sf

Mel and me at the museum of jurasic technologies ...

a 'must see' in LA!!!

on our way to dance...
the self proclaimed split-pea center of the universe
bowling...
the 'sea bowl' with robert, dave, melissa, me and marie!!
greetings from san francisco!!

this place is one of my home bases... i can spend the day walking around the city and all is well...   i have a rigorous social schedule while i'm here, but it's the way to go when there are so many amazing folks i must catch up with! i went through all my pole pix yesterday and felt the experience slipping away... whilst in NZ i was surrounded by folks who'd been through the same adventure and it was still fresh, but arriving back in the states has proven to be quite a test. i have found myself overwhelmed several times and have no true explanation except for the fact that it feels like the pole is slipping into dreamtime.  i know that the bottom of the world has changed me, but...how much? perhaps as much as any new kick in the pants can influence one person...but, was it more because it was so extreme? these are all questions i ask myself, as i cannot sleep... i implore all who read this to challenge themselves and enjoy the bounty!! xo kg*

back into rotation

greetings from downtown la!

i spent yesterday without leaving hank's high-rise splendor...with a mild jet-lag headache and catching up on my newly reactivated cell phone.  that was one of the weirder things about returning to the real world..the ring of everyones phone, and the fact that i have one! i am getting back into the groove today... melissa(stinky) is on her way down from s.f. and loads of us are getting together tonight for an annual celebration of a weekly dance party called s*#ts and giggles! i am looking forward to reconnecting with everyone, i know that i will indeed be overwhelmed, but in such a lovely way!!! i am covered in sand fly bites, i received the venomous bites over a week ago in milford sound and they are only getting worse... truely the worst insect bite i've ever had, and i have close to 100...what a treat to bring back from n.z.,  i look like i've got chicken pox...it's a great look for friday night in l.a.!!  i will be here until monday when i'll drive back to s.f. with melissa and then return here to play some more before flying to orlando.  many of my friends here are unemployed, it's a strange world to return to, much has changed in the 4 months i've been gone...i send you all happiness and cheer on this friday! take care, kgrace

northern hemishere

greetings from l.a.!

hank just picked me up at the airport and we went for amazing ramen noodles!! i am tired and will sleep for a bit... i will write more soon but just wanted to update that-I'M BACK!! take care, kg

goodbye NZ

greetings from the cheech airport!! 

well, this is it, i found out this morning that i am leaving now!!!!, gotto go!!! xo kg

end of the mayhem

greetings from cheech!

we made it back, in one piece. my body is riddled with sand fly bites, the little buggers are the only obstacle between heaven and NZ!  we got back into cheech friday evening and parked the van at a park in town and set off to find the other polies. we had success and the latest shipment got to the favorite ice bar-bailey's around 1am.  when they left the pole earlier that day, it was -75... hearing that made me miss it a little less!! so, we slept in the van for our last night of communal living, and went to the lyttleton farmers market, it's the largest in the area, just through a tunnel from here, a sweet little port town.  then we returned the van and hoofed it to the stadium in town to hook up with the siding carps and watched a rugby match with our kiwi pal mark, who has been playing his whole life.  it is a fascinating game, i love the fact that there are no silly pads or protection worn...it's for real!! we then went and grabbed an amazing meal at this amaercana- style restaurant and Dog, (the siding carp boss) treated us all to a lovely meal and then we continued bar hopping.  i found my pal jonathan and we wanted to keep wandering, we found some crazy germans and before i knew it i was riding a mechanical bull at a place called the treehouse and there was much karaoke!  i got back to my room at 7am and have had several visitors with birthday wishes already today! i think we're going to the beach in sumner, it's a cool little beach town that's just a bus ride away, and have champagne and oysters and then going out for indian food tonight...the perfect birthday! i will book my plane tix tomorrow, i hope they can get me out on tuesday.  so, i may write again from here, but if not, i will send my next message from the northern hemisphere!! i hope you are enjoying the day!! take care, kgrace

mobile mayhem-4

greetings from wanaka!

we are on our way to the west coast-the land of glaciers and vast rain and beauty!! we were in in milford sound yesterday, whoa...huge, vast, deep and engulfing...it was quite intense. we spent the night on the side of the road between queenstown and wanaka. we are on our way to the west coast then heading back accross to cheech by tomorrow night to meet up with the next shipment of polies, i think i'll be departing this magical land next week, tues or so...our tickets are flexible, so, i'll just get on the 1st flight to LA! i am hoping to return to the ice next year, for many reasons, but one of the biggest is a free trip back here!!! sending love from paradise!! xo kgrace*

mobile mayhem-3

greetings from te anau!
we are at the gateway to the fjordlands natl park! this was the area i have been most excited to see, so far it is not dissapointing!! we are down to 3 in the van, the space is nice. we spent last night on colec bay, vast beautiful beach. it rained and once again, having the van was a godsend! we went thru the sausage capitol of NZ today and got some tomato and onion sausages for dinner!! this is the last bit of civilization before getting deep into the park, we hope to get into a hike then find a campspot with a shower...we're getting pretty ripe. our rented cell phone is in and out of service and we are hoping to meet up with some more friends soon, but the technology gods will have to aid us in our endeavor!! we may be in wanaka next time i'm able to write, so until then, take care and enjoy the day!!! grace

