Half way there...

I left NYC on Dec 31st, Reesa's birthday (New Year's Eve to everyone else). Dave and I were actually early to the airport...only to find my backpack mysteriously "leaking", though there was nothing in it other than 2 computers and a camera. The culprit...a rotten Clementine, probably left over from Thanksgiving. The stench was pretty rancid, let me tell you, it took us both about 15 minutes to cover damage control in the airport bathrooms, which obviously wasn't sufficient.

After a 6 hour flight to LA, followed by a 12 hour flight to Auckland, I stepped onto New Zealand soil, only to be greeted by a very excited beagle sniffing bags at the airport. As soon as I walked into baggage claim, the pooch made a B-line for my DaKine pack. The officer asked me to drop my bag and step away, and reminded me the fine for importing food, especially fruits and vegetables, to New Zealand is $2000. Luckily, my bag was apparently clean, the lingering rotten Clemetine unnoticeable to the dull-nosed customs officer.

Boarded my last hour-long flight from Auckland to Christchurch, on the south island of New Zealand. Here I met the rest of the people going to Antarctca with me, I guess around 25 others. I ventured into Christchurch for a few hours, checked out an Antarctica exhibit at the Natural History museum, and got a nice sunburn walking around in the southern summer sun ;)

Today I'll head to the US Antarctic Program Headquarters to get suited up and fitted for my Extreme Weather Gear...almost ready for tomorrow's early morning take-off.