When A Dream Comes True

Isn't it amazing when something happens to you that you've been hoping for? It's like being a kid again, opening a Christmas present that you've been longing for since you first saw it. Such simplicity and reward. We all need that sometimes.

Today was better than opening a Christmas present. Today was something of pure luck, something that I want to believe only my Mom made happen. She made so many things happen for me when she was alive, I owe so much to her and her only; but this was a gift I've been waiting for for since I set foot on this continent.

Backing up a little bit, I'll just say it plain and simple...I had a really bad week. Monday was great (I'll write about it in a minute), but by Tuesday, I was borderline miserable. My low morale hit its peak. I spent a lot of time wiping tears from my eyes and contemplating everything. When it started to pass, I vowed to never return again - penguin or no penguin. I have never been so all over the place with my feelings, sometimes I feel just plain nuts. Apparently, however according to others, that is some kind of normal here at the bottom of Earth.

Monday I went to the seal camp, where I got my first glimpse of the Weddell seal. Shameless, facinating creatures. They snore, burp, foam, bleed, and blow snot everywhere. They're big blobs of fat that veg on the ice. I spoke with the scientists in the field camp where I learned that almost 40 baby seals had been born that morning, hence all of the afterbirth on the ice. I walked around waking lots of seals from slumber and taking lots of pictures. The scientists also told me a story that happened last Saturday night while sleeping peacefully in their camp. They awoke at midnight to sounds outside and movement on the ice. This place is desolate and barren, there is nothing moving around in the night.....unless, you wake up to a hundred Emperor Penguins passing through your camp. And that's exactly what happened. They shared pictures and talked of their amazement. The trip to the seal camp gave me hope to see an Emperor, though very few people ever do. They don't come to McMurdo often and are rarely seen outside of the penguin colony closest to where I am in East Antarctica. I enjoyed chatting with the scientists and headed back to McMurdo. It was relaxing and entertaining, and it was so nice to get out of McMurdo Station!

Today was a true gem, the best day of my Antarctic experience. Something I'll never forget. I haven't stopped smiling since it happened this afternoon, and I can't get that breathless feeling out of my head! I signed up for a day trip to Cape Evans, which is about an hour from McMurdo Station on the sea ice. These day trips are given a few times during the season to anyone lucky enough to sign up. I stalked the location where the signup sheet would be for about a week, and somehow managed to get my name on the list.

Cape Evans is also home to Captain Robert Scott's other primary hut during his Antarctic Expedition. The hut was built in 1908 by Scott and his crew. It was fascinating and I caught myself wondering how on Earth I got to be standing in such an important historic location. The hut was full of original, untouched artifacts. Cans and crates of food unloaded from the ship lined the walls. Wooden snow shoes and skis hung from the ceiling. All of the bunks where the crew slept remained un-made, with pillows and wool blankets. Scott's own cott sat a few feet from his desk, where a London newspaper from 1907 lay on the table in perfect condition. It was like stepping back in time, before anyone knew anything about this continent except that it kind of existed. The best part about Scott's Cape Evans hut was the list of names written on the wall inside one of the bunks. The names were of the men, dogs, and ponies who perished on the first Expedition. It gave me goosebumps. This place must be haunted for sure!

The second part of the day trip was a venture into an ice cave near the Mt. Erebus tongue, where the sea meets the glacier. It was tiny and cold, but breath-taking without a doubt. I don't think there is anything on Earth like it, so I'm finding it really hard to describe. It's more of a feeling to feel than a sight to see.

The unplanned part was undeniably the best part. While on our trek to Cape Evans, in the giant alien-like "delta" vehicle bouncing on our seats, we stopped momentarily to see a Weddell seal vegged on the ice in the distance. A few minutes later, the delta came to a screeching hault on the sea ice. The driver announced on our hand-held radio, "Penguins to your left!". I shot out of my seat. You've got to be seeing things!!!! NO WAY, was I about to see penguins?!? I felt my throat tighten and my legs go numb. We poured out of the alien vehicle, down the flight of metal stairs, and sure enough.......PENGUINS!!!!!

There appeared to be a group of them in the distance. They looked like tiny black specks. I whispered to my Mom, "Please, please, Mom, come over here....I want to see you, please!". And just like that, they started marching toward us. With that sudden change in the penguins itinerary, our guide told us to stay very still and they may come closer, but that it was very rare so don't expect them to get too close. I smiled and turned to my friend Saundra and said, "Not today. They're on their way". I had already told her about my Mom a couple weeks ago at lunch, and she shared that she lost her Dad to cancer three-years ago. She smiled and I think we were both holding back tears.

The whole group of ten, very curious and very beautiful Emperor Penguins waddled to us. They got close, eye-balling us and making that indistinguishable Emperor Penguin sound. I shook in amazement the whole time, forgetting that my face was freezing into a smile, and in awe that this was really happening. It happened. I saw not one, but TEN Emporer Penguins and they stood no more than 5 feet away.

Afterward, while bouncing on the delta and listening to our guide tell us that he'd never seen anything like this, I closed my eyes and thanked the best Mom in the world for making another of my many dreams come true. And I'm pretty sure she was here to see it.

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