Amber on the Road

Big Changes for the Bates'

2010-10-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, the Bates' are making some changes: moving into a house on Kwajalein and adopting a baby (maybe two!). We plan to keep on traveling but since we're going to be putting down roots here, we decided it was time for a new blog. To follow the continuing adventures of Amber and David Bates, please go to: http://www.thekwajbates.blogspot.com/.

Thanks for sticking with us so far and we'll see you at our new site!

Sharks and Clams at 7th Island

2010-09-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

DJ, Stephanie, David and myself, cruising out to 7th

A black-tip swings through to check us out

A huge school of newly-hatched fish

Can you find the fish in this photo?

Jeff coming up from a free dive

The shark's still not sure of us

Giant clams!

A really big Moorish Idol fish

More giant clams!

Seventh Island is our favorite island to sail to for a day away. This time, Stephanie, the new teacher from Third Island came with us. We had a great time sailing and snorkeling and saw some beautiful giant clams. Usually we can find them in lots of different colors but of course, since we had a camera with us, we only saw the blue and black ones!

Shelley and the Restraining Orders

2010-09-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

Keven, Shelley and Mo rock out singing "Volvo-Driving Soccer Mom"

Steve and David on guitar and base, respectively

Shelley and Mo having fun

Paul played guitar and sax for the show

Sandra and Kate enjoy the show fron the pool

Happy Birthday Sandra!

Paul takes a turn on the microphone while Keven plays guitar

Murph kept things going on the drums

There's my rockstar!

On Saturday August 21st, Shelley and the Restraining Orders rocked the Roi-Namur pool for to kick off the First Annual Big Lebowski Fest. The show went great and the crowd loved every minute of it!

I'm an Aunt!!!!

2010-07-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

My brother Josh with his new son Rhys

On July 24th, my sister-in-law Liz gave birth to Rhys Lear Sheppard. He weighed 11lbs 3oz and was 23in long with a 15in head. My new nephew is a tank! And what a cutie- I just want to pinch those cheeks! I can't wait to meet him when we go home for Christmas.

Japan: Kyoto, Osaka and back to Tokyo

2010-07-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

In front of a restaurant in Matsumoto (what a great way to advertise!)

I just wanted to give this cat a big hug!

Goofing around in Yamanote

A view of Kyoto and the Kiyomizu temple (the porch shown in the picture is built completely without nails!)

Me, trying to peel eggplant without peeling myself

The food we made in our cooking class: Clear soup with eel "peonies", jade salad with sesame dressing and sushi

A street scene the night before the Gion Matsuri parade- the entire city of Kyoto was out to buy good luck charms from the floats, eat street food and be seen

One of the street food stalls, selling... something

A close-up of one of the parade floats

A mieko (an apprentice geisha) out to watch the parade. Sorry we couldn't get a better photo- she was amazing to see, not beautiful but very graceful, poised and elegant

One of the parade floats in the Gion Matsuri parade- the floats are pulled around town to ward off sickness

Another float (traditionally these floats were carried but now they have wheels under them)

David and I in our yukata (summer kimonos)

Avoiding the sun the way Japanese women to- with an umbrella

The main gate of Nijo castle in Kyoto

David outside of Nijo castle (his shirt apparently says "I drank, I was drunk"). We weren't allowed to take photos, but Nijo castle is known for it's beutiful screens (an example: http://collection.aggv.bc.ca/explore/detail.aspx?item=12832). They are currently being restored and are more beautiful than ever

The Zen water garden at Nijo castle. We also saw dry Zen gardens (with the sand and rocks) but weren't allowed to take any photos.

An "Engrish" sign. It's kind of small... It says "Notice" in enlish and then has a line of japanese characters and then says "Thank you for your cooperation" in english

In the bamboo grove outside of Kyoto, where we went for a day to escape the heat

Another photo of the bamboo grove

Me with some statues of gods meant to protect travelers

A baby and mama snow monkey

A reverse zoo! David is in the cage and the monkey he's feeding is outside

Sunset over Kyoto

The Kyoto tower... in a kimono...?

And there's the real thing, reflected in the windows of the Kyoto train station

Sushi train!

David and I at the Golden Pavillion

A picture-postcard view of the Golden Pavillion

Another view (and yes, that is real gold)

Believe it or not, I think this is an ad for a telecom company

Da-nah, da-nah da-nah! We're gonna need a bigger boat!

David petting sharks and rays at the Osaka aquarium

David holding up Osaka castle

Some funky trees in the park near Osaka castle

A really great example of "Engrish"

Nope, not what you're thinking. This turned out to be a yakiniku restaurant devoted to James Brown

Some of the great wall art at the Bonsai Guesthouse, where we stayed in Osaka

I think these cars were for sale! They're Mercedes Benz's covered with sparly fabric

The sign above a fugu restaurant

The crush of commuters coming off a train (just one) in Osaka. The main train loop around the subway had ground to a halt just before rush hour earlier that day when someone threw themself in front of a train (it was actually a train that we were on...)

Just a few of the bonsai treess on the roof of the Bonsai Guesthouse. David was in heaven!

Speaks for itself

Yup, that's a shark guitar

Me, napping through the heat of the afternoon in Tokyo

Minh, the friend of a friend who was kind enough to meet us out in Tokyo, Jeff and Jeff's friend Licia

Fireworks in Chofu, outside Tokyo, to celebrate the end of the shool year. Not a great photo of the fireworks but a good crowd picture. You're never really alone in Japan.

All our trip souvenirs

Omaru Onsen, a Wasabi Farm and Matusumoto

2010-07-13T15:35:00.000-07:00

David in his yukata and tabi

Us, sitting around in our yukata drinking tea in our elegant room

One of the beautifully laid-out courses in our seven course dinner (!) at Omaru Onsen

Waitin' on a train...

There it is, our first Shinkasen (bullet train).

A GPS view of the road we drove to Hakuba (an interesting re-introduction to mountian driving for David, made more interesting by having to drive on the left!)

Our rental car

The ski jumps at Hakuba, where the 1998 Winter Olympics were held

Not a great view of the Japanese Alps, but this is the best view we got while we were there

David and I at the Daio Wasabi Farm

Matsumoto Castle

We've reached the half-way point of our trip. From here we go today to a Bonsai museum and then to another onsen and then we go on to Tokyo for the Gion Matsuri (festival).

