Prodigal poster returns

Sorry for the hiatus, if anybody still checks this, but things have been pretty domestic/less-than-swashbuckling of late.  I've been TCOB here at home and keeping myself available for whatever might present itself regarding that prospective interview in Houston.  This week will be the last week I might likely be contacted for that, if what I've read about a 2-week notice is actually true (I read it on the internet...).  In general, things are the same as years past.  The big question to be answered was and is: What's next? 

Best of luck to us all in 2013.

“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
~Thomas Paine, The American Crisis

Still on hold

There isn't much new to report from here.  I've been keeping busy, and this weekend got to see a large portion of one half of my family at a holiday get together.  It was nice to see folks, and the first time in 7 years that I've been around to do so during this time of year.

Similarly, there isn't any new news on the astronaut candidate selection front.  I still feel pretty confident I am going to stay in the mix, but one never knows.  Nothing else is really materializing yet, but I have been holding off on submitting other applications to let the Big One run its course a bit.

I have enjoyed lifting weights since I got home, and hope to keep the edge on fitness-wise as a result.  With some nice (for December) weather, I will probably start in on the usual yard and pasture clean-up work I usually end up doing during my unemployed stints back home.

Of course, my heart goes out to all the families dealing with the recent loss of so many loved ones late last week.  I think our society has some big decisions to make about what our priorities are.

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
~Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

and...I'm spent

So, the final pre-home stop of note was the Grand Canyon.  It felt strange to not go hiking down to the bottom, but it wasn't in the cards for this trip.  Neither was heading to Phoenix to hang with Mr. H's band (sorry).  

If you look closely, you can see a suspension bridge over the Colorado River.  I recall the grating on the bottom looked like it disappeared when I ran over it as a boy.

 This was quite the change of landscape from the Antarctic Plateau for a year without a break.

It wasn't all big empty spaces and tranquil quiet...

Eventually the sun set on our visit there and the shadows grew long upon the canyon.

 

On his moon landing:
“It’s like trying to describe what you feel when you're standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon or remembering your first love or the birth of your child. You have to be there to really know what it's like.”
~Jack Schmitt, Apollo 17 astronaut

Back in the US of A

Now for some pics from the domestic portion of the trip home from Pole this year.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles.

The Angels Flight railway that was originally built to save the rich folks that lived on top of the hill from having to walk to do their shopping, or so I gathered from the volunteers at the Union Station information desk.

The Million Dollar Theater which was used briefly by the crew shooting Blade Runner.

Just across the street from the theater above, the atrium of the Bradbury Building, which figured large as a location for the filming of Blade Runner.

The skylight roof of the Bradbury Building atrium, sadly with no giant blimp sporting geisha video advertisements flying overhead.

The main hall in Union Station in Los Angeles, which coincidentally was another Blade Runner filming location.

One more post should take care of the trip home.

"I need ya, Decks. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the old blade runner, I need your magic."
~Bryant, Blade Runner

Taupo & Chch

{That title sounds like some cartoon character duo.}

Bungy jumping above the Waikato River in Taupo, NZ.

The rapids immediately above the falls on the Waikato River.  These aren't the rapids that will be used in The Hobbit; those are further downstream.

Huka Falls immediately below the previous rapids.

The new Cashel Mall in Christchurch, with all the shipping container stores that opened up in late 2011.  It seems like folks really gravitate to this area, not only for the social scene but also for views into the "red zone" of what used to be the central business district (CBD).

 

“The only real depression is a depression of individual ingenuity.”
~George Daynor

The Spice...I mean pics...must flow

I made it home in the wee hours of Thursday morning, getting off at the nearest Amtrak station I'd always wanted to actually use for travel.  The L.A. stop and Grand Canyon were both really nice, and the train proved to be a slow but much more comfortable way to travel than airplane (and definitely Greyhound).  Anyhow, I've gotten to see a nice chunk of my family thus far, not to mention eating two Thanksgiving dinners (one at home and one on the train in the dining car).  I'll do several posts now to share the photos from the extended trip home.

This was the ridiculous vehicle new to McMurdo since I was there last, which carried a planeload of us into town.  We still used Ivan the Terrabus to go back out to to the C-17 for the flight to Chch, so I'm not sure where the crimson beast was off to that day.

Rotorua's (NZ) geothermal pools were an olfactory experience, for sure. 

 And, if you watch TV, you've probably seen this place a bunch in recent weeks.  This is the Hobbiton set, with Bag End (the Baggins' hobbit hole) at the top of the hill to the left.

It's seen up close here, minus any "G" rune indicating a burglar lived there.

Any (little) body home?

The pond and bridge were much bigger than I expected.  The pictures probably look a little hazy due to the rain falling at that point of the tour.

And just because, another look back up to Bag End from the Water.

More photos to come, but that's it for now.

“Next to seeing land, there is no sight which makes one realize he is drawing near home, than to see the same heavens, under which he was born, shining at night over his head.”

~Richard Henry Dana, Two Years Before the Mast

not quite the same "longest day"

Yeah, this November 19 has not been quite as "long" a day as June 6, 1944, but it's certainly lasted a few hours more than normal.  We arrived in L.A. about the same time we left Christchurch earlier that "morning".  Though I only managed a few hours of fitful sleep, it still felt morning-ish upon arrival in California.  We got to Union Station and some good suggestions (and a map) and are enjoying downtown L.A., which is a lot different than expected.  This was posted using free wi-fi next to the Angels Flight little railroad/funicular, which is picturesque with its Halloween orange and black color scheme.  We've seen no stars, but have seen some much-filmed locations.  Last on the list is the Bradbury Building and Million Dollar Theater, which figured large in Blade Runner.  Anyhow, we've a few more hours to kill before getting seats and boarding the train this evening.

"A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad."
~Theodore Roosevelt