May 10, 2009. New Horizon cruise, Chief Scientist Blog.

Just to catch everyone up, here are my daily blogs.  On May 10th, Mothers Day, I said goodbye to my wife and kids, and left my house at 8:30 am to begin a long day of travel to Portland, OR. I remembered my frozen DNA extraction buffer and enzymes (thank heavens), shoving them deep into my suitcase. I picked up my technician Erica Kiss and drove 1.5 h to Baltimore/Washington international where we caught a flight to Portland via Houston.

By chance, we met up with Alex Jaramillo, another cruise participant, in the Portland Airport on his way back from Ecuador, and gave him a ride home in our hired towncar. We then stayed at a hotel in Beaverton, OR and ate bland takeout Mexican food. Food choices are limited within walking distance of the Extended Stay America Inn on Eider Court.