Mt Fuji and Kawaguchiko

2010-07-10T08:27:00.000-07:00

David and I in front of Mt Fuju

David and Jeff

Mt Fuji went into hiding, but still an great picture

A dragon boat on Kawaguchiko Lake

Today we visited the Mt Fuji area. The guys were going to climb but decided against it, so we spent the day walking around the lake, enjoying the tourist atmosphere. It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny, only our second sunny day in Japan and there was a nice breeze coming off the lake. After taking a cable car up Mt Kachi Kachi to get a nice view of the mountian we walked around to the other side of Kawaguchiko Lake to Ichiku Kubota's Kimono Musuem- he hand makes the most beautiful kimonos you've ever seen using an ancient method that had been lost since it was last done in the 16th century. Here is one of his many beautiful pieces: www.onesandzerosfashions.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/san-large.jpg

Tomorrow we're taking a bus to take a bus to take a train to take a bus to get to an onsen up in Nasu and the day after we're heading to pick up a car in Nagano.

Japan: A day in the city and Tokyo Disneyland!

2010-07-07T07:43:00.000-07:00

David showing the T-rex how it's done at the Museum of Natural History

The view from the top of the government building- Mt Fuji is out there somewhere...

The Tokyo Government building and some interesting sculpture out front

Me at Disneyland, making my mouse ears in front of the castle

David and I on the Teacup Ride

Japan Day 2

2010-07-05T17:15:00.000-07:00

Lesson for the day: check when stuff is open before taking the train all the way across the city. Turns out the stuff that I wanted to see yesterday- the Tokyo history museum and the museum of natural history are both closed on Mondays. Ooops. We had fun looking around through Ameyoka Market and then headed to Akhibara, the anime and manga center of Tokyo. We even stopped into a Maid Cafe for a snack (young women dressed as maids call you "mistress and master and sing when they bring your food!).
In the evening we met a friend of a friend, Minh, out for dinner and drinks. He took us to a yakiniku restaurant and we had a great time talking and eating. Walking back towards our hotel with him was an eye-opener: Tokyo is a different city at night. We're going to try adjusting our schedule so that we're up and around later in the day to see more of it like that.
Well, I'm off to find a laundrymat and then to try those museums again, and maybe the Sony showroom.

Japan!

2010-07-04T05:47:00.000-07:00

Us, in Kabuki-cho

There was such a line to get a photo taken with this bear that I couldn't get one with him!

We made it! We are in japan, in Tokyo, at a great little hotel and have started exploring the city. Today, Shinjuku, tomorrow Ueno, Akhibara and Roppongi!

Roi Rat Softball

2010-05-17T14:29:00.001-07:00

The Roi Rats softball team

We made it to the semi finals but were beaten by Marina. The playoffs were last night and Marina lost to Brother's All (a great team that beat us all but once!). Look out, Brother's All, we'll be coming for that trophy next year!

A Weekend at Home

2010-05-04T18:27:00.000-07:00

Making bread- yup, I'm in my workout clothes. The first rise is the perfect amount of time to squeeze in a workout!

David throwing pottery in the hobby shop

And playing video games (this is also a good shot of our living room, in case you were wondering what our apartments looked like)

The final count: 2 loaves of wheat bread, 8 pretzels and 14 fruit tarts, all made in our little kitchen.

Napping

Harley!

Our friends Gene, Sandra, Steve and Kate came over for dinner and a really fun word game

And then Sandra decided to organize our spice rack...

At the airport, waiting for the fligth to Kwaj

David shows off before the triathalon (he did the 1K swim)

And so does Al, who did the bike part of the triathalon (42K)

And there's David swimming...

...and coming out of the lagoon...

...Al takes off...

...A tired David relaxes after hearing that he cut 40 seconds off last years time!

Al doing his laps

Two tired but happy Rats, who placed 5th out of 17 teams (Sorry, I didn't get any pictures of Eric, who ran the 10K for the team)

Fresh fish! So many people fish that we get a lot of it for free. I believe this is about 50 dollars worth of yellow fin tuna.

And there it is, cut up for sashimi!

Another great weekend on Roi!

Friends up for the Weekend

2010-04-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Chillin' at the bar

Allison, Anthony and David

Allison and Hande

Me and Hande

Hande made Wally's night!

Me steering

Umm....

That's better!

Me, Allison and Hande

Great hat!

Flying the colors

Third Island

Anthony

This coralhead is one of my favorite places to snorkel

Great hair!

A bunch of Beautiful underwater photos:

There we are!

I love this photo!

Allison

Relaxing at the beach

The wrong way to attack a pillbox

The way we roll on Roi

At the airport before Hande and Allison head back to Kwaj

We had some friends up for the weekend: Anthony, Allison and Hande. It was a great time! We went out to the bar on Saturday night and then went sailing on Sunday. Allison and Hande hadn't spend a lot of time up here so I got to show them around on Monday. We rode around to the Namur side of the island and saw a lot of the WWII structures- they don't have many left on Kwaj so they thought that was pretty cool.

All in all, another great weekend!

Valentine's Dinner

2010-03-12T18:12:00.001-08:00

A panoramic of the harbor on Namur

David and I, all spiffed up for the party

The start of another beautiful sunset

Kate and Steve

Great shoes!

Nancy and Tim on their one day anniversary

On the 15th of February we had a special Valentine's Dinner at the Scuba Club. The chow hall folks spent all day getting things prettied up with tents, lights and centerpieces and preparing the special meal. This Valentine's dinner is one of the highlights of the year here and everyone had a great time. We had a classical guitarist playing and the food was great- I almost swooned over the salad- tomato slices on fresh basil leaves with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Not that big of a deal to you at home but it'd been almost 6 months since I'd had fresh basil. David and I spent the night talking and dancing with friends and had a great time.

An Island Wedding

2010-03-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

The happy couple: Nancy and Tim

Waiting for the bride

Wedding guests

Tim and Nancy say their vows

Island Ladies! Carly, me, Nid, Song, Debbie and Brenda

Susannah and Rene

Kathy Anne and Rick

Yup, that's my husband

And that's what he gets!

Greg and Song

Mike, Sandra and Gene

The rings and the cake

Tim and Nancy's first dance

We celebrated Valentine's in the best way this year: with a wedding. Tim and his fiance Nancy got married on the beach at sunset. It was a beautiful wedding and a great party.

Tropical Christmas

2010-03-11T16:56:00.000-08:00

David and I

Anthony

Island Two-and-a-half. No, really, that's it's name!

Jeff, a good friend of David's

Flying the colors

Headed south towards Eighth Island

David heads out to do some snorkeling

Eighth Island and the surrounding coral heads

The water here is so clear and it's the most beautiful turquoise color!

David soaks up some sun

Carly steering us towards home.

One of the beach shacks on the lagoon

The view from our lagoon-side bar

I told you this island looks like a postcard or a calendar!