mobile mayhem-2

greetings from invercargill, the southern tip of the island. we are loosing 2 passengers today, but hope fully picking up more tomorrow! we saw albatrosses last night, amazing creatures!! then we drove down to nugget point and camped oceanside in the rain. jonas slept outside in the rain, but the reamining 4 of us shared the van bed, surprisingly comfy!! when we 1st pulled into town last night we walked on the beach only to find a seal that was at the end of it's life. when we woke this morning, at a different spot there was a seal 3 feet from our van....it hung out there for quite awhile, so amazing! then we kept heading south through the catlin rain forest and saw much beauty. we saw a tide pool filled with a petrified forest, 3 yellow eyed pinguins and lots of rain!! it's chilly down here and still raining. tomorrow we're off to fjordland or wanaka, we'll decide in the morning!! the sun and moon were bright red yesterday from the fires in australia!! hope this finds you all well!! take care, much love, grace*

mobile mayhem -1

greetings from mobile mayhem, day 2!
there are 5 of us in the toyota deisel van, very comfortible and great cooking accomodations. we are in dunedin now, on our way to Otage at the end of the peninsula from here to see the world's only albatross colony!! we are all very excited, we will probably camp down there, the winds are picking up and it's getting quite warm. we had some trouble getting out of cheech yesterday, but finally made it and camped last night in Kakanui, on the beach (public camping is free here) and hoped to wake up to penguins and seals, but they weren't hanging today. we will continue south and then hit fjordland and spend some time there. driving on the left took a minute to get used to, but now i'm an old ham! the days are so long here, makes prolonged driving much better. i am almost out of time, so, i'll sign off!! will try to write more very soon!! hope you're all having a lovely day! take care, kgrace

cheech

greetings from christchurch (cheech) new zealand!!!

we arrived late weds. night- the C-130 flight was lovely, when we landed and got off the plane in mactown the warm air was truly shocking !! we left -60 degrees and these people were wearing long sleeved t-shirts!! wow.  we then boarded the C-17 and we were off on a 5 hour flight here.  customs and the rest of the arrival process was a breeze and then we dropped off all our cold weather gear and got our accommodation assignments and we were off. yesterday was a weird day, i didn't really think about how the transition might be tough, and it was.  it was difficult to come from such a small-tight knit community and then land here with so many people and the reality of money and food choices and finding myself lonely when separated from my ice pals.  also, the van that i rented for us turned out not to be available, and i found this out on the eve of the biggest 3 day weekend 'waitangi day' (sp?) which is like their 4th of july (there was an awesome fireworks display last night in the park) - all vans were rented already, so i spent my 1st 24 hours off the ice stressed to find a van for us.  i did finally, only to find that my debit card that i reserved it with had a lock on it, and we almost lost the last camper van in NZ !!! alas, everything worked out and today has been blissful, with the exception that many things are closed due to the holiday, and we have been trying to obtain provisions, as we leave in the morning.  the weather has been amazing, the perfect temp and humidity levels, nothing but smiles.  it's been grand to wander the city streets and stumble on random ice people, we really take this city over twice a year! my pal trudy and i are in a great hotel on cathedral square, with the church right outside our windows, quite a lovely welcome back to civilization!! but, we are all itching to get out of town...we will be camping for 7 days, driving the perimeter of the s. island, i will try to post something along the way... i know it will be breathtaking!! i think there will be 4-7 of us in a 2 seater van...classic.  we really are so lucky to have had this experience, and to have all become so close, and continue sharing our time together is tops!! there is a common feeling that we are strangers in a strange land, purely because of what we've just experienced together.  the kiwi's are a very kind and generous lot, and i'm sure that as we get out of the urban landscape the genuine warmth will only increase!  the sun is setting and we're off to a beer garden to celebrate with the polies, because when we return next week they will all have scattered to and fro and a new group will have infiltrated, on friday the 13th!! oh, boy. i'll post photos soon, until then, i hope you all are having a lovely day and enjoying all you have!! -grace

countdown

South Pole GA's 08/09greetings!

well, we should have done this photo before it got back down to -40 degrees, but we had to do it today because we only have 3 days left here on the ice! time has really flown and the thought of packing up and shipping out is a bit sad.  i have rented a camper van for any and all of the crazy folks you see in this photo to travel around the south island for a week.  we have procured some nice tarps from science projects here and will set up tent cities wherever we spend each night.  we are all getting very excited for this epic journey together, we have all become very close and this is the perfect way to say goodbye!  things have been quite hectic here on station, it's difficult to imagine that in just 2 weeks time the station population will drop to 50 people from the 240 we're at right now, and that will be it until october when the 1st planes can begin to fly in again.  moose and i are still working on the wind chimes, tomorrow is our last day to do it, and we have a cpr class to attend as well.  i am also still trying to complete my applications to return next summer, but now i have a deadline, that always seems to help!  a general feeling of exhaustion has swept over the station, i've heard that many people who have been coming for years say that this has been a really rough year, first because of the winds, and second the inspections.  apparently the winds have been quite severe this season in comparison to the years past, and this dehydrates and just generally makes life harder (especially if you work outside). secondly the nsf inspectors have been here this last week to assess our work on the 3 new buildings we completed this season, we have done quite well and a huge sigh of relief has enveloped the station! i will write more as i know what my travels in new zealand and beyond may hold! until then i hope you all are well and enjoying this lovely day!      take care, karengrace*