Tag: Biloxi

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George Hademenos: Homeward Bound…from Biloxi, Mississippi, August 26, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea

George Hademenos

Aboard R/V Tommy Munro

July 19 – 27, 2022

Mission: Gulf of Mexico Summer Groundfish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Date: August 26, 2022

When I received my assigned schedule for my time at sea aboard the R/V Tommy Munro, I was participating in Leg 1 of the Summer SEAMAP Groundfish Survey that departed Biloxi, MS on July 18 and returned to Biloxi, MS on July 27. In a previous post, I highlighted the changes that have occurred since its original planned journey (departing from Galveston, TX instead of Biloxi, MS; change in ships from Oregon II to Tommy Munro; and change in dates from 6/20 – 7/3 to 7/18 – 7/27). With all of these changes, the cruise was delayed by one day because of logistical concerns. Once everyone boarded the vessel on the evening of July 19 and we left dock, it truly felt like this experience was actually happening… and it was. But as they say, especially among scientists, one should always expect the unexpected.

On early Sunday morning while asleep following my shift, I was awoken by one of my bunkmates that we would by stopping the survey and heading to port early because of an emergency issue with a crew member. We were expected to arrive in Biloxi on Monday, July 25 by 6:00 am.

As Sunday evening came around, the estimated time of arrival was moved up to 4:30 am so I simply stayed up so I would be packed and ready to go once we reached port. My immediate worry turned to my flight from Biloxi to Dallas but the NOAA Teacher at Sea staff were on it and I was confronted with a good news/bad news scenario. The good news? I was able to get on a flight for Monday. The bad news? The flight was scheduled for 7:00 pm. So I stayed aboard the ship until 12 Noon and then called for a taxi. I decided to contact the driver who took me from the airport in Biloxi upon arrival. He was honest, friendly and personable so I decided to see if he was available for a ride to the airport. This turned out to be another good news/bad news scenario. The good news? Yes, the taxi cab driver was available to pick me up and take me to the airport. The bad news? He would be able to pick me up until 3:00 pm, leaving me with a 3-hour wait but I felt good knowing I had a ride to the airport.

As luck would have it, the driver showed up about 15 minutes early and I was off to the airport. Following check in at the counter, I went through security and on to my gate to await the flight. There were several changes in the departure time but in the end it turned out to be delayed approximately 30 minutes. The flight was short in duration (about 90 minutes) and smooth. The flight is detailed in the attached figure below.

a map of the flight path from Gulfport airport (GPT) to Dallas-Fort Worth airport (DFW.) additional details show that George landed in Dallas at 9:21 pm CT. the flight arrived 37 minutes late.
Information Regarding my Homeward Bound Flight

After a short wait at baggage claim to retrieve my luggage and a 30-minute taxi ride home, it was the end of a very tiring day, and the beginning of a period of reflection and processing of a very exciting experience. In the next and final blog post, I will share my reflections from my time as a NOAA Teacher at Sea.

In this installment of my exercise of the Ocean Literacy Framework, I would like to ask you

to respond to three questions about the sixth essential principle (The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.), presented in a Padlet accessed by the following link:

https://tinyurl.com/yuu7wfre

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers – the questions serve not as an opportunity to answer yes or no, or to get answers right or wrong; rather, these questions serve as an opportunity not only to assess what you know or think about the scope of the principle but also to learn, explore, and investigate the demonstrated principle. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please indicate so in the blog and I would be glad to answer your questions and initiate a discussion.

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George Hademenos: Do You Know the Way to San Jose?…Oops Siri, I Meant to Say Biloxi, July 18, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea

George Hademenos

Aboard R/V Tommy Munro

July 19 – 27, 2022

Mission: Gulf of Mexico Summer Groundfish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Date: July 18, 2022

The date July 16, 2022 might seem like a typical Saturday, an ordinary day on the calendar to enjoy the last days of Summer before school starts around the corner. And this would be the case any other year. This year was different. It was a day that was two years in the making and one that this physics teacher could not come soon enough. It was in 2019 that I received the great news I was selected as a NOAA Teacher at Sea for the 2020 research cruise season. I was beyond ready for such an incredible learning opportunity. It would however turn out not to be…at least for the present. This is when life (also known as COVID) intervened. Eventually, thanks to vaccinations, mitigation strategies and effective treatments, conditions started to improve and in 2022, the research cruise season was slowly becoming a reality and I finally received my cruise assignment. Today (July 16, 2022) is the formal beginning of the cruise. So, how did the day begin?

I awoke at my usual time (about 7:00 am-ish) and got washed up and ready for the day ahead. I had begun the packing process several days before and had my luggage ready to go.

However, it doesn’t seem official.

My flight from Dallas-Fort Worth to Gulfport was scheduled for late afternoon and had arranged for shuttle pickup at 2:40 pm. This meant I had a lot of time on my hands. I took care of school related professional development activities in preparation for the upcoming school year so it was time well spent.