A friend of mine from Palmer, Anthony, works out here now on Kwaj and he came up to Roi to spend Christmas with us. He's the one that took these gorgeous photos. We had a pretty full house for the holiday, which made it easier to be away from home. We had a realy Christmas tree, with lots of presents and good friends: Carly, a volunteer teacher on Third Island , and her husband Ken, and Anthony.

We spent Christmas eve at a Christmas Party and Yankee Swap which was a ton of fun. I got a set of beer glasses David got a bottle of Glenlevit. I think Anthony won a bike bell...

On Christmas day, I made cinnamon rolls from scratch and we opened presents before heading to the marina to catch the ferry. We spent the day over on the Third Island going to church, playing with the kids and having lunch, and then watching the church Christmas programs. It was a lot of fun and I think we're going to try and go back every year.

The day after Christmas we took the sail in the pictures above, out to Eighth Island and back. It was a perfect day for it- not too windy, not too hot. We all had a lot of fun and on the way back we stopped at a boat float at Sixth Island and hung out with some other friends who were spending the day on the water.

The End?

2009-09-28T12:05:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for sticking with me this past year and a half. I've really enjoyed sharing my life and travels with you. I'll be moving out to join David in Kwajalein shortly, so I think this is my last post for now. Good luck in all your endeavors!
Amber Bates

Lonely Planet USA, Part Four

2009-09-28T11:20:00.001-07:00

Hummy at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America)

Falling Water

David and I, with the rolling hills of West Virginia behind us

" The Smallest Catholic Church in the US"

David and Hummy with the Green Bank Radio

Home!

The road home: We left David's friend's place in Western Massachusetts and headed south through western New York. We drove along the beautiful Hudson Valley and stopped at the Culinary Institute of America for a yummy lunch and then pushed on through, all the way to Allentown.
From there we headed west to see Frank Lloyd Wright's famous house, Falling Water, in south-western Pennsylvania. It was all clean lines and built in furniture and made me want to redesign our dream house. As you can see from the photo above, the house is built above a waterfall. You can hear it throughout the house but you can't see it from any of the windows or terraces!
The next day turned out to be one of our favorite of the trip- riding along the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. It was all curvy roads, farming valleys and mountains. We visited the Green Bank Radio Telescope as well and had a wonderful tour there. It's dish is the size of a football field and it was instrumental in the discovery of the black hole at the center of the universe. We both dream of moving to West Virginia someday and David is excited by the new career path he never considered: radio astronomy.
Unfortunately, after that beautiful day, we had to bolt home, across four states, in some pretty crappy weather. We had to get to Kansas again so that we could spend some time with David's family before heading back to Omaha. They were some hard days, just pushing through 10 and 11 hours. We're not doing that again!
All in all, it was a great trip and there was never any time when I wished we were doing it differently. It was amazing to me how much more I saw when we were on the bike. I looked around and really *saw* more. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again.

Lonely Planet USA, Part Three

2009-09-16T08:27:00.000-07:00

Some custom trikes we came across in Northern Pennsylvania

David and Hummy at Valley Forge

Art Deco Hummy

David and I at the Liberty Bell

Independence Hall

The United Steaks of America!

Inside Independence Hall, in the room where the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution were written

Do pineapples start out that small or is that a hybrid?

Hummy's being eaten by a topiary rabbit!

An old bonsai

David goes eye to eye with a guardian lion

A panoramic view of the Hudson Valley and the Hudson River

Dinosaur footprints in Western Massachusettes

David, Shaun and Phil

Shaun and his son Brendan check out the motorcycle

From Upstate New York and Niagara Falls, we headed south to Philadelphia. We spent a week there with my Dad and step-mom, camping in their backyard and seeing the sights. We spent a day in Philadelphia, visited Longwood Botanical Gardens and the Brandywine River art Museum, drove around Valley Forge, went bowling with my dad and took pilates classes at their health studio.
Leaving Pennsylvania, we headed back north, this time up the eastern part of Pennsylvania and up the Hudson Valley to Western Massachusetts to visit some Air Force buddies of Davids. We spent the weekend hanging out with them, seeing some of the small towns and other attractions and generally having a good time.

Lonely Planet USA, Part Two

2009-08-16T04:53:00.000-07:00

Liz, Steve, Mike, Josh and David goofing around

Split Rock Light House

David on the "Longest Suspension Bridge in Canada"

The Bates

David demonstrating why the Motel 6 outside of Toronto was so great (yup, that's a beer opener)

Horseshoe Falls

The American Falls

Me on the Maid of the Mist

We've been on our trip for just over a week now and we've covered a lot of distance. We have been to the Irish Fair in Minneapolis, to Duluth and Lake Superior, to Split Rock Lighthouse and to Pennsylvania the long way, through Canada. We had a beautiful, but long, drive through southern Canada and Western New York and are spending the week at my Dad's house in Pennsylvania. Historical stuff, here we come!

Lonely Planet USA, part 1

2009-08-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

David and bike, packed and ready to go

David and his grandma Wanda

Candee, David's stepmom, and me

Us with the bike

The steam engine that David's dad has been working on

The engineers studying the problem

The problem: broken rails and a derailed train

On our way across the farms of Kansas

David and Hummy with the train

At least I'm taller than the wheels!

One last train photo

The sunset, and me, seen in David's helmet

My view from the back of the bike

The moon and the passing fields

A beautiful sunset

Tribe, our cat, who lives with David's dad and stepmom

The "authentic" chinese buffet we ate at

Me napping with Tribe

Me relaxing in the shade during a butt break

The bike, also taking a break

David and I started our motorcycle trip last weekend. We saw lots of family and spent a lot of time on the bike seeing the beautiful plains and fields of Kansas. It was great to catch up with people and we're both looking forward to the rest of our trip (even if our backsides aren't!). Next stop, Minneapolis for Irish Faire.

Road Trippin'

2009-08-05T06:52:00.001-07:00

Mandy and I

Liz, Mandy, Me and Josh

ppppptttt!!!

All smiles!

Josh and Liz

Josh, Ben, Liz and I out for dinner

Josh and Liz about to go on the Corkscrew

Liz and I on a ride

Liz with a cool old circus poster

Us with an old circus wagon

Liz as a horse trainer

Barnum and Bailey's elephant wagon

My cousin Jennie and I

Aunt Joyce and Uncle Art

Jennie, Me, Aunt Joyce and Uncle Art

Aunt Joyce's Birthday cake, made by Jennie and I

Happy Birthday to you!

Who wants cake?

