Hi all - Well, if you've followed all my various Facebook posts you already know this, but just for completeness...I made it home yesterday afternoon after a two day trip from Antarctica. We left Monday around 1 pm (Sunday evening in the US) to begin our journey, and I arrived at my final destination on Tuesday at 3 pm. We left Antarctica on an Airbus, which I had never done before, and was really the way to leave the ice. It's a regular wheeled aircraft complete with drinks and stewardesses. Not too shabby compared to the military C-17.
On our way north we flew over Terra Nova Bay, and I got a few pictures of the polynya (which is now ice covered), and some of the geographic features there. Another nice thing about the Airbus is that you actually have windows you can look out.
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| Terra Nova Bay. |
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| Mountain peaks on the way north. |
We spent the night in Christchurch, and I began the long journey home Monday morning at 6 am. I had a little bit of trouble with my flights on the way home, as somehow my Melbourne to Los Angeles reservation was cancelled. As I had no visa to enter Australia and thus leave the airport, there was talk of them sending me back to my destination (Christchurch). However, I got them to reinstate my ticket, and once I got to LA was able to get on a flight to Denver. I slept almost the entire way home, so that was nice.
Since I've been home, I've been readjusting to normalcy. Aiden hasn't taken to me quite as I'd have hoped - he is currently going through stranger anxiety, and I am a stranger to him. We've spent lots of Mommy and Aiden time the last 24 hours, and he's warming up to me, but he still goes to Daddy or Grandma when he's upset, and his excitement level at seeing me isn't what it used to be. I know he will come around, but it's been a bummer for me to watch this. I guess this is the perils of being a working mom who has to travel. I'm also apparently inept at ordering food, since I ordered a vegetarian burrito at Chipotle today for lunch when I meant to order one with chicken. I'm looking forward to getting back to routine, especially to my first softball game in 6 weeks this evening.
At any rate, I will close with some fun pictures of our time the last day. See you on my next Antarctic trip!
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| Aiden and me at the airport. |
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| Mom, me, and Aiden with the sign my Mom made for me. |
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| Me and Aiden hanging out in the front yard. |
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| At the park. |
