Twilight Zone

I think I woke up inside an episode of The Twilight Zone. I’m up early and ready to go. I’m rested and ready for the long haul home. I have to laugh for a minute because Jen and I were looking at her itinerary and realized that she was leaving a whole day ahead of me and I was still going to beat her home! I’m sure she didn’t experience the same crap that I did though.

I checked in at the International counter for Air New Zealand. Of course the itinerary tells me to be there 2 hours in advance. It’s 0340 and I’m waiting second in line to check in. At 0400 they open the counter and inform me that I need to check in at the domestic counter. Funny, I believe the HUGE sign at the entrance of this line said to check in here if your flight’s final destination was an international location. I lug all my crap over to the empty domestic counter with the same sign that I saw at the last counter telling me that I need to check in at the International counter. Finally, I run into “Jane” who is kind enough to tell me that I need to be at the International counter but when I ask if she’s sure…really sure she makes a call and stands corrected. I need to be at the domestic check in. Too bad it’s not open…I have another 30 minutes to wait. I left my cart in the #1 position in line and sat down with my book. At exactly 0430, a mad dash of Japanese tourists swarm the area and thank God my cart is #1!! Oh…if you only knew how it felt to see all these Japanese tourists. I’m going home and these are my travel companions. Get the cameras and tri-pods out…we’re going home!

So, Jane is nice enough to take care of me. I have 3 bags to check and 1 carry on. Jane asks me to put my bags on the scale behind me so I oblige. I haven’t weighed my bags but I’m pretty sure I’m within my limit. I have excess baggage on my military orders so I figure NO BIG DEAL, if I have to pay for the extra bag I’ll get reimbursed…NO BIG DEAL. So one by one I throw my bags on the scale. The sign on the scale says bags must be below 20 kg. For those of you that are doing the math…let me make it easy. That’s 44.09 lbs. Being the big over packer, I am thrilled (and proud) when each one of my bags makes the cut just below 20 kgs!! I look over and Jane is doing some calculations and has this odd look on her face. I ask if there is a problem and she informs me that because I’m flying to Asia my baggage limit is 20 kgs. I tell her, “OK I’m good each of my bags are 20 kgs or below”. “No” she says “20 kgs TOTAL checked baggage”. A quick calculation in my head tells me I’m OVER my limit by 40 kgs give or take an ounce or two. So…OK, I’ve got excess baggage on my orders…NO BIG DEAL. Tell me how much and I’ll get it reimbursed. At this time, I get information from Jane that I really don’t want to hear again. I am told that there is a 35 Kiwi PER kg charge on excess baggage. This means…I have to pay 1,400 Kiwi to get all my shit home!!!! All the SHIT that is mostly military uniforms and crap that I had to bring along with me on this excursion!! I ask her to clarify and clarify AGAIN. It’s true…she shows me all the documentation and this is really happening!! By the way, thank God for a good exchange rate; 1400 Kiwi is about 750 US dollars…lucky break right?! Holy crap…what do I do! By this time, the plane leaves in one hour! Like I said, what do you do? It’s not like I could just leave it behind (although it was tempting). Cha-ching…it’s billed to my government credit card…I’ll fight tooth and nail to get this back but the fact of the matter is…I’m not so sure I’ll get it. As Jan and I are frantically running around trying to get all this figured out and charging my card I’m hoping that at some point she’ll look into my dark brown puppy dog eyes and feel sorry for me. Guess they don’t work on those of the female persuasion…no such luck. Cha-ching…my credit card is charged and I run to the gate to make my flight! In the midst of all this charging I keep asking Jane questions…I just don’t get it. I’ve never heard of this! EVER!! I finally understand that if my plane would’ve been routed thru the U.S. this wouldn’t be an issue at all. If I was being routed through the U.S. I would incur a small excess baggage fee of $100 for my extra bag that I was checking. If I would’ve known prior to one hour before my flight…I would’ve changed my flight to Hawaii or California!!

Air New Zealand planes are beautiful…for the first time in my life I was sitting in coach and had enough room in front of me to be quite comfortable. My knees didn’t hit the back of the seat. I had my own TV screen. The bonus was that I could flip through about 40 movies, music and games. I could watch whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. This makes up for the 1,400 Kiwi that I just got screwed out of!! Not really…but it was nice. The bonus was that I had a seat next to me that was empty! YAY! The flight was great…11 hours of watching movies and sleeping. By the way…Mama Mia was great!! I reminisced of my trip to London where I met my friend Lon. We got to watch Mama Mia on stage and danced non-stop in our seats to the hits of ABBA. Great memories…God I miss Europe!! I tapped my feet non-stop and enjoyed the movie immensely. I guess I should mention my trip to Auckland. It was nice as well…however, once again in the Twilight Zone. The Auckland airport was interesting to maneuver…I couldn’t help but think about Cole and all his world travels alone. The kid has traveled alone and maneuvered many an international airport without even blinking an eye. I found myself lost and asking for directions in a country where everyone speaks English!! Makes a Mom proud when she knows that her 15 year old can do this alone in countries that don't speak English. So back to my trip…the other nice perk of Air New Zealand is the free…yes FREE drinks. A Mimosa for breakfast, wine with dinner. FREE. Yum!! Life is good! The other movie I got to see was WALL-E. It was OK…not my favorite PIXAR film but good.

Returning to Japan hits home when we arrive in Osaka. I don’t have much of a layover so I run thru customs, grab my bags, go to the ANA counter to check in. The kind little Japanese girl says “I’m solly, you wirr have to pay fol youl extla bag”. Just in case you are wondering…I didn’t misspell her words. This is “Engrish”. This is how they speak in Japan. Wercome home..Tlacey…wercome home! So just in case you didn’t catch that. The kind little Japanese girl behind the counter tells me she’s sorry, I’ll have to pay AGAIN for my excess bags. In the nicest tone I can possibly muster at this point…I tell her NO WAY!! I quickly whip out a receipt in which I was charged 1,400 Kiwi and every bit of documentation I can find to tell her NO WAY will I pay again! If I have to walk and swim back to Okinawa I will! She’s “so solly” and shuffles over to the supervisor to ask her opinion. She returns with good news…my dues are paid. I can proceed on to my next destination without paying another thousand Yen. I get to my gate…plenty of time to relax and read. Yes…Mom…I’m almost halfway finished with that THIRD book!

It’s kind of funny. I don’t mind living in Japan. It’s really not all that bad. Cole loves it here…he loves the base and his friends. I don’t think he really sees as much as I do when I travel. I can’t honestly say that I’m thrilled to return home. I remember when I was returning to Italy…I just couldn’t wait to get home. I missed it when I was gone. It was ‘home’. I’m returning to Japan this time to Cole…this is the biggest benefit. At work, the whole Squadron is a new one; there aren’t many people left from when I left. My greatest friends…Mikki, Lisa…have gone. They won’t be there…when I walk into work; people will look at me and go “welcome to Okinawa” as if I’m the new girl.

I digress…so I get on the plane headed for Okinawa. The final leg of my trip. I laugh as I stand in line with the Japanese tour group from Christchurch. I laugh as I listen to the flight attendants announce “thank you for frying with ANA” and “the Captain expects tulburence so the fasten seat bert sign wirr lemain arruminated”…”prease lemain seated”. Home…I’m almost there.