Michelle and I

Jason and Michelle

As soon as I got back into the US, I left for a week-long road trip through Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit family and friends. My first stop was at my brother and sister-in-laws, Josh and Liz. We had a great weekend together, going to Valley Fair (amusement park), the science museum, going dancing and seeing other friends. I got to spend an afternoon with my friend Mandy- we were in high school together but it had been a few years since we'd gotten together. It was really great to catch up with her.
On Wednesday, Liz and I caravanned together to Milwaukee with a stop at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo WI. It was much bigger than I thought it would be and was all about old circuses and the Barnum and Bailey's circus in particular. We had fun wandering around for an hour or so and we'd both love to go back sometime.
While I was in Milwaukee I caught up with friends and got to spend some quality time with my family there. My aunt celebrated a birthday over the weekend and my cousin Jennie and I made her a carrot cake. It was tiring to head out of town right after getting back in the country but I'm really glad I spent the time seeing people.

Back to Omaha and the Surprise Waiting for Me There

2009-07-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

Genny on the lanai of my hotel room- what a great view!

They have penguins at the Hilton Hawaiian Village!

Me and my luggage in HI

Front Yard

Back Yard

Kitchen

Living Room

I flew away from Kwajalein and David earlier this month. It was sad to leave him but I'll see him soon. I treated myself to a night at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and had a great view and wonderfully soft bed. And they have penguins and flamingoes (I couldn't get the picture of them to upload) on the grounds.
Mom picked me up at the airport in Omaha so she was driving when we turned into my driveway- I actually screamed when I saw the place. And not a scream of joy. The pictures don't really show it but nothing, not even mowing had been done since I left 2 and a half months ago. The grass in back was knee high! And the inside- how can you do that to someone else's home?
Our renter has since moved out and he was kind enough to clean up a bit when he did. I've been spending all of this week getting it really clean and ready for David when he gets in. Unfortunately because having a renter went so badly, David and i have decided to sell the house.
Want to buy a house with lots "charm"?

Boat Float at Sixth Island

2009-05-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

Steve and Heath show off their catch of the day

Chatting with the folks on the other boat

Oh yeah, Sandra's hip

Gene decorates with zinc oxide

Mo and Laura

There's the Bates'

Kevin and Sandra

I'm ready to go

And there I am!

David shows off

David free dives to check out some coral

They're a little tough to see but the white spots in this photo are tiny egg sacs- the water was full of them

Another shot of them

Pretty coral picture, with one of those egg sacs making a blur in the lower right

David's floating?

Nope, cheating (yes, we know you aren't supposed to stand on coral heads!)

A puffer fish

Steve and Jonathan enjoying some beers while floating in the lagoon

Kevin and I (in the green hat) join them

Laura, snacking after a float

Kevin demonstrates other uses for zinc oxide

Kevin and Mo

After a hug from Kevin, Mo has a one eyed smiley face on her back!

The other boat heads in early

And we keep partying!

Mo and Sandra

David demonstrates the proper life-preserver positioning for a boat float

Gene and Sandra

Jonathan's hero shot

Mo and Steve

On Memorial Day a bunch of us took out two boats to 6th Island for snorkeling and "boat floating". A boat float is when you anchor a few boats, tie them together and then proceed to party! It also usually involves grabbing a life preserver, a hat and a beer and relaxing in the water for a while.

I'd never been to 6th Island so it was fun to see a new site and we spent the day exploring the coral heads and hanging out with friends. It's rough life but I think I can handle it!

Oops, two more boat float pictures

2009-05-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Heading for home

David, why are you frowning?

I forgot to post these with the other photos of the boat float :P

Snorkeling at Gagen

2009-05-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Jeff free dives to check out some coral

A giant clam

I swear there were fish in this picture...

David with Gagen behind him

An anemone and clown fish

A pretty reef photo

David, Jeff and Al floating in the lagoon

A white-tipped reef shark

Me showing off a clam shell I found (now a jewelry box on my dresser!)

A juvenile trevally took a liking to me (they can act like pilot fish when they're young)

Most of the time I had to look cross-eyed to see him!

A puffer fish

The trevally "led" me all the way back to the boat and then took to David when I got out of the water

Last weekend, David and I, along with Jeff and Al, took the sailboat out to Gagen to spend the day on the water and do some snorkeling. It was a beautiful day (ok, they're all beautiful days out here) and we had a really good time. We saw lots of cool stuff while we were snorkeling and had fun hanging out with friends.

Snorkeling in the Japanese Pools

2009-05-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go under

Fish!

This fish was striped with three colors but I couldn't get a very good picture

Another fish and some coral

A lion fish

David and I

A reticulated conch (alive)

A very well camouflaged relative of the seahorse

A small eel is poking his head out

The last time I was on Roi David and I didn't have time to go snorkeling in the Japanese pools so we did it right away this time. The pools are two areas, about forty ft by forty ft by nine ft deep dug out of the coral. Originally they were thought to have been dug by the Japanese (hence the name) but I read recently that the Americans dug them after the war. At low tide, the only time that it's safe to dive in the pools, they are large tidal pools, not connected to the ocean, so the marine life in them is a bit different from that at other coral spots we've snorkeled. I think my favorite was the sea horse-looking thing (sorry, don't know what it's really called). It was so well hidden, in plain site, that I missed it at first.

Partying at the Parrothead Bar

2009-05-27T19:46:00.001-07:00

I'm ready to party

And so is David!

Hermit crabs fighting over pizza crusts

Kate and Steve setting up for the light show

Just hanging out

More hanging out

Jeff, one of David's good friends

Another beautiful sunset

The light show in the lagoon getting fired up

Every Saturday after work (people here work Tuesday through Saturday) everyone gathers at the Parrothead, an outdoor bar on the lagoon. It's a good opportunity to decompress after a week of work and to plan your weekend. Above are some photos from my first Saturday night back on the island.

Dinner at the Gabby Shack

2009-05-27T19:34:00.000-07:00

David

and me, soaking up the sun

The Gabby cat

It's tough but someone's got to live on this beautiful island!

David watching the sunset

There's the Bates'

The moon rising throught palm trees

On one of my first nights back on Roi, David and I packed some coolers onto our bikes and headed out to the Gabby shack, a small beach-side house maintained by Mark and Laura. We had drinks and watched the sunset and then made dinner on the grill. It was a beautiful evening and made me even more glad to be here with David.

Back to David

2009-05-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

Waikiki Beach

Sunset

Together at last!

I'm finally back on Roi with David. I passed through Honolulu to get here- my hostel was in Waikiki, just a stones throw from the beach. Many thanks to Christian and Kirstie for giving me the great dinner and sight-seeing suggestions.

Home!

