Big day coming so here's tomorrow's post an evening early.

As I write this I am sitting here watching my mate make the usual crew change preperations. We're getting ready to go home and have a long day ahead of us. Well be on the move the entire day.

Right now he's making a gargantuan breakfast that should hold us until well past noon. We're talking hash and eggs here, and the size of the plates is humongous.

There is not a whole lot that is better to have on the onset of a long day that is better than a pile of hash and s couple of eggs. The only thing I can think of that lasts longer is biscuits and gravy the way I make it. One of the guys calls my recipe 'buscuits and glue' because it stick to your ribs.

Still, a mountain of hash should serve well.

The mate has already made the usual crew change sandwiches made. All hands get three sandwiches that they take with them for the ride home.

Most of us in this business have long rides ahead of us.

The mechanics of this crew change are that the oncoming crew will be taken to New York by van where they will be taken by launch to the vessel. We will simply do the reverse.

When we are returned to headquarters we pick up our vehicles or get transportation to planes, trains or buses. 

A small handful of guys are home within a short period of time. Most of us have longer drives. Mine is between 5 and 7 hours depending on any number of variables.

These days I take a route across Pennsylvania other than the turnpike because when you couple costs, construction zones, a $31 toll and general aggravation it is worth the extra 45 minutes driving time.

The 45 minutes driving time is often a misnomer anyway because it is based on GPS calculations the don't take construction and other factors into consideration.

Adding a $31 toll into the factor for the privilige of driving on the worst turnpike in the country makes it worth the extra three-quarters of an hour.

In short, I have a long day ahead of me and I'm damned grateful to have a pretty good partner.



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY