When Andy came home the other afternoon I said,”If we weren’t spending so much on the roadwork, new batteries, and the solar heating project, we could take a nuclear-powered icebreaker and take a dip in the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole.”
He said “How much more do I have to spend to avoid doing that?” I told him, “You’re doing just fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Apparently trips to the North Pole (next summer, of course) aren’t unique to Stanford. A number of businesses offer them. If you were offered one free of charge, would you go on it? I’m with Andy, I love my life just the way it is. I have no desire to go sit on a boat, no matter how exotic it sounds. What about you?
If you’d like more information, here’s a video by the Quark Expeditions. The old explorers must be turning over in their graves.
September 30, 2014
The old explorers must indeed be spinning. If the dead could talk…..
And, nope. Not for me an expedition on a boat – to anywhere. I like to look at the water, not be on it 🙂
Last time I was on a passenger ferry to Tasmania, I threw up violently both ways. Rocking, pitching and swaying motions don’t sit well with my stomach.
The mere thought of being captive on a huge luxury ocean liner (with boozy people) for a week or more holds little fascination for me.
Although, if I was much, much younger, I’d probably put my queasiness aside and sign up to do a stint as a volunteer crew member on one of the Sea Shepherd ships – that would be worth it for me.
Even if the sea were calm, I wouldn’t want to be on a boat that long just to say I had been to the North Pole. I’d rather play with my toys down here.
The video takes my breath away, and that is the very reason I would not go. Let the beauty remain. Haven’t we helped destroy enough pristine areas of the world already? I think so, but commercialism rules.
I too, am content with what I have and where I am. Then again, I feel only the Creator I love so much will continue leading me.
Yes, there are few pristine places left nowadays. What a difference from the days of the Arctic Explorers.
Even if somebody paid me to go, I would not. My time for such adventures were thirty years ago.
I still have adventures, but they don’t include traveling. Mostly playing with my toys. That’s plenty of excitement for me.
all it takes is one malfunction of little man made machinery and a group of people are stranded in a very gorgeous but hostile life threatening environment. nope.
i echo vicki and dixie both. not for me.
i dearly love the sea. but near it. not on it. and actually . . . not even OVER it . . .
as in the tiny vulnerable helicopter in the picture and video.
i LOVED andy’s reply to you! LOLOL.
About the helicopter — they say it’s for reconnaissance and sightseeing. Andy says it’s also in case they get stuck. But how far can a helicopter fly before it runs out of gas? It would be interesting to know what backup plans, if any, they have.
Apparently it’s very beautiful. Too cold for me though.
Yep, not for me either.
I would certainly go…and experience that only a few possibly will ever have…a journey of discovery that only I would want…telling everyone what that felt like and so on.
Yes I know there are online and film visual scenes but to be there is the best experience
Let’s consider your retreat in the forest, a forest that was once majestic and then the fire came and now you are rebuilding it. I can of course see whenever you post pictures but that is not the same as standing by Andy or even Olanda (?sp) and feeling it, smelling it and touching those dusty roads, peering into the culverts and standing on your veranda watching the sun go down…
If you could choose the destination, would you go to the North Pole or somewhere else?
I have no desire to go sit on a boat either! I’ll take an adventure where I’m self-powered instead. I went to a school that has similar alumni activities as that… but I’ll never go on one!
I have a heck of a time watching videos due to my slow rural internet (satellite) so I can’t watch today’s post about the pancake flute. Darn!!!
We don’t have any phone reception up on the land, and the one satellite internet provider gets bad reviews, as in it’s happy to take your money but even if sometimes there’s no service for a month or so you still get charged. What provider do you use?
I imagine there would be no internet connection on a boat to the North Pole?