2009-05-27T17:38:00.001-07:00

A pretty view along the path

Aunt Joyce and my mom

Jennie and I

Me and Mom

Jennie and Aunt Joyce

The view from the overlook toward the Mississippi river

Jennie, Aunt Joyce, Me and my Mom

Jennie and Aunt Joyce

Yum! Wine and Chocolate

Sorry, no photos of me at home, working my garden or lying in my hammock. But I do have these photos and since it was a great weekend out with family, I thought I should put them up. I spent my first weekend back in the states in Dubuque Iowa, visiting my cousin Jennie who goes to seminary there. I drove up with my mom and Jennie's mom, my Aunt Joyce, joined us. We had a wonderful time talking, visiting, eating out and seeing something of that part of the state. One of highlights was the Mines of Spain park, tucked into the cliffs above the Mississippi River. On our last day there, we headed over to Galena Illinois - they have a wonderful downtown area with lots of fun stores (no pictures, sorry, to busy shopping!). I loved being able to spend time with my family and it's been ages since I've seen Jennie- a good time all around.

Hiking in Torres Del Paine

2009-05-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

A map of the "W" hike in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile

Paul

Kevin and I

Russell

A great fall photo

Glacier Grey, at the end of our first day's hike

Our first glimpse of Los Cuernos through the clouds

A not-so-happy-camper?

Los Cuernos

The back side view of the peaks of Los Torres

Taking a rest during our day hike in the French Valley

A closer view of Los Torres

Kevin!

The sunrise on the fourth day, seen from Campamento Los Cuernos

Another view of Los Torres

A view down the Valle de Los Torres (the path is on the left slope)

Los Torres at 6 am

Paul and Los Torres

Russell, Kevin and I take a break during our hike to the Japanese camp

Goofing off

Looking down the Valley of Silences

At the Japanese camp

Jon

Russell

Kevin

And me

Other artwork left at the Japanese camp

A beautiful fungus growing near the path

Now that's what Los Torress are supposed to look like at dawn!

A last shot of Los Torres

We had gorgeous weather the day we hiked out

Me, hugging a mastodon

Yup, definitely me

Jon

I think Jon made it mad and it's taking it out on Russell!

**All the photos in this post were taken by Jon Brak. Please don't reproduce them in any way without his permission**

After spending a few days in Chile, doing laundry and catching up on email, I headed a short ways north to hike in Torres del Paine national park. I was traveling with four really great guys: Paul, Jon, Russell and Kevin. We hiked the entire "W" (see map above) and a little extra over 6 days, covering about 80 miles in total. The weather wasn't perfect everyday,- we had some rain and wind, but it felt good to be out in it and we had two really nice days which made up for the bad ones. We were in the park just as the peak of fall colors were coming over the trees and it was stunning to see- oranges and yellow everywhere. It's been years since I've been in a forest, let alone one in the fall and I was pretty happy to see all the colors. It was a great way to decompress after the season and I had a really great time hiking with the guys.

Deception Island

2009-05-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Genny and I with Deception island in the background (Thanks for the mittens, Liz!)

Neptune's Bellows, the entrance to Deception Island

Neptune's Window, viewed from outside the island, through which (apocryphally) Nathaniel Palmer saw the Antarctic Peninsula for the first time

The wreck of a ship that didn't make it through the Bellows (Look closely, it's there)

The remains of Whaler's Bay, the abandoned British station inside Deception Island

The island is active volcano, as evidenced by the steam on the shore line

These were originally used to hold whale oil, then were used to hold fuel when they ran out of whales

The equipment used to render the whale oil and to dry bird guano (used in gunpowder and fertilizer)

The last grave at Whaler's Bay (all the rest were covered in lava the last time the volcano erupted)

What's left of the living quarters

Genny and I, with Neptune's Window in the background

The airplane hangar (the runway has been covered with lava)

Fur seals on an old whaling boat

Barrels used for transporting whale oil

A view of Deception Island from Neptune's Window

Paul building a pool to take advantage of the volcanically warmed water

Paul, Jon, Bob, Russell, Kevin and Christian

A visitor

Rebecca, Kirstie and Eric enjoy their own pool

Fur seal

Gentoo Penguin

Gentoos coming ashore, with a good perspective on the old station behind them

**Note: Most of the photos were taken by Jon Brack (because my camera was broken :( . Please don't reproduce them in anyway without his permission**

We were very lucky to have the opportunity to stop at Deception Island on our return trip to Chile. Deception is a small, volcanic island off the coast of Antarctica, so named because it looked deceptively easy to sail into for safe harbor. Reportedly, the first person to find the safe route into the island was Nathaniel Palmer, an American sealer for whom Palmer station and the ARSV N. B. Palmer were later named for.

There is a large collection of old buildings and equipment still on the island, left over from when it was a whaling station. When it stopped being profitable to make and sell whale oil, the station was abandoned (1931). The British opened a research station on the site in 1944 as did the Chileans. Both these stations were occupied until 1969 when a volcanic eruption caused them to be abandoned. There are currently only two active station inside the island, one Spanish and one Chilean, both operated only during the summer season.

If any of you read the Smithsonian magazine, you will have seen the article on Antarctic fungus in the May issue. We had two researchers on board who were collecting samples for Dr Blanchette and because of bad weather on the way down to Palmer, they hadn't been able to finish their collections at Whaler's Bay. We were allowed to go ashore and explore the remains of the station and hike up to look through Neptune's Window while the researchers collected their samples.

I thought it was interesting to see everything that we as humans have brought into this tiny island to make it livable and profitable, and that in the end, we are there on nature's terms, not our own.

Leaving Palmer

2009-04-28T09:23:00.001-07:00

My ship came in!

Russell signs out for the last time

Kevin boarding the Gould

Me and Genny, ready to go

Now, that's the right way to hold a penguin!

A last view of station

Raydene waving goodbye

Paul and I watching the boat pull away from the pier

Goodbye Palmer. Thanks for all the good times and for everything I learned from you and from the wonderful people I met there. Safe Travels to all!

Another Seal on Station

2009-03-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

The injured seal resting by the birder deck

A close up

Kevin having a look at the seal's other side

Another look at the seal's face

The seal and the sheathbill

Another close-up

The sheathbill investigating the seal

We had another seal pull itself up on station today. I'm not sure if this is a Crabeater or a Weddell seal but he was injured and managed to pull himself pretty far up onto station (and out of the road). We don't know for sure what would have caused the gashes in the seal's side but it may have been another seal defending it's territory.
Sheathbills are very curious birds and they are also scavengers. When the one in the picture above discovered that the seal was injured, he began to peck at the seal's wound. That bothered the seal so much that it started moving up the road- as it went, the sheathbill followed and continued to peck at the gash, effectively chasing the seal. When it was almost past the boathouse the seal turned and headed back towards the parking lot, trying to escape the sheathbill. That was when our waste tech, Kevin, saw what was happening and chased the sheathbill away.