We touched down on time…early actually. My luggage arrives surprising enough. My biggest disappointment is that Cole isn’t even here to welcome me home! Thank goodness Autumn is there to pick me up. Cole was asleep when she went to pick him up…I guess it’s no big deal that Mom is home. I guess I’m gone a lot…it’s no big deal anymore. I’m home by 2200…Cole welcomes me at the door. He’s taller than me now…he has grown. It’s good to see him...I’ve missed him and wish he could’ve been in Antarctica with me. It’s his kind of place…snow, ice, snowboarding. Tonight (Saturday) when I write this…he babysits next door. Mom always says that your kids will disappoint you. I’m a little sad that he wasn’t there…but he’s a teenager. I guess that’s what happens. I wasn’t gone that long really…this was nothing compared to my Iraq deployment. I guess to me this one seemed so much longer…

Last day in Christchurch

After outprocessing the CDC Jen and I went to the hangar to finish up anything else that was required. On the way out we stopped at the guard shack and enjoyed conversation with a couple of the guards. We mentioned that we were going to walk over to the airport to rent a car. One of the guards asked us if we would like him to “jack us up” with a car. Talk about lost in translation!! In America we would think that this was a threat!! In Kiwi this means he’s going to “hook us up” with a car. We sat around while he wheeled and dealed with a car dealership down the road. His deal wasn’t all that good and he kept trying to get us to hang around a little longer while he “jacked us up”. I finally put an end to it and told him thanks but no thanks. I ultimately didn’t get a car. It was all good…like I said; I really just wanted to hang out. The picture of the stained glass is in the Chapel of the Snows.

We enjoyed dinner tonight at Portofino’s; the Italian restaurant Jonathan, Greg and I visited on our original trip to Christchurch. Tonight, it was better than the first trip. We were able to enjoy dinner with Chief Christiano the Command Chief from the 109 ANG.

On Thursday I found out I would have to move to the Sudima for the night. I say my goodbyes to my favorites from The Commodore. Emma who makes the best mocha’s, Jaime who is always chipper and always helpful, Michael who doesn’t forget a face and is so accommodating. I spent most of my day just hanging out around the hotel. There is no internet here unless you pay for it so I napped, watched TV, read a book. Mom, you’ll be proud to know that this is the THIRD book I’ve read on this trip. I’ve started it anyway.

My plane leaves at 0540. I’m in bed early…

The Emporer Penguins I never got to see are to the right!!

Goodbye MacTown

Well…today is the day. It’s time to close this chapter in my life and move on. It’s time to return to Okinawa, Cole and my real job. I slept in a bit this morning expecting that we would leave around 1400 when the C-17 arrives. I woke up to find out that the plane will not arrive at 1400; instead it will be this evening. We will fly thru the night and return to Christchurch in the wee hours tomorrow. We still have a patient so I’m glad that I slept in so I will be awake thru the flight. By the way...the photo to the left is Jen and I receiving our Antarctic Service Medal.

I’ve been stocking up on my Frosty Boy fix. Each meal over the past couple of days, I’ve indulged in a bit of Frosty Boy expecting it to be my last. Leslie, who doesn’t like ice cream, even had a taste of Frosty Boy in the form of a Coffee Boy. I think she may be hooked. Today, I go for Frosty at lunch and dinner. I’m ashamed of my behavior with this boy…our love affair will be over soon. At least I won’t have to control my impulse to get more…he won’t be there! While I’m talking about Frosty Boy I have to mention that the baker here at McMurdo is E*V*I*L! Just plain EVIL!! This man would turn anyone’s tooth into a sweet one! Let’s not forget the amazing breads his hands have kneaded. I know that’s not a word but I’m not sure how else to word it. The baker is EVIL. Unfortunately, there was not one day that went by that I passed up his bread or his dessert. My body is begging to get away from the baker but my mind is wishing I could wrap him up and take him home! Goodbye EVIL baker…you will be missed!

There wasn’t much to do today. Mila and Leslie are in full swing at the clinic. I wandered around and said a few goodbyes and pack up my bags. The picture here is of the original "Frozen Chosen" that arrived in MacTown. We are standing inside the Ice Cave...our last trip as a group.

This evening after dinner we meet up with our patient and get him ready for his flight to Christchurch. He’s doing well…an uneventful flight is ahead of us. It’s time to go home…

We arrive in Christchurch at 0300. The weather is a little chilly and feels good. We are lucky to be in The Commodore again. I’m glad…my room is in one of the newer wings of the hotel. I was wound up when I got in so I did some reading. Yes Mom, I will finish TWO books on this trip. It’ll make up for the few that I read at home. I’ll count one of them as my 2009 ONE book per year quota. The bed here is like sitting into a fluffy cloud! Awwww…this is good. My airline ticket was purchased with my Wednesday departure in mind. I am one day ahead of the original plan so I try to change my ticket to Thursday with no luck. I will be ‘stuck’ in Christchurch for a day before I leave on Friday. I’d like to say that I’m going to run around all over the place and sight see some more. Honestly, I just want to vegetate. Be alone and enjoy some peace. I find out the next day that The Commodore doesn’t have me booked for Thursday night…what’s even worse is that they don’t have room to accommodate me. I will have to move to the Sudima which is down the road, not as nice but closer to the airport. Since my plane departs at 0540, I’m glad that I’m close to the airport.

I don't really have any pictures to accompany some of my blogs...I'll post some random ones for your entertainment. Jen was nice enough to share her pictures with me so some may be hers...some mine...some might even be Jonathan's. I'll just throw some on that I feel are worth sharing. To the right is Greg, myself and Jen in front of the clinic.

More to come...

Hello blog followers. Thanks for sending me messages to keep me going on this blog while I've been in Antarctica. I am now home in Okinawa and back in the rat race of reality! I have a few more posts to finish up my Antarctica blogging. Please...drop back by again. I'll try to get them posted this week. T~

Another day on the Ice

I get up this morning and the first news I hear is that the C-17 is delayed due to weather. A couple of hours later as I see the weather clear I hear that there is a maintenance problem that will delay our flight until tomorrow.

I’ve pretty much checked out…Mila has the pager and the keys so I’m just hanging out. My room is miserably HOT so I go hang out in the clinic. I wrote a letter of evaluation for Jen and an after action report for Greg. Jon made it to the Pole. I’m trying to get my travel arrangements made to get back to Okinawa.

I talk to Cole who tells me that his JROTC Dining Out was a lot of fun. I’m bummed that I missed it this year. I enjoyed going last year but I think he enjoyed me not being there more this year. Cole tells me that the General (the base commander) was called out by his friend Nathan. Apparently, while giving out awards to the JROTC Cadets, he also gave an award to his wife for her contribution to JROTC Kitty Hawk Program. After giving her the award he kissed her! Well, Nathan decided to send the General to the grog bowl for this infraction of the mess. I should explain for my non-military friends. The grog is a horrible mixture of drinks and ‘stuff’ that I’ll be honest…if I was sent I think I would gag and puke before I ever got it down! Usually at the traditional military Dining Outs the grog bowl is a mixture of alcoholic beverages…nothing is spared from the bar and it’s pretty toxic. The JROTC kids usually mix up their concoction with juices, sodas, Gatorade, hot sauce and cayenne pepper…nothing is spared from their refrigerator and it’s a horrible, horrible mixture of nastiness. So back to the Dining Out…there are usually “Rules of the Mess” that must be followed and you are provided with these rules at the beginning of the evening. Most are pretty much the same from Dining Out to Dining Out. If there is an infraction of the rule someone has to call the person out on this infraction by speaking in rhyme and sending them to the Grog. When the person goes to the Grog, of course, there are rules to getting there (facing movements etc) and rules of what has to be done at the Grog bowl. Words to be said; procedures to be followed. This brave kid called the General out on a very simple military rule which is to not show any public displays of affection while in uniform. He definitely violated this rule by kissing his wife in front of the mess!!

I have one more night...everything is closed on Monday. Don and I watched the movie Blood Diamond. Good movie…I was in bed early tonight.

