Mrs. Carmondy's Class suggested I bring a teddy bear in one of their blog entries. Well here he is. They named him Snuggy and he will be following me on the trip to Alaska. Look for pictures of Snuggy on the ship and in the places we visit.

Sunggy and I are packed and leave tomorrow at 8:00 AM. See you in Alaska.

Mr. T.

I have certainly gotten a lot of suggestions about what kinds of equipment I should bring on this trip. They have been very helpful. I’ve gone over all you have written and have made my final choices. Here are some of the gadgets I’ll be carrying to Alaska:

A digital camera that can also make digital movies. The one I chose also has a great zoom lens for taking photographs of wildlife.

A tripod to keep the camera still

My palm organizer which can sound recorder. It will also be a backup camera in case my good one fails.

A card reader. This device plugs into a regular computer and can read the memory cards (think of them as tiny floppy disks) from both my palm and my camera. It will help me move photos to the internet.

Lots of CD’s for storing photographs, sound and video that I take along the way.

A battery charger for my camera and for my palm.

Extra batteries just in case.

Binoculars and a smaller spotting scope I can carry with me at all times.

Some things I will not be able to do:

I don’t expect to be able to use my cell phone when I am out in the open sea. Generally, cell phone service is limited to populated areas. To get an internet connection, our ship must have an antenna capable of communicating directly with a satellite orbiting way out in space. Cell phones communicate with antenna’s on the ground, right near by. There will not be many opportunities to use the cell phone to call. My family and I will communicate by email.

I won’t be carrying equipment for my own entertainment. I’ll have to rely on a good book and whatever the ship has around (though my Palm plays a fairly good game of chess). There will not be room for video games or MP3’s. All the equipment I carry will help me to record and communicate what happens on the ship.

How long do you think the flight will be? What will the time change be? Let me know, I leave for Kodiak on Thursday.

Thank you to Mrs. Christie Blick's class who gave me a wonderful going away party complete with Klondike Bars and a banner from the students. You all made my day!!

Keep sending comments to the blog. I need to figure out what equipment to bring along with me for the trip and time is running out fast!


Mr. T.

Some of you answered the question of the day from the last blog entry. The area at to top of the picture in the last entry is the Piermont Marsh. A salt marsh on the Hudson River that is important to many different kinds of birds and fish. The picture on the left was taken inside the marsh.

A lot of you also suggested that I take rain gear and layers of clothes. Today I took your advice and got out my foul weather gear. This big yellow rain suit may look funny, but it does keep you dry in a storm and you can wear layers of warm clothes underneath. Thanks for all your good advice. Now I need some more help getting ready: What kind of electronic equipment do you think I will need to make this blog work from the Bering Sea? I plan to take pictures and send blog entries as much as possible. The ship already has computers hooked up to the internet, so I will not need to arrange that. Let me know soon, I am getting ready to start packing!

Thanks for all your great comments and suggestions. It is exactly two weeks before I leave. I'm going to load a few pictures of our area on the blog so people everywhere can see the difference when I get to Alaska and start posting photos. Here are some pictures of the forests around the Hudson River here in New York. What do you think the land in Alaska will look like? Our environment includes forest, the Hudson River and another important area. Do you know what it is? Click the top photo to enlarge it and see if you can spot the area that I'm talking about. It is brown and sticks out into the Hudson towards the top of the photograph. Post to the blog if you know what it is.



Best,

Mr. T.

Thanks for all your good advice and good wishes. I'll definitely bring along lots of warm clothes. The weather in the Bering Sea still includes snow in the forecast. CLICK HERE and have a look for yourself. I will also bring medicine to help in case I get sea sick. I have never been in waves as big as the ones they have on the Bering Sea. One buoy reported 16 foot high waves last week. CLICK HERE to see a graph. I will also bring a camera to take pictures and even video of whatever interesting things we see when we are out on the water. I will begin to post pictures here soon.
All the best,

Mr. T.

Today I started making a list of things to pack. What do you think I should bring? Use the links on this website to check the weather in Alaska and come by the computer lab with your suggestions. I need all the help I can get :)

Mr. T.