A Year of Glacier photos

2009-03-20T10:12:00.000-07:00

Me, fresh to Palmer, in April '08

And me, last night. Sorry, had to take my own photo!

Taken April '08

Taken February '09

Taken March '09

A small nook opening under the glacier

All the cover for that "nook" has disappeared, along with much of the glacier face

A small finger of rock showing through the glacier

It's not such a small finger any more

A view toward Amsler Island in December '08

A closer view of the "nose" of the glacier, taken in December '08

A view towards Amsler Island in April of '08

So, it's been almost a year. It's amazing to me how much the glacier has changed in the time I've been here. In one of the very first posts, my friends and I sat on the glacier and had our photo taken- that part of the glacier that we sat on is gone now, it's melted away. I actually had a hard time finding the spot I always stand in to take these photos because the glacier has receded so far up the slope. There was so much exposed rock that it made the area unfamiliar.
I hope to come back here someday but I'm afraid I might not recognize it when I get here.

A Little Excitement on Station

2009-03-17T06:41:00.001-07:00

The crabeater in his comfortable spot- on the side of the road

A little closer shot

I think they're the cutest of the seals that live down here

What a face!

We had a little excitement on station this morning- a crabeater seal climbed up out of the boat landing decided to nap on the road. This is the first time since I've been here that this has happened and the first time I've gotten a close look at this kind of seal. When their fur is dry it turns a gold-gray color and they have very sweet faces.
Unfortunately, we needed to drive on the road, so the Kirstie, who's working on station as a birder but has worked with seals before, the station manager and the boating coordinator had to encourage the seal to get back in the water.

All quiet on the Western Peninsula

2009-03-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
I haven't posted anything since my Mom's visit because not much has happened. It's all work down here right now and everyone's gearing up for the end of the season and turnover. I'll be at Palmer for another three weeks or so, than traveling in Patagonia for a little while, then off to Kwajalein to be with David.
I'll keep you posted when I know more specific dates and if anything happens on station, I'll let you know about it here :)
Hope all are well,
Amber

Mom's Visit

2009-03-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Cornthian II, nosing through the snow and fog

Mom and I in the galley

In front of the Palmer Station sign

And us with the station and the Corinthian II behind us

My mom visited station last week! She was on a cruise vacation on the Corinthian II and they stopped at station for tours. I was able to give Mom a private tour around station and she stayed for dinner. I really enjoyed showing her where I live and work and introducing her to all my friends down here. It was a bit of a whirlwind, but I think she enjoyed it too. It was great to get to see her down here.

February Glacier

2009-02-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

I spooked up some Arctic Terns on my walk

But they settled down quickly

The glacier in February

The glacier in December

The big change in glacier from December to February doesn't seem to be the corner where the cave is but in the wall that runs the length of Arthur Harbor. We've seen a lot of activity in the last two months in that face of the glacier, with large calvings every day.

Rainbows and Cameras

2009-02-15T04:22:00.000-08:00

Early last Sunday we were graced with this beautiful rainbow. It's hard to see in the photo but it seemed to end right in front of us in Arthur Harbor and even had a band of purple in it. This may be my last photo for a while unfortunately; my camera has been misbehaving quite a bit lately and I haven't been able to fix it. I'll do my best to continue taking pictures of the glacier every month (I know, I missed January), but any other photos that I post will probably be borrowed from other station members.

Old Palmer

2009-02-09T04:25:00.001-08:00

The Clipper Adventurer heads out of Arthur Harbor

Paul

An appropriate tribute to the sunken Bahia Paraiso 20 years after its sinking

The foundations and emergency cache at Old Palmer

Some of the hardy microfauna in the area

Where the ice bridge used to be

Look at that beautiful blue!

A view from the top of the old glaciers

Where the ice bridge used to be, from another angle

Heading back to the boat

After giving tours to the guests from the Clipper Adventurer, Paul and I took out a zodiac to get away for a bit. Our first stop was the sunken Bahia Paraiso- it sunk 20 years ago that day. We took some photos and were about to head away when a Gentoo popped out of the water and began walking on the hull! He barely paid it any attention, just walked down the length of the exposed hull and dove back into the water. How fitting a tribute!
After leaving the Bahia, we headed over to old Palmer to have a look at the dying glacier there and at the gap left by the main glacier's retreat. It's amazing to see it disappearing almost before our eyes.

A Trip Out To Jacobs Island

2009-02-09T03:56:00.001-08:00

Jon climbs over top of the "crack"

Jeff down in the "crack"

A bed of moss and grasses

A Gentoo

Closeup

A bunch of great shots of a chinstrap

Two of the three brushtail penguin species

A juvenile sea lion rests on the beach

A Weddell seal lies in the sun

A male sea lion surveys the inlet

Andrew's Hero Shot

Steve and Conor

Conor's Hero Shot

All of these photos were taken by Paul Quieor. My camera is on the fritz, so I spent most of my time out at Jacobs just enjoying being out in the weather and spending time with friends.

Paul's Birthday Plunge

2009-02-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

Paul take the first dive

There I go

Jon's jump

Paul goes a second time and doesn't quite make his flip

Kevin's the last one in

Paul turned thirty at the end of January and he had a plunge to celebrate. Actually, it was the last of 30 plunges- he had been jumping in the ocean once a day for thirty days and we all joined him on the last plunge.
Family and friends, no need to worry. I don't have anything like this planned for my upcoming 30th birthday!

Crevasse Reconnaissance

2009-02-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

The glacier is melting away under the snow machines- look at the one behind Russell

Russell and I on the rope line

Paul beginning his descent into the crevasse

There he is, way down there

And coming back up

Kevin gives it a try

The first part is the hardest

Looks like fun

Paul and I switched hats- okay, maybe it's an Antarctica thing

We had two Artists and Writers Grantees on station for a month and they wanted to be lowered into a glacier crevasse to have a better look at ice from the inside. To prepare for that, some of the members of the GSAR team went out to find a crevasse for them. We found one that would work about 200 yards outside the flag line and cleared it out. Paul, Kevin and Russell all descended into it to have a look. I really didn't feel like going in, so I stayed on top and took pictures.

