Buh-Bye from Antarctica

Well it's about that time.  It's time to sign off from Antarctica. It's been one of the most amazing experiences of my life, but I am more than ready to go home. It has gotten to just be "normal" to be here so it didn't seem like this day would ever come. It's finally started to feel real in the last week, and today is finally the day. The plane should be here in 4 hours and I'll be outtie. I can't wait to get home and see everyone I've missed for so long.

This will be my last post from the land of ice and penguins.  I'll still post a couple more updates, maybe from the hotel or airports to post any pics I take. After I get home I'll sign off for good. :)

In the meantime while I wait for my plane I thought I'd let you all read a list I put together of things I haven't done, seen or whatever in the last year...

been in an elevator
fired a gun
bought gas
paid rent
cooked for myself
been in a bank
saw a movie in a theater
had taco bell
had good pizza & wings
smelled the desert when it first starts to rain
saw any bugs
saw any cactus
saw a dog
sent or received a text message
smelled the inside of a Home Depot
been stuck in traffic, WOOHOO!
saw a cop car
driven a car(trucks don't count)
driven over 10 mph

saw someone under 18*
paid for food*
saw rain*
saw a plant growing out of the ground*

*I saw or did these things when I was back in Christchurch for R&R back in February, but not since then.

Bag Drag

So I just did my Bag Drag. When you're going to leave you have to take all of your baggage over to the cargo folks. They weight your checked bags separate and put them on a pallet. Then they weigh you in all your ECW gear and your carry on. I guess they've got to get the weights right, don't want that sucker falling out of the sky.  So I don't have much of anything anymore except all my electronic stuff in my backpack. I think I'll be more gentle on my carry-on than they will with my checked bags so I'll just carry it all.  I also passed my room inspection. So I'm just killing time until tomorrow. 1 more dinner and 1 more breakfast, mmmmm and maybe 1 more lunch, not sure exactly what time our "transport" time is yet.

I took this a couple days ago. It's weird to be able to look right at the sun, it probably gave me eye ball cancer or something...

 My bags packed and ready to gooooooooooooooooo...

 This was the line to bag drag.  I'm all done with that nonsense...

Next stop, getting the helllllll out of hereeeeeeeeee

recent pics

Found some pics I took recently that I never posted.

This was a couple weeks ago right after the sun started coming over the mountain.  I was really excited to see my shadow for some reason...

 Last weekend.  One of the favorite Saturday night past times is to get drunk and pass out in random places. This time it was the middle of the galley :)

 I just took this a few minutes ago.  There is a channel on TV that just scrolls flight information.  It's nice when flights are coming in but this channel just scrolled NOTHING all winter long, hahaha.  All I care about right now is that the 2 flights coming in Monday to get us are listed. WOOOOHOOOOOOOO

Went over to another building with my co-workers the other day. There wasn't really room in the cab of the truck so I rode in back and it was beautifulllllll outside...

For Avaition Fans

Here are a whole bunch of pics of various aircraft that work, or worked here. 

Speaking of aircraft, according to the airlift schedule the C-17's left McChord AFB in Washington St yesterday. They stopped and spent the night at Hickam AFB in Hawaii and they should be leaving later today for Christchurch. They get a day off, then do some flight briefing stuff on Sunday, then they'll be here Monday to get meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Woohoooooooo

This is a C-141, the pic looks old and they don't use these planes anymore...

 C-17...BEAST!

Buttons and knobs, neato...

I have no idea what that thing is they're moving, but it's pretty cool.  This is like the helicopter I got to fly in last summer...

A bunch of the LC-130. It's essentially the same C-130 the Air Force uses all over the world. The "L" means it's ski equipped.  It's really good at getting places the bigger C-17 can't, like The Pole, and field camps...

 Using  JATO(Jet Assisted Take Off) bottles to get airborne. They can us them to add a little jet power to get off the ground leaving a short runway or if they're really weighed down...

 I don't know if I ever mentioned this before.  Back in 1970 a C-121 crash landed at the airfield out on the permanent ice shelf.  80 passengers and no fatalities, but it destroyed the plane so they pushed it off to the side and left it. You can go visit the crash site and see it still. They named the airfield after the plane, Pegasus Airfield...

penguins and seals

These pics weren't taken at the same time as the penguin ones from yesterday. I just thought you guys might want to check them out.  Enjoy the wildlife...  Sometimes it's really pretty here. I forget that when all I can think of is going home. :)