“A Sort of Homecoming”
The appropriateness of U2′s leading track from their 1984 album is twofold: 1) we are in the south and it’s good to be back, and 2) the album’s name is The Unforgettable Fire and it’s hot out.
To abbreviate, our day began with the sky looking like this:
And ended like this…
In short today was a day to break records, find oil, rely on caffeine and not sleep to fuel us, and look awesome while doing it.
We arrived in Florida at 11:00 a.m. and we were on the beach collecting by noon. We went south and east this time to collect some samples at Pensacola beach – a place we knew nothing about. The oil gods were with us as we made our way along the beach collecting, and upon returning we found a small mountain of Macondo oil just sitting in the road (not even joking).
Next up we headed to old territory. The beaches of Perdido and Gulf Shores were like old friends welcoming us back after a long absence. We quickly found what we were looking for and went on our way, but not before I got a spectacular sunburn that goes splendidly with my Haverford bucket hat.
We took a ferry across the bay to Dauphin Island – again familiar sands. This time however, we explored the ocean side of the island as well as the bay side. Previously we had just sampled from the bay side. We found some great samples and I got to splash around a sand bar at the same time. Who says science isn’t fun? We finally headed in, and after a dinner of quesadillas and a few gallons of water, were were safely ensconced in our beds, ready to face a new day.
Don’t forget to say a few prayers and dance to Ilyap’a, the Incan god of rain. Just because Debby looks okay now does not mean we should take any chances.