Home Again

It's definitely good to be home. It's a strange, mixed feeling though. Although relieved to be home safe and sound, a melancholy feeling takes over knowing that the experience is over. The memories and pictures live on forever though!

A couple things I've remembered since coming home...

I was joined at dinner at Tisa's by four employees from NOAA. Their job is to travel around installing, calibrating, and repairing oceanographic equipment, and they are all certified deep divers. Their territory stretches from Fairbanks Alaska all the way down to Bora Bora! And they are on the road about 140 days a year. Not only were these guys fascinating to speak with, but they were really helpful at the Pago Pago Airport showing me the ropes on how to make my way through baggage claim, customs, immigration, and security. Samoa's airport is very 3rd world and their help probably saved me from missing my flight. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have joined them!

My little island scooter had ABS. If I had been there any longer, the mod bug may have bitten and I would have been tempted to add braided lines, risers, and a jet kit.

The airfare was $1,800 round trip from New York. The hotel was $100/night and included breakfasts. The scooter was $15/day. The car was $50/day. Meals were cheap as was everything else. The total trip cost was less than $3,000 for 5 days and 4 nights.

The island of Samoa (not American Samoa) is about an hour away, is a much larger island, and features more of the typical tourist things to do, luxury hotels and restaurants, and cost. There is a ferry system that will take you to many of the other smaller islands in the chain.

My scooter ride resulted in the worst sunburn I've ever had in my life! I was really red but didn't peel right away. After I got home and went to the gym, my sweat glands backed up and I was quickly covered with large fluid filled vesicles which popped wildly and left my shirt soaked. Yuck! Now my skin is peeling off in sheets and it looks like I came home with leprosy!

During my flights, I read and really enjoyed "The Whole Truth" by David Baldacci. I also took along some noise cancelling headphones and my iPod Touch which was really nice blocking out the 36 hours of jet engine noise. The Boeing 777 is a massive aircraft which carries nearly 400 people. But make sure you get an aisle or window or you can find yourself with two people on each side of you.

When I left Samoa, it was 89 degrees on Thursday evening at 11:50 PM. When I arrived in New York on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM, it was 26 degrees and there was 7 inches of snow on the ground. The climate change was shocking. And I arrived home in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and Birkenstocks. Dumb tourist!