Dec. 23rd Landon almost got a flight out of Antarctica. The plane turned around 10 minutes from the landing strip because of fog.
December 25th Christmas happened. It was a good day, we were very spoiled with generous gifts and I was happy to be with family. Landon was able to video chat with us for a couple of hours while we opened gifts and it was enjoyable to pretend he was there.
December 26th there was an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, causing a lot of damage and limiting hotel space.
December 27th Landon FINALLY was able to board a plane and leave McMurdo. Unfortunately, we found out he couldn't leave right away because it's a requirement to stay overnight in New Zealand (something to do with visas?) before heading back to the states from Antarctica.
December 28th a huge storm rolled in over the East Coast of the US, turning holiday travel plans the world over into a super giant mess. No flights left New Zealand for the US that day.
December 29th Landon promised he was coming home. He boarded a flight for Aukland at 10:35 am, transferred to an overnight flight to LA, and flew to Dallas. There was huge snow storm in SLC that day, and many flights didn't get through, but we were finally blessed with a bit of luck, and Landon's plane was one of the few that landed. He then boarded a shuttle for Idaho. The snow had made the roads crazy bad, and it took an extra hour to get from SLC to Idaho Falls, where I eventually picked him up.
We spent several fun-filled days in Idaho with family, and finally, we are HOME.
Landon loved Antarctica and is excited about his research. He's never going back. I'm afraid he wouldn't get home.
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