lasts

With the end of the summer season in McMurdo coming, we are experiencing a lot of lasts: Last load of laundry, last flights to the South Pole, last meal with friends, and the list goes on.

Sunday was my last day at work. I had two LC-130's taking off for Christchurch; the last of six to fly North. The final flight came in across town and did a fly by before jetting off over the Ross Sea. I was glad Susie and I ran outside to see the aircraft's departure. Now we only have a C-17 flying down to get everyone out of town before the winter begins for less than 135 people.

I also had my last Sunday brunch. Next to the Coffee House, this is a favorite time of the week for me. We typically have fruit and New Zealand cheeses, eggs in nearly any form you'd like them, pancakes, cinnamon rolls and all the works. Sunday is the town's day off and while I worked every other Sunday in my job, heading to the Galley for a relaxing midmorning meal was something to look forward to.

Over a month ago, our waffle irons broke. This seems like it would be easy enough to fix, but, like our toasters that went down, they are not replaces efficiently. Our load planners noticed the waffle irons were on the shipping manifest when the vessel arrived, and we speculated they would be unpacked for the winter crew. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see Kirsten making waffles on Sunday morning with the brand new irons! It made my day! So, I took a picture of it; my last Sunday brunch.