Tuesday August 24, 9:43am
shiptime
Astoria, OR
We're here! We sailed into Astoria early
yesterday morning, in fog and
mist and low cloud banks. It's strange
to see land outside the portholes.
Yesterday was spent finishing packing,
cleaning the labs, and of course
preparing for the Science Party. The Science
Party, somewhat confusingly,
is thrown by the science party, for the
crew and Alvin group. The nearest
tavern had been warned of our arrival,
and having been blessed with
previous Atlantis Science Parties, knew
to expect a lively crowd. I am
pleased to report that this party matched
its forebears in
liveliness. A notable exception is that
I can remember all of this one.
Which hasn't always been the case. Assorted
highlights of the
group's evening included the consumption
of astonishing numbers of tequila
shots (fortunately I've never acquired
a taste for the stuff), somebody
getting bitten on the knee-cap (really),
and the comings and goings of the
Alvinoids who were favoring an alternate
establishment, renowned for its
scenery. I quit around midnight, but there
are some good stories filtering
in about the damage done to Astoria by
the diehard party people.
Well, time to go. The media are here
and I need to go explain what I've
been doing for the last month. Then wait
for the FedEx pick up of my gear
and precious frozen samples, pack up my
clothes, at least those that
haven't had horrible encounters with Atlantis
rust, red wine, and other
condiments, and head to a B and B for....sleep
in a real bed! Then a long
awaited flight home.
It's been a pleasure writing to you all,
thanks for the great feedback. This email
account will cease to be operational within
the hour, so write me at nward@tigr.org.
For those of you in the DC area, looking
forward to catching up soon.
Signing off,
Naomi
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