5:00 a.m. -- The alarm! Now the adventure really begins.
6:30 a.m. -- I met my team at San Francisco International Airport: Kira (logistics person for the Mars Institute), Pascal (the guy who puts this whole thing together), and Jesse and Mark (two 20-year-old guys from Tennessee that keep the mechanical stuff running at camp).
7:00 a.m. -- Bye, Greg! I miss you already!
8:00 a.m. -- The United Airlines Airbus A320 to Chicago is completely full. I’m on the aisle, sitting next to Mark.
The flight is uneventful; I spend the entire time reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse on Greg's Amazon Kindle. This book is wonderful! I originally read it as a freshman in high school. My students should note: this is a great book to choose to read next year.
The flight is uneventful; I spend the entire time reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse on Greg's Amazon Kindle. This book is wonderful! I originally read it as a freshman in high school. My students should note: this is a great book to choose to read next year.
Funny thing about flying -- just sitting is very exhausting, at least for me. Maybe it’s that I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in three days. Along about Friday, I started to get nervous and excited about the trip. Also, as all of the details started to change, I was never sure just what was going to happen.
2:00 p.m. -- We arrive at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, having gained two hours. It's a beautiful airport, and the third-busiest in the world, but there is no time to look around. I grabbed a quick sandwich and went to work on the food order.
So, let’s talk about the food order. We are ordering from a company in Yellowknife, and they'll ship the food to Resolute Bay, where it will arrive on Saturday.
The biggest problem is the shipping costs. I learned today that it costs $4.25 per pound to ship food to Resolute -- and the food prices are almost twice what I would spend in Sonoma County. So a pound of onions actually costs about $7! And, including the packaging, a 1-pound can of diced tomatoes actually weighs 1.25 pounds. I think you get the picture. The expenses just seem unreal to me.
So we start looking at what we can live without! The camp set-up team has agreed to go vegetarian (I’m so happy!) for the first week to reduce costs. Kira and I start making a list of what we can buy at Wal-Mart in Ottawa and stick in everyone’s luggage. Ultimately we narrow it down to ordering only meat, dairy, and bread from Yellowknife. My plans to make gnocchi for my birthday go out the window. Whole potatoes are just too heavy! However, I just had a thought -- maybe instant mashed potatoes would work!
The biggest problem is the shipping costs. I learned today that it costs $4.25 per pound to ship food to Resolute -- and the food prices are almost twice what I would spend in Sonoma County. So a pound of onions actually costs about $7! And, including the packaging, a 1-pound can of diced tomatoes actually weighs 1.25 pounds. I think you get the picture. The expenses just seem unreal to me.
So we start looking at what we can live without! The camp set-up team has agreed to go vegetarian (I’m so happy!) for the first week to reduce costs. Kira and I start making a list of what we can buy at Wal-Mart in Ottawa and stick in everyone’s luggage. Ultimately we narrow it down to ordering only meat, dairy, and bread from Yellowknife. My plans to make gnocchi for my birthday go out the window. Whole potatoes are just too heavy! However, I just had a thought -- maybe instant mashed potatoes would work!
4:00 p.m. -- We board the plane for Ottawa. I’m reading again on this flight, but I’m really distracted, and actually spend most of the flight glued to my window. It is unbelievably beautiful! I must admit to being geographically, challenged so I’m not really sure what I’m seeing out the window.
I start to think about leaving the country and going on this adventure. There is so much I don’t know about where I’m going! I’m travelling with people I don’t know; I’ve only met Pascal once and talked on the phone to him and Kira a handful of times. This is all so exciting!
I start to think about leaving the country and going on this adventure. There is so much I don’t know about where I’m going! I’m travelling with people I don’t know; I’ve only met Pascal once and talked on the phone to him and Kira a handful of times. This is all so exciting!
6:30 ish -- Arrive in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. I completely lost track of time here! We gained another hour.
I unwisely go up to the customs window without the team. The officer at the desk is talking to me in English and then turning to her partner and speaking French. Two native languages in one country! Actually, there are more than two; I’m sure I’ll come across that when we head North in the morning.
