Random Thoughts

December 8, 2011: HOUSTON, TX – Well, one flight down, three flights and a boat ride to go! First flight was very uneventful, as described in my last entry. Ended up passing out for about an hour, which I needed, but hoping it doesn’t mess up any potential sleep on the overnight to Buenos Aires.

Nothing terribly exciting going on at IAH. Grabbed some dinner, but was hoping for a local restaurant. Ended up not finding anything, despite walking across a couple of terminals. Did manage to find an electrical outlet near empty seats, which can sometimes be a challenge. As such I will head off with a fully powered laptop and cell phone, which is sometimes a challenge after what has already been nearly 10 hours unplugged. If I can turn on my phone in Buenos Aires at 80%+ I will be very pleased.

Still haven’t really been able to grasp the magnitude of the trip I am undertaking. A flight from LAX to Houston isn’t really going to do it, but I have a feeling it will be much more real tomorrow morning from Argentina. Another observation – at this time of year, the darkest month of the year in the northern hemisphere, it is sufficiently dark out around 4:15pm at home in Chicago. Here in Houston, which is the same time zone (CST) as Chicago, it wasn’t dark until around 5:15, which was quite nice. Argentina, as with many countries in the southern hemisphere, is currently under daylight savings. As such, while during the US summer and Argentinean winter the time is actually the same on the US east coast (EST) and Argentina, during the reverse, it is a two hour change. As such it is a net +5 hours from LA, and +3 hours from here/home.

First flight was around 1300 miles, not insignificant but nothing huge either. This next flight is about 5000 miles, which is definitely a big change. From Buenos Aires to Ushuaia is another 2000 miles, which in terms of distance is nowhere near as huge, but the temperature change and topographical change will be very significant. As it is summer, it is currently around 90F in Buenos Aires. In Ushuaia? Try 40sF. A good comparison… flying from Minneapolis, on the warmest day of the year, up to Tree River in the Arctic Circle – 4-5 hours and a world away. Sydney is further south than Buenos Aires, so BA won’t set a record in that sense. Ushuaia, however, is much further south, and from there all the way until we turn around from Antarctica, it will all be new in terms of geographical global territory covered.

Another interesting thought… I’ve read in a number of surveys over the years that Rio de Janeiro is widely considered to be the second-best city in South America overall. Having spent some time there and having absolutely loved it, I always wondered what could top it in a South American sense. The city ranked #1? Buenos Aires! As such, I am quite excited to spend a little time there. Wish I had more than one day/night in each direction, but it’s much easier to get back to Buenos Aires than Antarctica, so I will get a healthy taste and see how I feel from there.

Well, we board in about 45 minutes… I am listening to the Blackhawks game in New York on my phone. Silly Houston airport doesn’t have free wifi, so this post will in all likelihood be posted somewhere from Argentina instead. Luckily, global radio on the phone works perfectly, so I have the game on live – Hawks are up 2-0 in the 2^nd period. Probably will have to turn off my phone right around when the game is ending… GO HAWKS!

Catch you from Argentina…

Update: Ended up listening to the rest of the game as I boarded and turns out the Hawks won 3-2 in OT, about 5 minutes before I had to turn off my phone. Perfect timing!

See if you can spot the city in the photo above. Nope, not LA, but an unusually smoggy Houston.

Oil infrastructure just outside of Houston - railroad cars loading up to ship up north.