Heading South

After many months of incessant talk of penguins and parkas, Lizzi has finally relented and agreed to go with me to Antarctica. Not on this trip, mind you, but travel to the Great White South is no longer a "maybe", an "if". It is a "when".

Over my break between spring and summer semesters, I finally read Roff Smith's Life on the Ice, his account of his many trips to the frozen continent. Lizzi had given me the book as a Hanukah present. Instead of dissuading me in any way, Smith's stories reinvigorated my desire to spend a considerable amount of time on the ice. This past weekend Lizzi picked up the book and started reading. Then I sent her the Picture, which finally sealed the deal. In fact, her email back to me went something like this:

Okay, I'm sold.
I'm looking at Raytheon's site right now.

Last night we had the Talk™. She gave me her conditions: McMurdo, HR/research/cook, no winters. Fair enough. I'm sold. The major question, then, is when do we go. Of course, kids aren't in the too-faraway future, and the Ice isn't particularly amenable to children. And we definitely don't want to put off our trip round-the-world. So, it looks like we're heading south in the next 3-5 years. I can't wait.