The officer didn’t know where Devon Island is, and she’s not sure how to handle me because I don’t have a temporary work permit. She wants to know why I came to the window without the rest of the team. While I’m dealing with all of this, the rest of the team comes up to the next window. Pascal, who is French (and thus speaks the language), starts talking.
Everything is fine except that, since the officer wrote an “I” on my customs declaration form, I have to go talk to an immigration officer. I’m feeling bad because I’m afraid I’m holding up the whole parade. Boy, was I wrong! Five minutes later I’m ready to roll, but Pascal and Jesse are stuck for well over an hour in customs because they are traveling with guns. The guns are being taken to scare off polar bears if needed!
It is illegal to take pictures in the baggage claim area of the Ottawa airport if you have not been cleared through customs. Here’s the illegal picture I took!
I unwisely go up to the customs window without the team. The officer at the desk is talking to me in English and then turning to her partner and speaking French. Two native languages in one country! Actually, there are more than two; I’m sure I’ll come across that when we head North in the morning.
The officer didn’t know where Devon Island is, and she’s not sure how to handle me because I don’t have a temporary work permit. She wants to know why I came to the window without the rest of the team. While I’m dealing with all of this, the rest of the team comes up to the next window. Pascal, who is French (and thus speaks the language), starts talking.
Everything is fine except that, since the officer wrote an “I” on my customs declaration form, I have to go talk to an immigration officer. I’m feeling bad because I’m afraid I’m holding up the whole parade. Boy, was I wrong! Five minutes later I’m ready to roll, but Pascal and Jesse are stuck for well over an hour in customs because they are traveling with guns. The guns are being taken to scare off polar bears if needed!
It is illegal to take pictures in the baggage claim area of the Ottawa airport if you have not been cleared through customs. Here’s the illegal picture I took!
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| Pascal Lee at the Ottawa airport |
Finally, we catch a shuttle to the hotel: Five people, ten checked bags, and ten carry-ons! I’m in heaven -- a heated pool, whirlpool spa, private room, movies on demand… But there’s still work to be done, so this will all have to wait!
We meet up with John, another team member. He’s Mr. Arctic -- he spends part of each year in the antarctic, and part in the arctic. I’ve got to corner him for some stories.
9:30 p.m. -- Kira and I hit Wal-Mart. Oatmeal, condiments, popcorn, syrup, pancake mix ... the list goes on and on. Kira buys herself a half-gallon of Clamato juice. I find this stuff beyond disgusting, and threaten to pack up and go home. She buys me off with some cheddar popcorn.
We catch a cab for the five blocks back to the hotel with over $220 (Canadian) worth of food. We saved $50 in shipping on the syrup alone! Kira will make another run at Wal-Mart in the morning for produce -- we still haven’t decided what we need. I’m holding out for as much fresh fruit and veggies as possible. We drop the food and two storage bins off at Mark and Jesse’s room. They will remove all excess packaging and pack the food into one of the bins.
We catch a cab for the five blocks back to the hotel with over $220 (Canadian) worth of food. We saved $50 in shipping on the syrup alone! Kira will make another run at Wal-Mart in the morning for produce -- we still haven’t decided what we need. I’m holding out for as much fresh fruit and veggies as possible. We drop the food and two storage bins off at Mark and Jesse’s room. They will remove all excess packaging and pack the food into one of the bins.
11:15 p.m. -- Pascal, Kira and I go to dinner ... at Denny’s, of all places!
12:45 a.m. -- Kira and I are discussing meat. What might “utility chicken” mean? I use my veto power
and order chicken breasts. Veggie discussion: I get everything in small quantities, but no whole potatoes.
1:15 a.m. -- I finally make it to my room. I call home one last time! I’m missing my kids already, but day one is down, with only 3 ½ weeks to go. My wakeup call is in five hours, so no swimming, spa or movie for me!
Good luck getting stories out of John - over the years I've gotten a few, but only a few.
ReplyDeleteJesse, on the other hand, will talk your ear off. You'll win his heart if you serve biscuits and gravy :)
Let me know if it would be useful to bring up another large cooler next weekend from Edmonton...? We used to bring up all of the food that way, as checked excess baggage.
ReplyDeleteI think you're in for a real adventure, Julie!
ReplyDelete