A sad farewell

We all trucked down to the Chapel of the Snows today for Sunday service followed by the best meal of the week. I had made to order eggs…scrambled with lots of goodies mixed in. I was satisfied…something I haven’t exactly been over the past couple of weeks. Everything seems to take on the same taste and for me it’s been fish. The pork tasted like fish and the beef the other day tasted like fish. It was good to have something that actually tasted like what it was meant to taste. I’m scheduled to leave on tomorrow’s C-17. I have mixed emotions. I’m ready to get home to Cole and to reality but I’ll have to admit…I’m going to miss life here in Mac Town. I’ve been told that we will Medivac another patient tomorrow…another Fireman. The Fire Department has really taken a beating this year. This will be the third since I have been here.

Tonight I have to say goodbye to Jonathan. He is leaving early in the morning to visit the South Pole for a couple of days. Jonathan and I have become close; he’s been my counselor and most of all a friend. This man is amazing! I’ve watched his congregation go from filling the chairs of the Chapel of the Snows to a Chapel that bursts at the seams at Sunday service. His ministry is contagious! I’d listen to him all day. Our goodbye was tearful (mostly on my part) with promises of keeping in touch…I’ve heard rumor that he doesn’t answer e-mail much. I think I’ve got him hooked on Facebook so I’m hoping he’ll keep his promise!

Tomorrow I leave this harsh continent…

Cape Evans & Ice Caves

After working in the clinic today we enjoyed an excursion that took us to Cape Evans and an ice cave about an hour’s drive from McMurdo Station. About a week ago the recreation department began taking people on excursions to the ice caves. Sign up is a bit challenging…the first sign up had people lined up all the way from one end of the hall outside the recreation office to the other end of the hall at the Galley. I wasn’t looking forward to that and actually wondered if it was really worth the wait but Jen kept reminding me of the sign up and made sure I was there…waiting in line at 1645. I’m glad she drug me over there because we were in line early enough that there wasn’t that many in front of us. We luck out on stuff like this because we have more liberal working hours which allow us to sneak out a bit earlier than most of the workers in Mac Town. Sign up started at 1745 and our time in line wasn’t too bad since most of the community was there with us…conversations were good and time passed without too much pain. We lucked out to get on the first trip out on Saturday which was at 1800 with a return time of midnight. The best part of the whole thing was that Jen, Greg, Jonathan and I are all on the same trip!! Our last sightseeing tour together on a TDY that has certainly taken us to places I thought I’d never travel to. Saturday in the clinic flew by and we all gathered for roll call at 1800. This is exciting! Our trip was on a Delta. There are about 20 in our group which is comprised mostly of the DAs (Dining Assistants). They get first dibs on these tours since their work schedule is one of the most constrictive schedules in Mac Town. On our way out to Cape Evans the Delta came to a quick stop just in time to see an Adelie Penguin that was sliding down the side of the road on his tummy. What a good penguin he was staying just outside the driving path on the other side of the flags. So cute…I’m in love with Penguins. A little later another stop just down the road from Cape Evans where we all piled out of the Delta to get pictures with glaciers and icebergs. Just down the road were two seals…OH BOY…two more seals that we will see that will just lay there like two big blobs and do nothing. I’m not skipping down the magical road like I did last time that is for sure. These are seals here…they don’t move remember?! Much to my surprise they hopped up and waddled over to check out what all the commotion was about!! They were so cute…coming within 10 feet of the edge of the road, making their little seal noises. HA HA HA…gotcha!! They did just about as much as the last seal did…lay there like two big blobs. I kept watching them out of the corner of my eye as I marched down the road toward Cape Evans. Much to my surprise one moved! Then the other one moved!! The first one kept stretching his hind fins, up and down, side to side, and then he’d flap them like you’d rub your feet together. He kept doing this and eventually he had turned completely around to where he faced the other direction. The other seal had a little more of a show for us. She would raise her head look up, blink at us, yawn a bit and flap her fins. I really don’t know why I identified one as a ‘he’ and one as a ‘she’. I guess I call the one that actually lifted its head to look at us the female because it took the time and effort to look at us…I guess I didn’t think the male would take the time or bother. A bit more lazy than the female…am I man bashing? I’m sorry…I guess I am!

A few more yards down the road and we were standing in front of Cape Evans. It is located on the west side of Ross Island. It was discovered by the Discovery expedition between 1901-04 under Robert Falcon Scott. On Scott’s second expedition in 1910-13, Scott built his headquarters here and renamed it for Lieutenant Edward R.G.R. Evans of the Royal Navy. Lt Evans was second in command.

The inside of the cabin is much nicer, larger and more preserved than Ross Hut. Inside there are many of the same things we saw at Ross Hut. A kitchen with food, bottles of ketchup, cocoa, and let’s not forget the 6 sticks of butter that are sitting on the shelf perfectly formed just like they were left in 1913. I say that because our tour guide told us that repeatedly…’see the sticks of butter? That’s the neatest piece of this place!’ Seriously, she did a great job on this tour and I shouldn’t make fun. I got in trouble on the tour…my curiosity took over and I stepped into the small medical clinic inside the hut. I was busy looking at all the medicine that was on the shelves (above my eye level) and completely ignored the black strip of tape on the FLOOR that had “DO NOT ENTER” written in white. I don’t know how the hell I missed that!! I was grabbed by my parka and taken out of the little room. The tape on the FLOOR was specifically pointed out and read to me very sternly. I got it!! I got it!!! Whew…I was allowed to continue my tour of the hut…thank goodness because I turned around and got to see my first EMPEROR PENGUIN!!! I’ve been waiting this whole trip to see an Emperor and there he was, inside the hut being such a good penguin posing for photos and staying still so as to not mess up our pictures. OK OK…so he was dead and laying on a table, he was an Emperor and unfortunately was the only Emperor I was lucky enough to lay eyes on during this trip. On the other side of the hut were stables where their horses were kept each stall had the name of the horse on it along with their snow shoes which was pretty cool. There was still hay all over the stalls and next to that was whale blubber left under a large table…probably used to cut them into pieces.

Just outside the hut and up a small hill was another cross to commemorate three members of Shakleton’s trans-antarctica expedition who died in the vicinity in 1916. It was a gorgeous evening for photos and we were able to snap a lot of great shots on top of the hill!

We left Cape Evans and headed to the ice caves. Apparently, this is the first cave that has been found in several years. Everyone is pretty excited about it. I’m not sure what to expect, I’ve seen pictures on the shared drive but I’m still not exactly sure what we are seeing. Now is the prime time to see the caves…soon they will disappear as the ice shelf begins to melt and get closer and closer to Mac Town. As we drive up, I see the same expanse of snow and ice. We climbed up a small manmade snow staircase. What we have to do is enter in through a small hole about 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide. I sat down and slid down a snow and ice slide to the inside of the cave. The picture of Jonathan describes the reaction as we got to the bottom of the slide. I’m going to go ahead and post this tonight by may add this photo later. What an amazing sight!!! The cave is a beautiful shade of blue and the waves are frozen in time just as they were crashing against the glacier. You can literally see the waves, every detail perfectly carved as if it was an ice sculpture. This is God’s ice sculpture and it is a perfect creation. I tried to stay in as long as possible. Although today’s weather is pretty mild, the ice cave is freezing cold. I was barely there for more than 5 minutes and my fingers were going numb. I snapped as many pictures as possible and climbed back up the snow slide back to the warmth of the frozen continent!

On the way home, we ran into a couple more Adelie Penguins. They were a bit of a distance from the road this time. Everyone piled out of the Delta for a kodak moment. We weren't allowed to get off the road so the pics we got were tinly little black specs in distance. Jen and I agree...these are not as cool as the Penguins we saw at Davis Camp.

We made it back home in time to stop by the Coffee House for a quick minute. Mila and Leslie were having a great time. They have quickly fit in here in Mac Town. I won’t have to worry about them…they’ll be fine.

