18 June 2017 San Antonio Complete!

Journal Entry

I am sitting in the San Antonio airport reflecting on the last two weeks of my life. I am a very lucky and blessed individual. I have been able to experience much in the last two weeks. I have been home for a day and a half since the 1st of June. Today is Father's Day. My poor husband has basically been a single dad since I left on the 1st. He is an incredible dad and husband. I know the extended time I will be gone in the fall on the journey to Antarctica will be taxing on him and difficult for the girls. I found out this week that we will likely leave on the 24th of October. That will be an extra week they had not planned on, but they will get through it, somehow, they will.

I was able to meet with PI's today. Dr. Ackley and Dr. Xie as well as Dr. Ackley's wife met up with me at a local restaurant for lunch. I am humbled by the generosity of these amazing individuals but also by their passion for the research they are doing. They took so much time to share their knowledge with me and to get to know me this afternoon. I feel so much more at ease about heading to the frozen continent and sharing in their work. Dr. Xie will truly be a mentor. He is so full of life. His energy is infectious.

I have met some other wonderful individuals this week, many of whom I now call friends. 18 teachers from Texas took part in this geology course. They welcomed me as any other teacher despite my northern home. They endured my presentation and put up with all my questions and lack of Texas topographic/geologic knowledge. Their students are lucky to have them as teachers.

I spent Friday afternoon and most of yesterday taking in a bit more of Texas. After class on Friday, I headed to hill country. I toured around historic Fredericksburg. What I didn't know was that many places close by 6 on Friday night. I managed to find a rather WI place for dinner, a german style biergarten with live music. Reminded me of Milwaukee. On Saturday, I decided to drive to the coast to visit Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. It is a place I have always wanted to visit because of it being the winter home range for the Whooping Crane, which of course, is also near and dear to my heart. My students are well aware of my love for all things crane but particularly the Whooper. I realize it is mid-June, and the birds are no longer in Texas, but none-the-less, it was nice to see. When I talk about crane conservation next fall, I will now have a few pics to show and an experience from which to draw. It was a crazy hot day, 101˚F with an even higher heat index, but I was determined to hike the refuge. I saw no snakes or alligators, but did see 3 fawns and 3 does. I also saw what I believe were egrets, a blue heron, sandpipers, brown pelicans, and a few dead feral pigs. I never knew the feral pigs were such an issue in Texas. I finished out my day on the beach at Rockport. There were no Man-O-Wars but I did encounter a few hermit crabs. The water was warm, so different than the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. It was nice to walk barefoot on the beach.

My time in San Antonio is quickly coming to a close. My flight has been delayed so they put me on a new one that is on time. However, they mentioned my connecting flight has also been delayed. Hot weather is causing some issues I guess. Hopefully I won't get in too late to Milwaukee. My husband is on pick-up duty and has to work tomorrow! Thanks for a great week PolarTREC and Dr. Xie!