Breaker Island

2009-02-08T05:42:00.000-08:00

Giant Petrels tending a nest

A South Polar Skua keeping an eye on us

Mount William in the sun

Jon, with Litchfield and the continent behind

Palmer Station with the mountains of Weinke behind

Back in January we had some beautiful weather and one weekend we took a boat out to Breaker. Most of the islands are closed because of nesting birds but Breaker island stays open year round so it's one of the most visited islands in the area. The sun made everything sharp and shiny and it was great to be out.

The Adelie Chicks are Getting Bigger!

2009-01-25T04:30:00.000-08:00

The chicks are almost as tall as the parents and this one (with the white patch at his chin) is beginning to lose his baby down

It looks like there are more chicks than adults in this colony

Another cute shot of an Adelie chick

A chick asks it's parent for food by pecking at it's beak like this one is doing

Last weekend I went out to Torgesson Island to see the Adelie penguin chicks and I was surprised to see how big they were. The largest (the ones who hatched the earliest and had a head start) were almost as tall as their parents and were much fatter. I was surprised to see how skinny the adult penguins were but when you think about it, it makes sense: They fatten up before coming back here to mate and then use up all their reserves incubating the egg and feeding the chick. It's an intensive process.
I read someplace that when the chicks get to this size and begin losing their down, they're hungry all the time and constantly beg their parents for food. I actually saw one pair of chicks (Adelie's will hatch two chicks) chasing down an adult penguin, peeping at it for food. The adult ran away from them for about 20 feet and then turned on the chicks and began chasing them back to the colony. It made it about 10 feet before the chicks turned on it and chased it all the way to the water!
The video above isn't very good but it's mostly to let you hear what the colony sounds like now, with so many chicks. Usually it's almost entirely the adults calling to each other, but now it's fully of sharp tiny peeps. Enjoy!

Out on Breaker Island

2009-01-25T04:13:00.000-08:00

Mount William

Two nesting Giant Petrels

A nesting Brown Skua

Another Brown Skua keeping an eye on us

Jon taking a look at the other side of the island

Palmer Station with the first teeth of Weinke Island in the distance

A few weekends ago we had beautifully sunny Sunday and some friends and I headed out to Breaker Island. It's a small, butte-style island with a landing you have to climb directly up from. I had Giant Petrels, Brown Skuas and Antarctic Terns on Breaker so you have to be careful where you walk but it's a great little island. I spent a lot of time just sitting and looking at things- it was a classic Antarctic summer day. I hope I get back there again soon.

Mac Attack!

2009-01-02T13:34:00.000-08:00

The Macaroni penguin in a nesting colony of Adelies (photo by Jon Brack)

A little closer (also by Jon Brack)

The next day; a little sunnier, a little dirtier (photo by Jon Brack)

A good comparison photo between the Macaroni and an Adelie
(photo by Jon Brack)

The crowd of people that rushed out to Torgesson to see the penguin

A juvenile elephant seal

A crowd of nesting Adelies

The Adelie chics are getting bigger!

The start of a beautiful sunset over Torgy

Last week a Macaroni penguin was spotted on Torgesson Island by the Birders. They called back to station and almost half of the station population headed out to see him. Macaroni penguins are sub-antarctic penguins that usually live much further up north the peninsula. This is only the second time anyone on station can remember seeing one of these penguins in the area.
He looked amazingly different from Adelies: taller, fatter, with a large red beak and those wild orange eyebrows. The Adelies took no notice of him and he stayed there for several days before taking off again.

Helping the Birders

2009-01-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

One day last week the Birders put out a call for volunteers and I jumped at the opportunity. I went out with Jen Blum to Norsel point to check the giant petrel nests. They rotate egg incubation every 10 days or so and it was time to check and see if the mates had swapped out yet.
In this picture, I'm demonstrating the proper technique for checking the leg band- kneel next to the nest without stepping on it, put your knee between the birds head and it's leg and then reach under the bird to read the band. It doesn't always go that smoothly tough. Sometimes the birds don't want to be bothered and sometimes they bite- I have matching bruises on my forearms from giant petrels that didn't want their bands read.
It was really fun to be out there, climbing all over the place and helping Jen with her work. We were out for five hours and it just flew by. I hope I get to go out with them again soon.

Christmas Dinner

2009-01-01T10:16:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas tree

Our Hannukah mennorah

Christmas Stockings

Phil and Bob with the mulled wine

Everyone dressed up and hanging out before dinner

Chuck trying to solve a brain puzzle sent to me by my Mom for Christmas

Jon gives it a try

One of my gifts from the Yankee swap, pink flamingos!

We had a short work week last week, only four days, with two days off for the holidays. We celebrated with a big dinner, served family style, mulled wine and lots of pies for desert. After dinner we lit the fifth Hanukkah candle -we've been lighting them after dinner clean-up each night since we don't have a sunset now.
On Saturday we had a Yankee swap for Christmas presents. Everyone had contributed a homemade gift- the most popular ones were a box made by Alden, a blanket crocheted by Wendy, a stocking made by Rebecca and a gun that shot a stuffed penguin made by Andy. My gift was a needlepoint of two amaryllis in a pot that I'd stretched, matted and framed. It was a really good time with everyone stealing gifts, trying to get the ones they wanted. I got a small package that had a box of flair (see Office Space, you'll understand), a pocket kite and and the pink flamingos and lawn in the photo above. I really like my present and I put the flamingo up right away. I might try flying the kite tonight!

December Glacier Photo

2009-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

A cormorant (aka a blue-eyed shag perched on the rocks

This little tongue of glacier calves off more every day, possibly revealing a new island in Arthur Harbor

The glacier is retreating in a really interesting way, with a run of rock beginning to bisect it

December Glacier

November Glacier

O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-17T03:44:00.000-08:00

I put up my Christmas Tree this past weekend. It's just a little one and all the ornaments are home-made but it was just what I needed to put me in the holiday spirit. On station, we're slowly ramping up for Christmas- we decorated cookies on Monday and the tree is going up on Thursday night.
I hope everyone out there is having a wonderful holiday season that's full of joy and peace.

New Antarctic Species?

2008-12-05T05:22:00.000-08:00

The initial photographic evidence is blurry, but it appears that a new Antarctic species has been discovered. On December 4th, during dinner at Palmer Station, carpenter Alden Strong lifted his forkful of salad and found that it held more than the spinach salad he was expecting. A small slug was clinging to the spinach. Suspected to be of Chilean origin, scientists are currently studying the specimen, named Stevie by station members, to determine what adaptations it has made to be able to survive in the harsh Antarctic climes. Already, detractors are claiming that it's not a new species at all, simply a hitch-hiker on a delivery of Chilean spinach. We will report new details as they arise.

