Jan 3

First, a bit more about the blog. It is a free site by google,
and the penalty for "free" is advertising. So, don't click on the
"next blog" link at the top. That will NOT take you to my next
blog entry. That will take you to the next random blog at this
google site, and not all are PG-rated. You can navigate my multiple
entries using the link in the right panel, and even sign up to
get notified, I think. You can also post a comment for everyone
to see at the bottom of a blog entry.

Anyway.......
We arrived safely in Christchurch, New Zealand.
It is 19 hrs. ahead of CST here. Ziggy arrived from Poland
a day before us, Michelle is already at McMurdo meeting
with our colleagues and doing some planning and prep.

My first adventure came at the Minneapolis airport.
I was riding down an escalator when an elderly, overweight
gentleman fell down above me. I turned around as he yelled out,
and was able to catch his glasses in mid-air as his suitcase hit
me in the legs. I and a woman that was above him on the escalator
tried to help him up, but he and we were both struggling. An alert
person at the bottom of the escalator jumped off and hit the emergency
stop switch as the old man's fingers were inches away from getting
chewed up........If that's the worst thing that happens this trip,
I'll take it. The man was fine, just shook up a bit.

I had to fly first class to LAX, which was nice, because LAX was
kind of a hassle getting to my terminal and gate and through
security. At LAX we flew Qantas to Auckland vi a red-eye,
and for once I was able to sleep a bit.

It was a 13 flight to Auckland, arriving this morning.
We had to go through customs there, and get re-ticketed.
Interesting about the Auckland airport is that all the "hallways"
between terminals and gates are outside. All the counters and
such inside a building, but to walk from one place to another,
it's always outside. Here we are halfway between our arrival and
departure gates:

1.5 flight from Auckland, which is on the North Island,
to Christchurch, which is on the South Island.
Most of Lord of the Rings was filmed on the South Island.
If we get stuck here on the way out, I'll try to take a train
into the mountains or up the coast for a day.

Christchurch is the traditional setting off point
for Antarctic expeditions, going back to Amundson
and Scott. Here is the statue of Scott in downtown,
sorry about the shorts and the weather here.......





Scott and his team reached the pole slightly after Amundson's,
but Scott and his team never made it back, perishing
shortly thereafter.

It was raining here today, so not many good photos yet.
Pat Hamilton, from the Science Museum of Minnesota,
and I are the only ones in our group that have not been
to NZ before. We may try to take a bus to the beach
or a tram up the mountain either in the morning or tomorrow
night.

We have our appointment at the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center)
tomorrow at 1 pm. We will get all our cold weather clothing
and gear issued, and it will get packed up with our other baggage
and loaded on a C130 military transport. We are recommended to
save out a day or two of clothing in a carry on in case there
are delays. If all goes well, we will be on the ice mid-day on Monday.

Tomorrow at 1:00 we go to the C to check out all our gear,
and pack it all up because we leave very early on Monday
for McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

We are staying at Croyden House B&B. Here are some of the guys
out front on our way out to dinner.



We were accompanied by Simon Cox, of the
New Zealand Geological Survey, who picked up the tab!

All for now. Jet lag is setting in. I'm hittin' the sack.
2 days of flying is enough.............