Of all the places....

I was up at 5:00 this morning to finish packing and get on the road to Mobile, AL.  As of this morning, my plan was to drive to Mobile, get checked in and get my assignment, and head to an unknown destination in Florida.  After five hours in my very small car (and one pit stop in Mississippi), I arrived at HQ in Mobile at 11:30.  We met with the folks from the International Bird Rescue Center, who are down here assisting US Fish and Wildlife with bird rescue and recovery.  We, apparently, will be their night-time relief.  However, the location completely changed on us, and I am now in Mississippi.

I have a fairly long work history here - for about three years I traveled quite often to Pascagoula, MS to work at the Chevron Refinery.  When I quit that job a few years ago, I distinctly remember thinking, "man, I'm glad I'll never see that crappy town again" (no offense if you hail from Pascagoula, but I will offer my condolences).  Even the ride through MS this morning reminded me of all the wonderful things I had forgotten - a hellish memory lane filled with Hardees burgers, tap water the color of split-pea soup, and the trashiest Wal-Mart in history.  So imagine my surprise (and horror) when I was given my assignment - none other than Pascagoula, MS.  Oh you dumpy town, I have not missed you.

I did, however, manage to secure a hotel room in the nearby metropolis of Gautier (pronounced Go-shay), which I'm sure will have at least 2 more fast food restaurants, but lacks a Wal-Mart.  

We will be working the night relief shift and start in full swing tomorrow, so from noon to midnight each day we will be surveying our areas (ours is the eastern third of the Mississippi coast), rescuing birds, and responding to calls from dispatch.  Apparently the citizens around here are actually calling in dead or oiled wildlife in the middle of the night.  Go figure.

I realize I sound a little grumpy, and it's not intentional.  I am very excited to still be involved with this effort, and I think this region will be seeing a lot of oiled wildlife in the days to come.  The operations here are scaled way down from what I was involved with at Grand Isle, but I still have met a lot of great people today who are also glad to be down here helping.  So if I am coming off as a bit surly, trust me, it's just the fact that I have been awake for almost 16 hours and spent a good portion of that in a Pontiac Solstice.  

Oh, and my camera broke, so no more pictures until I replace it.