Day 7
25 May 2011 | Mission Annelid: Success
Laura Timm
Well, we have all returned safely (excepting the trawl net). Today was full of packing and travel. For some of us, this meant jumping in a van and driving over inordinate amounts of America. For others of us, it meant meeting quite singular taxi drivers and spending unconscionable periods of time sitting in the New Bern airport.
Overall, it seems everyone feels the trip was a success! Again, as an undergrad, it is not my place to judge. But speaking with the scientists, it seems everyone got something they wanted.
I considered this trip an unqualified success because I spent my days elbow-deep in mud. Good mud (I know some of you know what I’m talking about – that some kinds of mud are just better than others). I have not played in so much mud since I was seven. During this cruise, I would wake up in the morning, grab some breakfast, and plunge both arms into a 5-gallon Home Depot bucket of mud. Ten minutes later, I was covered in it, every day. Invariably.
To conclude: Samples were gathered. No one died. Laura played in mud. Everyone went home happy…except the aforementioned trawl net.
And now we all go our separate ways. Different states, different countries. All of us united for one week in a wondrous quest: The Quest for Annelids.