The South Pole

Leslie returned this morning from her trip to Christchurch. Mila is a bowl of energy in the clinic. I love Mila and Leslie and they have already fit right in here in Mac Town. I am going to fly to the South Pole today and I’m excited!!! I’m going to run around the world once or twice. Who knows…I may even do a pole dance. We’ll see….you only live once and I doubt I’ll ever be at the bottom of the earth again. I have now come and gone from the South Pole. Jen and I bundled up as if we were going out into a blizzard. It is -40◦F today…I’ve never experienced -40◦F. They say there is not much of a wind…I’m thankful for that! We step off the plane and head for the ceremonial South Pole which is about 200 yards off the nose of the aircraft. Marty told me they would be sitting in the fire truck…I see the truck but I don’t really see him. I wave and walk on over to the Pole. Dave the aircraft commander went with us. The small incline up to the Pole was not such a small incline according to my lungs. I’m making it…but I have to breathe as if I’m running up a hill. As we get to the Pole I look at Jen are realize that her eyelashes, hair and all the hair on her face is frosted with ice! This was all of 5 minutes after we were outside!

The United States Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was established in 1956 and has been permanently staffed since that year. The Geographic South Pole is the southern point of the two points where the earth’s axis of rotation intersects its surface. It sits on an icy plateau at an altitude of 9,306 ft, about 800 miles from the nearest sea at McMurdo Sound. The ice is estimated to be about 9,000 ft thick at the Pole, so the land surface under the ice sheet is near sea level. All directions face North at the South Pole. Another interesting fact is that the ice sheet is moving at the rate of about 10 meters per year. The exact position of the Pole, relative to the ice surface and the buildings constructed on it, gradually shifts over time. The Geographic South Pole is marked by a small sign and a stake in the ice pack, which is repositioned every year on New Year’s Day. The picture I have attached of the Geographic South Pole is the small sign with the pole and the American flag. The ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station. It is located a short distance from the Geographic South Pole and consists of a metallic sphere surrounded by the flags of the Antarctic Treaty signatory states. The ceremonial marker is moved every few years so that it is always within walking distance from the Geographic South Pole.

After we took some pictures, walked around the world and yes…pole danced we stopped by the fire truck. Jen ran into the post office to stamp our passports while Marty and I caught up for a quick minute. Within 30 minutes we were back on the plane and headed to McMurdo. We arrived home at 0200 to blazing daylight of course…I didn’t sleep until close to 0400. Too much daylight…I’m ready for darkness again.

A prick in the bum

Mila and Leslie are learning the ropes at McMurdo Clinic. Leslie said it took 21 seconds to orient to the front desk. I think they’ll be fine. I’m helping out but we are all tripping all over each other. A medical evacuation mission will leave later today. Leslie will go on this trip, she’s hasn’t hardly got her feet wet in Mac Town but she’ll be back pretty quick.

This afternoon, a man came in to get a shot. He’s from New Zealand and tells me that he needs a “prick in the bum” that his doctor at home prescribed. I’ve gotten to know him through Jonathan. He’s a very kind man but can sometimes test anyone’s patience. I’ll try first to paint the picture of his clinic visit. He goes behind the curtain while I prepare his medication. As I walk behind the curtain with the medications he is standing there with his pants open waiting for his ‘prick in the bum’. After I’m completely behind the curtain he turns around so that I’m looking at his behind and at the same time he says (in his soft voice and New Zealand accent) “Now, Tracey go slow and the nurses usually talk to me while they do it”. I can’t help but snicker a bit because I know that Greg is standing on the other side of one of the curtains and I can imagine what this all sounds like. I hear Greg snicker thru the curtain and then I hear Greg say “Tell him he’s pretty!!” Meanwhile, I’m standing there giving his shot and trying my best to hold in my laughter. I know there is no way that I have described this situation to its ultimate potential but know that I am sitting here laughing as I tell it. This kind gentleman also has a way of eating that is not the most enjoyable. The other night I sat next to him and I almost came unglued. We were eating spaghetti that night. He holds his knife and fork much like the British. The fork is held in his left hand upside down and being gripped you would hold a handle bar. The knife is in the opposite hand gripped in the same manner. We are eating spaghetti mind you and he is constantly scraping the knife across the plate to gather up the sauce which he is scooping up along with the noodles onto the BACK of the fork. Just as he gets it all scooped up and after I’ve heard the screech, screech, screech, screech of the knife on the plate he turns to talk to someone and the food falls off his fork!! I look across the table at Jonathan, grit my teeth and point with my eyes to the man’s plate. Jonathan gets exactly what I’m getting at and this has now become his irritation as well! The next time we are eating with him, Jonathan begins scratching his plate with his knife along with him and it was difficult to keep a straight face…so difficult I had to leave the table in laughter. What would I do without someone to talk about?

Jonathan came over to the clinic today as Don and I were playing around on Facebook. Jonathan has not given in to the peer pressure of the Facebook revolution. He begins to ask questions and before you know it, he’s sitting at Don’s computer and Don insists that he join. I walked Jonathan through the process and within minutes…he’s hooked. Just as he signs up, a window pops up and with a request to be added from an old friend. He then puts in his High School and another 50 people pop up; after that, his college and another 50 people. Jonathan is amazed and spends the afternoon smiling and chatting on line with people from everywhere. I think he’s addicted because he left the clinic to get away from it and in about 5 minutes (just enough time to get to the Chapel) he’s back on and chatting with me and probably 3 other people.

Skua's descend upon the ice

I saw my first Skua today. They are birds about the size of a large duck, grey in color and they are scavengers. This Skua has been perched outside of Bldg 155 for the past few days but this is the first time I saw him. I walked out of 155 and almost tripped over him because he wasn’t moving anywhere!! Most birds would run away from someone as they walked by…not Skuas! On the way back to Bldg 155 about 10 minutes later, the same Skua was still in the middle of the road. What made this hilarious was that there was Delta (one of the huge Antarctica buses like Ivan the Terra Bus) trying to get around the Skua. The bird was not moving, he was busy eating and all be damned if he was going to move. The Delta is forced to drive around the Skua and it’s no easy task to accomplish this with a Delta the size of a semi truck. The Skua won and the Delta truck finally made it around him.

I heard a story today about a couple of Skua's that attacked a guy outside of Bldg 155. They guy was walking across the road with a bowl of food and a piece of oreo cheesecake sitting on top. One Skua swooped down across his shoulder and knocked the bowl out of his hand and the other one joined him after this precision attack. I guess it wasn't an attack on the person...it was just the food they were after. No injuries, just lost food and now the guy will be hungry but the Skua's are satisfied.

Tonight we went to bldg 207 and watched a movie. The military has converted a day room into a small movie theatre with surround sound and a large movie style popcorn popper. We watched “Baby Mama”. Cute movie. Jonathan made us popcorn...it was delicious!! If only I had some peanut M&Ms!!! We played pool in the day room for a bit then it was off to bed.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran’s Day. A day to honor Veteran’s around the world that have fought and served in defense of their nation. Jonathan has planned the annual Veteran’s Day ceremony which was held at the Chalet. The ceremony was done beautifully and included our Kiwi friends from Ross Station just around the bend from McMurdo. The Chalet was packed full of veterans young and old, retired, separated, Air National Guard and Active Duty. A POW/MIA table is at the center of the ceremony and was later brought to the Galley. As we sat in the Galley at lunch, it was nice to see people read the story of the POW/MIA table and even better to see people go and get their friend so that they could read it as well.

We shipped the equipment and supplies from the Davis Camp mission today.

