I had to repack when I arrived in Christchurch - start to separate the things I wanted to leave there for my return. That is when I discovered the US customs had opened both of my bags. The first sign was that they didn't bother to put back the paper clip I had on the zippers to keep them from opening. How hard could that have been? Then I found a notice in my bags, warning me that TSA had opened them. Well, they also repacked some things very poorly. I was trying to protect some electronic items, but they were moved around.

I spent the rest of my day running errands. I walked over a mile to the hardware store and bought 3 shovels that I walked right back with. I definitely got some strange looks (and a good workout). When I got back to the Devon B&B where I was staying, the graduate student from the University of Washington that I was supposed to meet up with in LA was waiting. He had just made it having missed his flight in LA due to bad weather in Seattle. He was actually routed through Sydney, Australia! He is still waiting for his bags to arrive. Later that night, I ate at Dux de Lux - a favorite hang out for those people on their way to "the ice". Good food, lots of vegetarian and vegan selections and good wine and beer.


That night, it rained quite a bit and a cold air mass moved in. The next day, it must have been close to 40 degrees F and, except for the humidity, I felt like I was back in Colorado. I ran more errands in the morning and then had coffee at the Museum - I must check that place out when I return! Dan - put that on our schedule! At 12:30 PM, all the Antarctic people were shuttled off to the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) at the USAP buildings near the airport.

 

It is here that we tried on the issued Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear. We had to try on every piece of clothing and, if anything did not fit properly, we exchanged it for another size or another brand and tried it on again, repeating this process until we found something suitable. The most important piece of clothing is our polar jackets, affectionately known as "Big Red". This jacket will keep you warm in the worst imaginable weather. Unfortunately, even the smallest size, XS, was too large for me.


When we were finished with this process, we put everything we were required to wear during our flight to the ice (or at least have on hand in case of emergency) in our carry-on bag and everything else in the other orange bag they issued us. Then, we left those bags in the room so they were ready when we came back for our flight.





I had some extra work to do before I could leave (pack those shovels away!) so I missed the shuttle ride back with everyone. I decided to take the bus back to my hotel. First, I took a look at the CDC from an upper floor and a quick look around outside. The CDC is right next to the Interational Antarctic Center - a museum of the various bases in Antarctica and a way for people to explore what living in Antarctica is like by visiting a cold, windy room mimicking the conditions on the ice, or by taking a ride on a vehicle commonly used in the Antarctic.