because they've "always been done that way." We're hoping to use POLAR ICE as a means to improve on these processes and streamline the science planning operations.
It's an unusual application in that we have three main audience groups. The National Science Foundation funded the project, so we obviously need to make sure it works well for them. The grantees need to enter their requirements into the system, so usability is huge. If they don't enter complete or accurate data we won't be able to properly support their projects. Finally, my colleagues at Raytheon Polar Services Company need to be able to pull the data back out so that they can accurately plan and prepare for the research season on the Ice. We'll be visiting with members of all three user groups to gather requirements and get a better understanding of how each does what they do on the Ice. We're hoping to see as much about how the program works as possible so that we can make the best product we can.
Today I'm planning on tying up a few loose ends, writing some documentation, and making sure I have everything I need from the office all packed up and ready to go. I have a lot of flight time ahead of me so I should also load up the iPod to make sure I have a good 30+ days worth of music from which to choose ;) Hopefully the fires in California and the pending snowstorm on Thursday won't affect our travel plans.
Yesterday morning we drove up to Breckenridge for the weekend. It was funny, Dexter knew we were leaving for something more than just an errand, and he was bound and determined to come with us. He ran out to the car and got in the back seat and would only finally come out once we promised him a cookie and told him Howie was inside.
Luckily, Aunt Kelli saved the day and came over early for her slumber party with Dex. We had a nice drive up to Breckenridge, we decided to go over Loveland Pass instead of through the tunnel because I hadn't driven that route since the Courage Classic bike ride. It made me want to get off my lazy butt and back on the bike.
Once we got to Breckenridge we had all kinds of problems getting into our townhome. First they forgot to give us a map so we were driving all over the place trying to find it. We went back and asked for directions, but then our keys didn't work. They had to have a maintenance man come out and he ended up climbing up to the second story patio and breaking the lock on the back door to get us in. Luckily Sara didn't have to deal with any of this, though, as she was enjoying her facial and massage at the spa.
After I finally got into the townhouse I opened my laptop to do some work on my mom's site and noticed that there was an open wireless network so I jumped on. I chatted for a bit with Dave & Kelli, and then went to pick up Sara. She took a shower and got dressed while I researched restaurants in the area. We ended up dining at St. Bernard's, a nice Italian place on Main Street. It was one of the better Italian meals I've had in a while and would recommend it if you're ever in the area.
The weather here is getting me prepped for my trip. It's been below freezing the entire time, but it's beautiful. The snow machines are laying a base on one of the runs near our townhouse and it's giving me the fever to go snowboarding.
Sara's getting ready as I type this and we'll be checking out, grabbing breakfast, and enjoying our last full day together before I leave. It's going to be hard, I can tell. I have Dexter's picture as my wallpaper on this machine and I already miss him, less than 24 hours after we left him in the capable hands of Kelli. 5+ weeks without my Sara & Dexter fix are going to be an adjustment to say the least.
Today I plan on picking up some things that I need for my trip and relaxing to the best of my abilities. Tomorrow marks the start of the frantic last minute preparations before departure on Thursday. Today is also Sara's birthday, so I want to make sure we get as much out of today as possible.
Happy 28th, Sara!
I can't believe how quickly this trip is approaching. My first flight leaves exactly one week from today. It seems like I have a million things to do between now and then. I have a ton of freelance work to finish up, friends who need computer favors, and lots and lots of packing and organizing to do.
Sara's birthday is on Sunday and since I'll be gone in a week we're going to spend some quality time up in Breckenridge this weekend. We've never gone up to the mountains just to hang out. We always have a camping trip, hiking trip, biking trip, ski trip, concert, or something planned when we get up there. It will be nice to just do a lot of nothing but spend time together, eat, drink, and be merry.