Today in the Galley, I noticed something that I’ve seen over and over but I guess it didn’t really click until today. There is suggestion box that sits on a table just inside the Galley. Next to the box there is a Thesaurus that is always there. I chuckle a bit because I know it’s probably there for people playing word games in the Galley. I have to wonder though if it’s there so people can come up with a better word to describe the food. Like, instead of the mashed potatoes are too thick…maybe they could say they are more “fat”, “bulky” or “solid”. Or, maybe if you would like to say that the food is horrible…you could be more descriptive and call it “atrocious”, “ghastly” or “hideous”. Or maybe, when describing Frosty Boy you could say he’s “amazing”, “astounding”, “marvelous” or even “awe-inspiring”.

On the subject of Frosty Boy, he has been sick for the past few days. He is the talk of Mac Town; everyone is in a tizzy because they need their Frosty Boy fix. I’ve overheard people saying “these brownies are really good, but with Frosty Boy”…then the table gets silent and everyone looks towards Frosty Boy with a look of sadness. Frosty Boy really is a legend around here…truly one of the best morale boosters of Mac Town. Long live FROSTY BOY!

Dr. Don

Mila and Leslie are due to arrive today. I’m excited to see them! Their arrival means that I will be going home soon. I’m glad to get home to Cole and normal life but I’m also sad to leave behind some great friendships that have been created here.

I have a note here to talk about Don. He is one of the Docs here at McMurdo Clinic. His specialty is OB/GYN so we’ve bonded. I’ve enjoyed him and now that Mila is here I have moved into his office and we’ve had a blast. Don’s wife is a school teacher and her kids have sent homemade cards to the clinic. As always, kids’ cards are always funny and this bunch is no exception. On one card little Andy writes that “Jacob copied his penguin idea” which leads you to find Jacob’s card which reads “Andy stole my pumpkin idea”. Sure enough, Jacob has a pumpkin drawn on his card and Andy has a penguin drawn on his. While I’m talking about Don I’ll share that he survived “Happy Camper” which I believe I have described before. It’s where they take you out on the ice and you camp out for 2 days and one night. Don went to Happy Camper and it seems that while he was sleeping his hands came out of his sleeping bag and the tip of Don’s fingers got frostbite. His fingers will be OK but we have watched the healing process over the past few weeks. At first he had to wear tight gloves in order to keep his fingertips from hurting. Today he still suffers from some numbness but the pain has finally subsided. Another piece of joy that Don has brought to the clinic is a card that his friend sent from Hawaii. The card is a musical card that plays when you crank a little handle on the front. Don has posted the card on the wall near his office. It is heard several times a day throughout McMurdo Clinic. The music is catchy and every time it is heard everyone within earshot stops in their tracks and does the best hula dance they can muster. As I sit here and type this I can hear the song just as plain as day and for those of you reading this that have heard it before. Da dad a-t da, da da da da daaaa daaaa. Da dad at da, da da dat da, dad a daaaa duuuaaa!

Misty

This morning Jen and I attend church service followed by brunch. The best meal of the week has even gotten old. The nice thing about brunch is the made to order eggs and the fresh fruit. After a little relaxing in my room I joined Jon and his friend Joe in the Coffee House. We enjoyed some good conversation and was about to leave when “Misty” pops in. I’ll call her “Misty” to protect her identity. As I said, we were about to leave and go to dinner when Misty pops in. She walks up to the table, interrupts our conversation and loudly says “HELLO JON!” followed by “JOE, YOU PLAYING CRIBBAGE WITH ME?” How could Joe resist? Misty is a jolly older masculine looking lady, short in stature, wearing an Alaska sweatshirt and jeans. Joe invites her to the table and immediately goes to the bar to buy another bottle of wine. I can already see that Jon and I aren’t going to get out of this so I sit down and prepare myself. The first thought through my head was “I wonder how long cribbage takes?” I’m starving and I can see that Misty is going to be a trip! Jon and I observe as Misty and Joe play cribbage. Misty occasionally attempts to teach Jon how to play but not enough for either of us to understand. After each hand, Misty tells a story before dealing the cards or finishes her story before beginning play. Joe assured me that a game would last no more than 20 minutes but with Misty’s story telling it was stretched out for over 40 minutes! As the evening continued Misty greeted everyone that walked into the Coffee House by name and very LOUDLY!! I should tell you that we aren’t exactly sitting at the entryway…she is greeting everyone across the Coffee House. Just as the game was coming to a close, Jon grabbed the glasses, I grabbed the wine bottle and Joe was packing up the game so fast Misty didn’t have a chance to ask for another game. We get to dinner just in time and we don’t return to the Coffee House tonight!

Back to McMurdo

We returned to McMurdo without any problems. Everyone welcomes us home and tells us congratulations on our successful mission. We are all starved since we didn’t get any in flight meals. The galley food is not so great. It’s great to see Jonathan. We’ve all missed him and have all mentioned him as we wandered around Tasmania. I brought him back some small tokens of our appreciation. Although he didn’t physically travel with us, his presence was there in his prayers. He is much appreciated by me and the crew and I couldn’t help but say ‘thank you’ with a small gift. One of the things I found was a magnet that said “My friends went to Tasmania and all I got was this magnet”. I thought it was appropriate since we had to leave him behind. My friend Marty has gone to the Pole for a few weeks. He won’t return until after I leave for Okinawa. I miss him but plan to hop down to the Pole for a quick visit before I go home.

The weather at McMurdo is so different. It’s only 7◦F but the sun is shining and there is no wind. I must be used to the cold now…I used to think this was way to cold to stand outside. Now I walk around with a fleece and a hat. I’m comfortable. The snow is melting all over Ross Island. It’s starting to look like a big mud pit in town. My room is not so comfortable now. It continues to go from cold to hot. Today it’s a miserable 85◦F in my room…blazing hot in casa di Sapp today.

Tonight was a nice evening in the Coffee House. We sit around and enjoy good wine and conversation. McMurdo population seems to be a bit lower than before. I guess this is because people are going to the Pole. After the Coffee House, Greg and I go over to the Crevasse. This is one of the military day rooms which just so happens to have drinks. It is military only. I am the only female there tonight. I think I’ve experienced it, I won’t go back.

Another day in Tasmania

I forgot to talk about the little boy at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park. As we were wondering through the park a little boy dressed in a blue hoodie jumped up on a rock to talk to us. In his cute little Aussie accent he says “hallo, do you wont to see whawt I have?” (those words are written for the Aussie affect). Of course, we all oblige as we are curious. The little boy is adorable under his blue hood and he’s looking down at his hands that are clasped in front of his abdomen. I follow his eyes down to his hands and crawling around on his hand is a huge bumble bee! Whoa…all of us being medical spout out with comments like; “hope you’re not allergic to bees”, “do you have an epi pen”, and “where are your parents”. He’s pretty proud of his bee and tells us that he is probably about to die. He was probably right, his bee just walked around on his hand very content to be there.

While I’m talking about the Aussie accent we had a good time with Mel and Nick. Mel is from Hobart. We Americans would say “Hobart” with a definite “R” in there. Mel’s dialect would sound more like “HObaawrt”. Emphasis on the “O”, and of course the “R” is mostly silent. Nick is actually from Switzerland originally so he joins in on our Hobart vs HObaawrt debate. The other word that kept getting emphasized was the word “fire”. Plain and simple right? No…Aussie’s would say it more like “fuwiiiure”. This was a hoot especially while we were enjoying our wines the evening of our dinner.

We are delayed another day in HObaawrt (Hobart). Dave the aircraft commander has been asked to appear on the Australian Today Show. He is quite the celebrity especially with his quote about avoiding the penguins on the ice runway. Today we wondered around the town. Not really doing much of anything just wondering and taking in the nice weather. One of the stores that I found very cleaver was the “Fairy Store”. It was a little girls dream. The entry way was loaded with pink sparkly bead curtains and glitter butterflies and when you turned the corner into the store you have never seen so much lace, glitter, tulle, sparkly things in all your life! Crystals were hanging from everywhere. I turned around just in time to see a little girl making a wish and getting sprinkled with fairy dust (glitter). I’m so glad I didn’t have a little girl…

Tonight we had dinner at the top of the hotel in a restaurant that revolved around at the rate of about one full circle every 70 minutes. It was a nice pace and the food was good. We enjoyed watching the waiters come out and have to find their customers every time the left the kitchen!