Cruise Ship Runs Aground

2008-12-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, the Ushuaia ran aground about 5o miles from Palmer Station. The proximity to Palmer and the fact that the ship had just visited station on Tuesday makes this pretty exciting for us. We understand that everyone on the ship is fine and that rescue operations are under way. Here is a link to the story on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/12/04/stranded.ship.antarctica/index.html

November GSAR Training

2008-11-30T16:05:00.001-08:00

Practicing ascending on the front of GWR

The route of our hike, four miles roundtrip. The yellow pin marks Palmer Station

Heading out to the glacier- only the low valleys have snow anymore

Andy paying out the ropes

Heading outside the flag line with my rope team, Paul and Bob

A pretty shot of Mt William in the clouds

Two chinnies hopped out as we were sitting down to lunch

Paul and Jon

A female elephant seal

The embankment we climbed down to check out the ice cave

And there's the ice cave. Look at the layers of snow and ice packed onto the roof!

Bob and Paul

On Thursday, Thanksgiving day, the GSAR team bundled up and spent the day outside training. We started with a review of knots and then practiced ascending and descending a rope line. I did better than I did last season and I got lots of great advice from Alden and Andy, both very experienced climbers.
After a short break to pack some lunch and some water, we headed out to the glacier. The plan was to hike to the top of the flagged off area and then rope up and walk down the other side to a small patch of open rock called "Point 8". I was on a rope team with Bob and Paul. The hiking down to Point 8 went fine and we took a break for lunch on the beach. Just as we were sitting down, to chinstrap penguins hopped out of the water and stared at us! They're still pretty rare around here so it was pretty neat to see them so close. Eventually they tired of us and headed back into the water.
After exploring the small peninsula, we roped back up and started the climb back up the slope of the glacier. We knew there was an ice cave in this section of the glacier so we made a short diversion to see it. We had to climb down a short ice and snow escarpment to get to it- I'd never done anything like it and I was a bit nervous but it went fine. We got a good look at the cave and the small beach in front of it, and got out of the wind for a bit. Just in time for the long trek up the glacier the wind kicked up and the snow started flying.
I'll be honest, hiking back up that glacier was hard. The snow was soft and about six inches deep, not too deep but enough that I was postholing and each step dragged more and more. I made it but it was really hard. Even so, I was really glad to have gotten to go with, to see Point 8 and the penguins and seals. Not many people get to do that and I really enjoyed being out there pushing myself through something really hard.

Thanksgiving Pie Making!

2008-11-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

Some of the finished pies- mine is the lattice-topped cherry

Pat takes on some pumpkin pies, homemade crusts and all

Jon and Rebecca rolling out some crusts

When I started taking this photo, Jeff was in it. As soon as he saw the camera he split and this is the photo that I got!

Ben making his killer double chocolate mouse pie

Elizabeth said she's not much of a cook but she had a good time making some pecan pies

With 24 people on station, the cooks asked for a little help with the Thanksgiving dinner preparation. On Wednesday night everyone came down to the kitchen to make a pie or two. Some people had hardly ever cooked before and others could whip something up in their sleep. Either way, everyone had a great time.

Celebrating Scott Sternbach

2008-11-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

The man of the hour, Scott Sternbach

Louise and George

John and Pat crack up when Zee gives me the bird

Phil and Paul, showing their serious faces

There's some smiles on Elizabeth and Jon

Alden and Alex

Some of Scott's Work

More of his photos

Louise, me and Jon

The portrait that Scott took of me

We were very lucky to have Scott Sternbach on station with us. They say the function of an artist is to make you see your true self and he certainly accomplished that with his photos. Scott was here as a part of the NSF's Artists and Writers program and he spent two months on station taking pictures of the landscape, animals and the people that choose to work in this harsh climate.
Shortly before Scott was to leave on the Endeavor, we had a gallery-style showing of his artwork. Most of us had seen some of his photos but it was striking to see them all in one spot, properly lit and displayed. To see ourselves the way he'd captured us. We had wine and hors d'ourvers and everyone had a great evening, talking, laughing and admiring Scott's wonderful photos.
For more examples of his work please see: http://www.lagcc.cuny.edu/ph/portraits.html

Hi there!

2008-11-16T10:56:00.001-08:00

Hi
So, I'm curious who's actually watching my page and what you want to see on it. Comment on this blog and let me know who you are and what you think of it.
Thanks,
A

Whales and Icebergs

2008-11-15T06:05:00.001-08:00

Our first chinstrap and it came to us!

First view of the glacier

As if the chinstrap penguin and the glacier weren't enough, we were visited by a small Minke whale

He swam almost under our boat

Scott and Elizabeth

John Fonseca, our boating coordinator and the OSAR team leader

Zee, who was Scott assistant that day

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to be allowed to tag along on an OSAR (Ocean Search and Rescue) drill. An iceberg was spotted near station and our resident photographer wanted to get some pictures of it. Because it was pretty far away, the OSAR team took him out there.
Most of these photos are self explanatory so I didn't caption them. This place can be so... there really aren't words for it.

Another Beautiful Sunday

2008-11-15T04:28:00.000-08:00

A female elephant seal resting on some ice

Elephant seals taking in the sun- the one highest up is probably a male bloody from fighting over females

Rebecca, our station manager

Jeff, an excellent zodiac driver (oh, he works in IT too)

Myrna, our admin coordinator

A huge bull elephant seal- you can see how big he is by comparing him to the zodiac behind him

A close-up

A cool ocean-carved cave in an island

Now that's some bar ice!

Some details

The glacier face in Loudwater Cove

Closer

Even closer

What a gorgeous day

Another view of the glacier

An ice cave in the glacier face

A closer look

That's pretty cool

The way the sun hits the ice makes it look amazing

My hero shot

Rebecca

There aren't the words...

Another bull elephant seal cooling off in the water

The snow is driven into shapes like this by the wind

More amazing glacier

The pressure of the snow on snow compacts it into flowing layers

A kelp gull on an ice outcropping

Once again, beautiful

An Adelie penguin on an ice chunk

Cleaning himself up

Another shot

Two leopard seals on separate ice floes

So relaxed

The larger of the two

A close-up of his face. I think that white hanging out of his mouth is part of a penguin. When he lifted his head we could see blood on the other side of his face but he didn't seem to be wounded.

Last weekend I had been hoping for some bad weather so that I'd have an excuse to stay inside, sleep in, and catch up on somethings but of course, it was a gorgeous sunny day. I went out boating with Jeff, Myrna and Rebecca to Loudwater Cove, a small bay west of station that I'd never been to before. It was the perfect day for it. We saw elephant seals, leopard seals, penguins and beautiful towers and caves of ice. It reminded me again of how lucky I am to come down here and live surrounded by all these wonderful things.