After a lovely quiet day laying about, we had a pizza dinner and a somewhat early bedtime. Wednesday saw us waiting forever for a bank transaction and then George dropped Laura and the guys at the Antarctic Centre near the airport. We saw the penguins (little blues) get fed, and learned that they were all rescued animals or ones in need of rehab- even saw one missing it’s foot- we named it Dinah (but his name was really Pengu)! They said that they had fitted it with a small neoprene prosthetic foot.

 Josh liked how small they were- Burke’s favorite part was our ride on the Hogglund- a snowcat/ all terrain vehicle that went on a track outside over large hills and even into a deep pond. We rode around by the US Antarctic prep area where everyone heading to the stations comes for their prep, their clothing and equipment and then head off on giant aircraft to the Antarctic. 

"The brave. The Intrepid. The conqueror...Burke Lipscomb!"

  We also experienced an antarctice storm in the snow room- they can’t really simulate the conditions of course, but it did get dark, windy and pretty cold! There were lots of cool rocks, animal exhibits and a very fun interactive 4-D film about Antarctic tourism. 

We had lunch in the café, and then rather than hanging out another hour waiting for George, we hoofed it over to the airport and took a cab back. One of our more expensive trips, but on a cold frosty day better than walking 3 miles. All in all a good day, and lots of thoughts of Uncle Bill, who would have taken off from the same spot on his trip to Antarctica a few years ago!