We leave Australia tomorrow. It was a nice trip but I’m ready to get back to Mac Town to finish up my tour.

A day in Tasmania

While I’m thinking about it…the Australian Antarctic Program gave us each a commemorative coin from the Australian Antarctic Program. It is for the 2008 season and has a whale and an iceberg on it. The President of the AAP gave them all to Dave (the aircraft commander). Dave wasn’t sure if he would see the JMATT crew again so since George stayed behind we had a little flightline ceremony for him. The “take, shake, solute” routine that is the military way. We arrived in Tasmania last night just before midnight. I checked in to my hotel room and grabbed a bite to eat I finally crashed around 0300. Today, we have a day of rest and plan to return to McMurdo tomorrow. Greg and Dave, the aircraft commander had to attend a press conference this morning so the JMATT, Jen and I went for breakfast at one of the hotel restaurants. We barely made it before closing time. The food was OK…really nothing to write home about so I guess I won’t blog about it either. The only thing I DO want to blog about is the vegemite. Mel (the Aussie nurse) has been withdrawal since she arrived at McMurdo. American’s don’t have vegemite!! I’ve never tasted vegemite so decided that while in Rome do as the Romans do. Right? I toasted some bread, spread a thin layer of vegemite over the top and cut it into 6 pieces so that everyone could try a bite. OH MY GOD, vegemite is HORRIBLE!!! GAG…disgusting! Nasty!! I had to go get a large glass of orange juice to kill the flavor. Of course, I was the stupid one and put the whole damn piece in my mouth. I learned my lesson on that one!! The only way I can describe it is to tell you to imagine a bouillon cube mixed with about a teaspoon of water…just enough to make it into a spread. The taste was horrific!

The day was ours so we picked a brochure and headed out in our rental car. Greg was back by the time we got organized so he was able to join us. Our destination today would be the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park but first a little history about where we are. I’ve heard that my Mom’s friend Staci and her daughter Morgan have been reading my blog. I think Morgan is sharing some of it with her class at school. I’m hoping that Staci is editing some of it…I’m not so sure it’s all good content for kids her age. SO…in order to make this interesting for Morgan and her class I’m going to tell you something about Tasmania. By the way, hello from all the way on the bottom of the earth to Morgan and Staci and hello to her entire class!! Tasmania is an island and a state located 150 miles south of Australia. Its capital is Hobart which is where we are currently located. The population is close to 500,000 and its area is just over 26,000 square miles. It is promoted as the Natural State and the “Island of Inspiration” because of its unspoiled natural environment.

The first settlers came to the island in 1803 for the purpose of preventing the French from claiming the Island. The early settlers were mostly convicts and their military guards that were tasked with developing agriculture and other industries. There were many convict-based settlements including secondary prisons such as the penal colonies at Port Arthur in the southeast and Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast. Most of these prisons and buildings still remain in Hobart.

So we are headed off to see some Tasmanian Devils. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the cartoon character that is spinning uncontrollably causing havoc to everyone and everything he comes into contact with. It also reminds me of growing up and my brother who loved the Tasmanian devil. What a disappointment to get to the conservation center and see a short little pig-like black thing laying under a rock! Seriously though, the Tasmanian Devil is a carnivorous marsupial that is found exclusively on the island of Tasmania. It’s small, stocky and muscular. It has black fur with white patches and has a loud and disturbing screech-like growl. They are vicious and are predominantly scavengers. I didn’t hear the screech-like growl as these little devils just lay around under rocks and sleep. At the end of the day they did get up and run around a bit but only looked like cute little dogs at the pound. The real treat at the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park was the Kangaroos! We were able to go inside the fence with them. We started to creep slowly closer and closer. Of course, we are taking pictures every time we got another foot closer. Before we knew it we were scratching behind their ears!! Face to face with a kangaroo and when I put my hand out to touch him he stretched out his neck like my dog does when he wants his neck scratched!! We all agree this is the highlight of the trip…who does that? We did!

On our way back to the front we stopped at the bird show. By this time, it was pouring down rain so we figured it would be cancelled. We were in luck…the bird handler led us into shelter and brought the birds to us. That was neat. He was very patient and allowed us to take pictures, touch them and even had them landing on our arms. One of them grabbed a coin out of my hand. Another one we held while he was perched on a stick. He was a strange bird…something that I would say looked like it came out of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. We left the Conservation Park pleased with our choice and headed back to the hotel to call Nick for dinner. Remember, Nick and Mel are the Aussie team we flew with.

Nice insisted we go to dinner at his favorite restaurant in Hobart. It was called Piccalilly. A very pricey, small portion kind of place. The food was good, the wine was great but the fellowship was the best part of the evening. We all had a good time. I knew we were looking at a hefty bill but whatever…how many times are you in Hobart Australia? Just as I suspected…our bill for the 8 of us was $960. Thank goodness Nick insisted on paying for all the beer and wine!! That was a big hunk from the bill. Don (the Army doc) kept telling us that he shouldn’t drink too much because he tended to do silly things, like doing the splits, when he gets tipsy. By the time we got back to the hotel it was time for Don to show his stuff. Right on the front steps of the hotel…Don put on George’s mack daddy sunglasses and dropped down in the splits. I was lucky enough to snap a great picture…I think this one may need to end up at Tripler Medical Center on someone’s screen background!! By the way, George got his sunglasses when he purchased a drink at the hotel bar. There was a bartending contest earlier in the evening which we thought would be one of those bartending flair competitions (like Tom Cruise in Cocktail). It was totally boring because there was absolutely no flair but one of the judges ended up being the World Flair Champion which was fun to watch. Anyway, the sunglasses were quite popular throughout the evening.We find out tonight that Dave (the aircraft commander) has been asked to be on the Australian Today Show. This is cool…it means we have another day to hang out in Hobart.

By the way...if you click on the links I've made it should lead you to the news articles I'm referencing.

News

I wish I could download the TV news but the blogger is taking too long.

I think this is the video from the Australian Today Show

Print news article

Davis Camp Part II

We got up early and prepared Dwayne for his trip. While the JMATT and Aussie Team took care of him, Jen and I went to the plane to configure and load what supplies they didn’t need. I’m not sure if I mentioned this before but we had to off load everything because of the freezing temperatures. We beat the loadmaster out to the plane so while we waited for them to show up we enjoyed the view. I was looking at the ice runway when all of a sudden something very small caught my eye. It was moving, then it stopped, then it moved again and I realized it was a penguin!!!!! A penguin!! I am looking at a penguin!!! It’s running…I mean waddling toward us and I’m so excited I can’t believe it! A penguin!! Behind him there were more! They were all waddling down the runway…tiny little black and white dots getting larger and larger because they were getting closer and closer! What a moment…we grabbed our cameras and stood on the edge of the runway snapping pictures. The next thing we knew a helicopter flew over and scared them over to the other side of the runway. Damn it! Then the loadmaster arrived. Damn it! So…we jump on the plane and configure and load. It would be a little while before the patient would come down so we decide to have a little excursion. We threw on our yack tracks (grippers that go on the bottom of your boots) and headed out across the runway. Every so often snapping pictures because we didn’t know how close we would get. Eventually we were within 5-10 feet of 8 gorgeous Adelie penguins. They are the smaller penguins and they look like a bunch of little toddlers waddling around. We were so close that you could hear them…one sneezed, one made little gargling sounds. My favorite one stood there with his right wing pointing to his side as if he was telling us to “go that way”…”that way, get the hell off my runway”. They sat there then occasionally one would get up and waddle around in a circle then move back to the pack and sit some more. There was a couple…they looked like they were together anyway…maybe this was a mom and dad. I’ve heard that the Emperor Penguins mate for life…the Adelie’s have several mates so they are sometimes called the “prostitutes” among Penguins. “Little sluts” as Mom would call them. So as we sat there enthralled in this moment I turned around to see some commotion at the plane. Then I heard the power…crap! The patient was on the way!! I’m sure the sight was funny to see…Greg describes us as 3 green penguins running across the runway. We made it before the patient…thank God! The plane was ready to load…all was well.

