So far so good. I am in the departure lounge for Antarctica. Everything is going smoothly this morning. Shuttle picked me up along with several other antarctic people, delivered us to the CDC where we got dressed for action, and after a brief check in we were released for breakfast. Here I experienced an upgrade over previous trips to the ice. In the past we were offered breakfast in the cafeteria of the antarctic center, but they no longer offer that service. Instead there’s a new strip mall a few hundred meters away with a fancy coffee shop. Chai tea latte and eggs Benedict, yum. No waiting with sweaty overdressed people to get on a small bus and drive out to a 60-year-old airplane for a 7- hour flight over the southern ocean