And I'm off!

I am looking forward to this trip.  I am hoping to get a LOT of diving in.  This is the first trip I've taken in a long time where I didn't NEED it.  I'm not stressed at work and summer just ended so it seems and unlikely time to take a month long vacation... but I LOVE Graham's Nudibranch focused trips, so I made this happen!

Here is my travel fashion.  I don't think anyone at my gate even knows what a Nudibranch is.

I keep thinking that I have forgotten something.  This underwater photography thing is so tricky.  If I forget one little thing, I could be out of business.

I cannot wait to have Mie Goreng (fried noodles) every morning for second breakfast. It is my absolute favorite.

I’m looking forward to meeting the scientist who is on our trip and Ali whom I've heard so much about.

I think I’m going to be the least knowledgeable person about Nudibranchs on this trip.  I can’t wait to talk about them all month and learn.  When I get back, I really do want to finish up the Nudi wall in my condo and get so many more up there.

After a 14 hour flight from Chicago to Seoul and another 7 hour flight from Seoul to Bali, I landed in Denpasar around midnight.  The flights were easy peasy on Korean Air.  The cabin is so pretty as are the flight attendants.  They wear these light blue and off white combinations and these crazy bows in their hair that is really stiff and big.  I swear if I wore one of those, I’d poke an eye out of someone.

When I got to the Harris Tuban hotel, they didn’t have my reservation.  They tried to check me in as David Mc something.  I forgot all about the Indonesian culture.  Even if something is completely wrong, they try to make it right in order to make you happy in the moment.  So weird.

I went to the pool for the morning and caught some sun while reading To Kill A Mockingbird (so I can read the new Go Set a Watchman).  I haven’t read that book for 30ish years.  It’s really good novel actually.  I also tried to read “The Underwater Photographer” to brush up but I couldn’t really get into it.

The rest of the day I just ordered in room service and was alone.  It was pretty nice actually.  I slept a ton.