The patient was transported in the back of a pick-up truck…gotta love thinking outside the box. Austere conditions call for creative solutions. We had planned on transporting him in a Hagglund but found that it would be too difficult due to the size of the Hagglund. Dwayne is heavily sedated and we are doing the breathing for him. He won’t remember this ride…he’ll wake up after surgery more than likely.

We are now on our way to Tasmania, Australia. I am on headset now, so I listen to the pilots talk. I’m already worried and we are now taxing down the ice runway. I hear the pilot talking about the crack in the runway that he doesn’t like. I hear the tower warning him of a penguin on the right, or a penguin on the left. I notice that we are kind of moving forward, then braking, moving forward, then braking. I later find out that they have to do this because the ice is thin and we are basically riding the waves below the ice in order to prevent breaking thru. So glad I didn’t know that before. We take off and fly over Davis Camp and the Aurora. The pilot tells me later that everyone was waving goodbye. The best reward in my job is the satisfaction that I’ve made a difference in someone’s life…we did this today. We are flying straight to Tasmania…there is no land between here and there and as I sit on headset I hear the front end talk about what we’ll do if this happens and what we’ll do if that happens. They are planning their actions if there is an emergency. I must add that this is not unusual to hear this...I guess I just didn’t really want to hear this at this particular moment as we fly straight over water with not one stitch of land in between. I got up and looked out the window…nothing but broken ice and water. I pray…

Dwayne does great. The JMATT and Aussie team monitored him diligently. Another prayer answered…he will do fine. I passed some paper around and everyone signed it and wrote notes to Dwayne…we all threw in a patch. I put in an 18 AES patch, the Army guys put in their US Army patches and the U.S. Flag patch. The front in threw in their LC-130 patch. We set out on what was supposed to be a 10 hr mission…we were heavy, fuel was precious. Another prayer answered…we had tail winds that boosted us forward and shortened our trip. Nine hours and 25 minutes…we landed at Hobart Field in Tasmania just before midnight. Another hero’s welcome…we were met with TV cameras and cameras snapping. Dwayne was offloaded and his parents and sister was there to see him. Dwayne went to surgery the following day…job satisfaction…I made a difference in someone’s life today.

After Dwayne departed the crew and medical team was personally thanked by the U.S. National Science Foundation president, the Australian Antarctic Program president, a representative from the U.S. relayed a message of “congratulations and job well done” from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Two rental cars pulled up…ours to use while we stay in Tasmania. I grabbed the keys to one to make sure the med crew had transportation! I’m the designated driver once again…the Aussies drive on the left side of the road. I’m an old pro at this.

We stayed at the Wrest Point Casino. They were great!! Everyone was appreciative of our assistance in evacuating their countryman. A card was left in each of our rooms from the hotel thanking us for our help. There will be a press conference tomorrow…Greg and the aircraft commander get the honors. Fine by me…I don’t want to be in front of a camera!!

With all that being said…all of those ‘what ifs’ never came into play. It was THE perfect mission, no problems. The weather was perfect, the patient did well, the equipment worked flawlessly, the LC-130 didn’t let us down. Every prayer was answered today.

By the way...most of these photos are courtesy of Jen. My camera is NOT making me happy on this trip and hers has been phenominal!

Davis Camp

The mission is delayed this morning. The aircraft commander (AC) will re-evaluate later today. We will be on Bravo alert until otherwise notified. I went back to sleep…woke up at 1100 and for the first time in 2 days I actually felt like getting out of bed. My room has gone from cold to hot for the past week. The food at McMurdo has completely gone to CRAP. The other day we had some sort of chicken with hollandaise sauce…the sauce tasted like bananas. Yesterday we had BBQ pork which tasted more like fish. Today, the BBQ pork looking stuff appeared again except they called it a “surprise’. I wasn’t up for any surprises today. I went home last night wishing I could order a pizza!!

Speaking of the conveniences of home. I’m not a complete high maintenance girl but I would kill for some maintenance!!! I want a pedicure, I’d kill for a good massage and my hair needs some love! I like my hair short but this particular moment makes me wish I had long hair again! Bad hair days involved throwing it up in a bun and forgetting about it…no worries. No more…bad hair day means bad hair day with short hair.

We are alerted this evening for our journey. Its official, we are headed out on this mission to rescue Dwayne and take him to Australia. I’m not going to lie…I’m nervous. I’ve flew all over Iraq but this is nerve racking. The ice is melting, the Aussies have made an ice runway for us to land on, and no one has ever flown this distance in Antarctica. We are flying there ‘heavy’ and every drop of fuel is precious. We think we’ve thought of everything but there is always that little pang of doubt for the ‘what if’. We are all having bazaar dreams. I won’t even go into the dreams I’ve had lately all of which involved ice and airplanes. I called Cole and Mom before I left…I love them and want to make sure they know! I have all the faith in the world with the AF pilots I fly with. I am confident in their abilities and pray that God will guide them and keep us safe. I stopped by to see Jon before I left. I don’t think I needed to say a word. Jon knew what I (we) needed…lots of prayer.

I’ll take a moment to talk about my front end crew. Tonight we will fly with a basic LC-130 aircrew which consists of an aircraft commander, co-pilot, engineer, navigator, 2 loadmasters and 2 maintainers. Jen and I arrive before the medical crew to configure and load the plane. I love, love, love flying with C-130 crews. They are all a great group of people and it is my belief that they respect the AE mission…it shows. The minute we stepped on the plane it was “tell me what you need ma’am”. Within minutes we were ready to go. As far as my job goes, I feel in control and at home for the first time since I’ve arrived at McMurdo. I’ll also mention that the LC-130 is equipped for ice and snow runways. They have skis that surround the wheels and their pilots are confident in Arctic operations.

We fly into the night (daylight of course) destination Davis Camp which is on the opposite side of Antarctica from McMurdo Station. We will make no stops; our trip will be about 9 hours. On the way, we plan and orient the JMATT and Aussie team to our configuration plan. They like our plan so I move on to figuring out what we’ll load first, last etc. I like being organized and want to make sure we aren’t wasting valuable time. I lay down on a litter for awhile…not much sleep though. I’m thinking of a million ‘what ifs’ and planning what I’ll do if this happens or that happens. This is the first time I’ll land on an ice runway…I hope this goes smooth. We arrived at Davis Camp at about 0300L McMurdo time. The landing was superb; like landing on a pillow. The ramp opened up and of course we saw snow. Pretty normal but off in the distance not too far away from the ice runway was the Australian ship the Aurora. I mention this because it tells you just how close the edge of the ice was. Being that close to the edge of the ice means that the ice is melting!! The Aurora was diverted to Davis Camp after Dwayne was injured, the initial plan was to put Dwayne on the ship and take him on a 4 week journey to Australia. Could you imagine? Already you are in pain like you’ve never experienced…unending pain and you get put on a ship to be sloshed around for 4 weeks? Fighting pain, nausea and Lord knows what else? I think the Australian doctors realized this early on and nixed that plan but continued to get the Aurora closer so that they could deliver medications and a doctor to assist the lone doctor at Davis Camp. The USAF became involved when the Australian government asked for assistance. We gladly extended our helping hand.

As we stepped off of the plane we were met by a sea of cheerful, hospitable Aussies. We were there to help their mate and they were glad to see us. According to the aircraft commander, they did a fine job creating the ice runway. The first thing I saw when I got off the plane was a whole bunch of green oil drums. There is not fuel truck at Davis Camp…our fuel was in these drums that had hoses going from drum to drum. This would be connected to a small pump and our plane would be fueled…much like you do at the gas station when you fill your car with a hand pump. Sounded like something I didn’t want to watch. While I’m thinking about it I want to mention that the weather has been horrible at Davis Camp. The Aurora was having difficulty reaching the camp and the Aussies have reported repeatedly that visibility was zero. Today, it was like every cloud was lifted, the winds were completely still and a wave of warm weather is flowing thru. A miracle if you ask me. Thanks Jonathan, thanks Mom, thanks Marty, Eddie and everyone else that sent up a million prayers.

Like I said, the Aussies are fantastic. We are treated like royalty. There is hot food in the Galley. Dwayne was the Camp Chef. His replacement came in on the ship as well as fresh supply for the coming months. We are lucky. Davis Camp is not what I was expecting. Actually, I don’t really know what I was expecting but I was pleasantly surprised. We all brought sleeping bags expecting to crash on a floor somewhere. Well…we were wrong, wrong, wrong. I’ll get to our accommodations soon. Our first stop when we arrived was the medical clinic. I’ll just say that it was modern…nicer than the McMurdo Clinic to be honest. Lloyd the camp doctor that has been diligently caring for Dwayne for the past 14 days is so happy to see us. Repeatedly, we heard him say “I’m so excited you are here, but I’ll be even more excited when you leave!” I can’t tell you how impressed we all are by Dwayne’s condition and the care that he has received. Huge kudos need to go out to Lloyd and his crew of 3 laymen with 2 weeks of medical training. A funny side note…when I introduced myself to Lloyd he looked at me and said “yes, Tracey, I remember you”. I must’ve had a strange look on my face because he realized that he probably didn’t know me but he kept turning around saying “I swear I know you”. Later he said, I was in the U.S. in 1976 and looked at me as if I should remember him. I admitted that I was only 6 in 1976 which finally sunk in to Lloyd that we probably didn’t meet before today. It became our joke and several times throughout my stay he would turn around and just look at me as if he was trying to remember our meeting in 1976! I digress…so we sat around the table and discussed our patient. I’d love to sit here and tell you every detail of his injuries but I just can’t. Just know that we are not surprised by anything we heard and Dwayne is in as bad a shape as we anticipated. His fall was while riding a quad bike (4-wheeler) straight off of a 30 foot cliff. The quad bike took the majority of the impact and probably saved his life. I guess I should also mention that we met Dwayne. He’s awake and talking to us…smiles and knows we are there to take him home. He has been in touch with his parents in Australia and says they’ll travel to Tasmania in a day or so. After we did our round table meeting, the docs go in and give Dwayne his options. Dwayne has been on Morphine for pain. I had wondered early on how much supply they had, I couldn’t imagine that they had a plethora of drugs for such a small camp. Lloyd told us that they had in fact run out of Morphine but they were able to collect more from the scientist camps surrounding Davis. They were close to running out again but the Aurora finally made it in.

Davis Camp has a population of about 100 during peak season. I’m not really sure what it drops to during the winter months but there are only a handful. The Camp is nice, the buildings are modern. Lloyd has been there for 10 months and is on his way home soon. Peter was the other doctor that flew in by helicopter 2 days prior to our arrival. Peter is going to be going to another Australian camp soon. Our accommodations are S-W-E-E-T. The rooms are cargo shipping containers that have been converted to small bedrooms. They remind me of a rail car. There is a bed with drawers below, a bunk bed that folds out in case you have to double up. Just to the right of the bed is a small desk with a lamp and an alarm clock. There are high speed internet hook ups and a telephone. Above the desk is a small window that has a shade that raises and lowers to give you darkness during the night and daylight during the day. The bed was so comfortable…we joked because the Aussies told us that if we needed anything at all just help ourselves. If there was a way I could’ve shoved that mattress into my back or slung it over my shoulder without being noticed I’d have done it! Just down the hall was a supply area that had lotions, soaps, shampoos etc a free for all. Bathrooms and laundry were down the hall from the sleeping area. They were unisex community baths but each bathroom had a toilet, a shower and a sink that was behind closed doors. Sleep was not as restful as I had hoped…I did sleep but still had the constant ‘what ifs’ rolling thru my head.

Mission delayed

We were cancelled today due to weather at Davis Camp. I slept all day long. Tonight, Jon and I ventured over to bldg 206. This is one of the military dorms. One of the day rooms has been made into a makeshift movie theatre with flat screen TV, surround sound and a movie style popcorn popper! Jon made us some yummy popcorn and we watch Dan in Real Life. Great movie!

LC-130s arrive...we plan

The LC-130s arrived today. They base out of Williams (Willy) Field which is near Scott Base. We find out that we will depart for Davis camp tomorrow. The medical team met up at 1300 for a planning meeting. The first order of business if for everyone to discuss the patient and decide what our course of action will be. There are a lot of strong personalities in this room, I think we all recognize this and are doing a good job listening to everyone and weighing the options. As I mentioned before, we all seem to meld together as if we’ve worked together before. The physicians discussed the different options for pain control and anticoagulation therapy during transport. They throw around several ideas but no decisions are made just yet. We all agree that we need to discuss things with the physician at Davis Camp and assess the patient. Jennifer and I decided early on that we need to stay in the background and coordinate the mission execution. Our job will be to ensure the team has what they need as far as electrical, oxygen and equipment. I briefed the team on the aircraft configuration and what to expect. Where the patient will be, where the equipment will be. How we’ll provide oxygen and electricity. Jen and I will be at the aircraft before the patient to ensure everything is ready. Our next job is to sort our equipment and supplies. In all the commotion of planning and to ensure that we had everything we needed I requested a full AE equipment and supply package. This package will support up to 25 patients, there was talk early on that we may have more patients from other stations around Davis. This was my way of ensuring that we definitely had what we needed. In addition, we were not told what the JMATT would bring. The JMATT brought their equipment and supplies, not really knowing that the AE equipment and supplies were coming and the Aussie team was surprised to see their equipment and supplies arrive in Christchurch. Our goal now was to reduce the amount of equipment and supplies. The distance we were covering and the altitude restrictions where going to suck up fuel so we needed to reduce the weight as much as possible. The JMATT team had to bring their equipment and supplies because they had to take it back with them to Hawaii. They are not returning to McMurdo so their equipment goes. The Aussie team had to bring their equipment because they were not returning to McMurdo either. The JMATT briefed everyone on what they had; the Aussies briefed everyone on what they had. It was decided the AE supplies would stay at McMurdo but we would pull from it in order to ensure we had everything we needed. We decided we would use all of the JMATT supply and equipment as our first choice since the Aussie equipment was not approved on our aircraft. If we needed to use their equipment we would use it on battery power. We also decided to use the AE equipment as primary and bring the JMATT equipment for back up purposes. Oxygen would be supplied via H-Tanks and electrical will be from the AE Frequency Converter. We had it narrowed down but we were still going to be heavy. Logistically, we were going to have to off-load everything at Davis Camp because of the freezing temperatures. All this time, prior to the JMATT/Aussie Teams arrival Greg, Jen and I had been planning for these logistical hurdles. Yes, although I’ve mentioned the possibility of our mission, we have known all along that we would go. All of our research on the Evac-U-Splint, the Hagglunds etc was for the purpose of this mission. Our equipment and supplies are prepared. It came to a grand total of 1,400 lbs, we are prepared to go. Now we wait for the weather to clear at Davis Camp.

I am not feeling well…I’m run down and need sleep. I’m hoping I don’t get sick.