But still, it doesn’t seem official.

Minutes and the hours passed by quickly and the shuttle driver showed up on time. I placed my luggage in the back, took my seat, fastened my seat belt and we were on the way to the airport.

Even then, it didn’t seem official.

The driver was very pleasant and personable, which is not always a certainty with shuttle drivers.  He got me to the proper terminal, informed me of my gate number and I was on the way to check in my luggage and to security. I now had some waiting to do so I found a seat close to my gate, pulled out my iPhone, logged into my Facebook page and checked in.

screenshot of Facebook post, reading: "George James Hademenos is traveling to Biloxi, Mississippi. I can't think of a better way to wrap up summer than a science cruise aboard the R/V Tommy Munro as a NOAA Teacher at Sea! Let's get this started!"
An announcement on Facebook to kick off my journey as a NOAA Teacher at Sea.

Now, it was official. Even though I knew I would eventually be going on a research cruise for two years, it is not truly official until it is Facebook official. Now all I needed to do is get to Biloxi. After a 4-hour “pilots are past their working hours limit…we have to wait for a new crew” delay, we finally were allowed to board the plane. The flight was a relatively short one and pleasant one at that.

Screenshot of FlightAware report showing the flight path from Dallas to Biloxi, plus details, including that the departure was 3 hours 53 minutes late
An overview of the flight, courtesy of FlightAware, from DFW to Gulfport where I will then travel to Biloxi for my cruise.

The next day was a rest day prior to the departure of the cruise. The weather was gorgeous and served as a perfect opportunity to tour Biloxi. I would like to share with you a couple of photos of my self-guided tour.

top photo: a large overhead arch reads "BILOXI" with the years 1699 and 1999 on each side. bottom photo: an informative sign titled "Biloxi City Park & Welcome Sign" (other print too small to read)
Photos from my self-guided walking tour of Biloxi. A historical Biloxi Welcome Sign located a short distance from my hotel.
another Biloxi sign on a pedestrian walkway over a street
Photos from my self-guided walking tour of Biloxi. A Biloxi sign located down the street from my hotel.
the guitar-shaped sign on the outside of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Photos from my self-guided walking tour of Biloxi. There are 8 casinos in Biloxi with one of them being the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. It is a casino hard to miss with its upright large guitar prominently situated in front.
images of an informative sign (too small to read); front of City Hall; side view of City Hall
Photos from my self-guided walking tour of Biloxi. A collage of photos depicting Biloxi City Hall.
mural depicting Dr. Martin Luther King on a building along Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd; the street sign is visible at the intersection
Photos from my self-guided walking tour of Biloxi. This is one of my favorite photos of a mural depicting Dr. Martin Luther King taken at Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd.

As I was heading back to the hotel, I was looking for a bite to eat and walked by a restaurant I had heard rave reviews about so I decided to stop in. The restaurant was Half Shell Oyster House and the reviews are spot on!

top: sandwich paper reading Half Shell Oyster House. bottom: shrimp po-boy
Photos from my self-guided walking tour of Biloxi. Lunch consisting of a shrimp po-boy and fries courtesy of Half Shell Oyster House.  

I got a shrimp po-boy and it was just as good as it looks. It was a great relaxing day in Biloxi but the exciting part of the trip happens tomorrow when we board the R/V Tommy Munro for the cruise. There will be more detailed information about the ship, the research, the crew and the day-to-day operations of the science team in subsequent posts. In fact, the next blog post will be shared with you from the ship.

As I round out this post, I would like to let you know of a couple of items to expect in the blog posts that follow that will not only provide insight to the research conducted aboard the R/V Tommy Munro and the NOAA Teacher at Sea program, but also will inspire and stimulate interest in learning more about marine science.

I would first like to introduce you to a Google Site that I created for this experience entitled, Welcome to my Classroom at Sea. The site can be accessed by the link below:

https://sites.google.com/g.risd.org/welcometomyclassroomatsea/home

In this site, I not only introduce myself and discuss the research to be conducted on my assigned cruise, but I have also included ideas for ocean-related projects as well as a host of various resources to explore all aspects of marine science.

Secondly, I would like to introduce you to a recurring segment on this blog that centers around the Ocean Literacy Framework and the seven essential principles of ocean sciences, shown in the infographic below.

"The Essential Principles of Ocean Sciences: 1) Earth has one big ocean with many features. 2) The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of Earth. 3) The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate. 4) The ocean makes Earth habitable. 5) The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems. 6) The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected. 7) The ocean is largely unexplored.
An infographic detailing the 7 Essential Principles of Ocean Science, developed to improve Ocean Literacy in the classroom.  

The seven principles outline the integral fundamental concepts that all students Grades K – 12 should not only recognize from their science experiences but have an in-depth understanding as to how ocean sciences relate to the sustainability of and human life on Earth. Each blog post will highlight one of the seven principles of Ocean Literacy and an invitation to respond to three questions about the principle. There are no right or wrong answers – the questions serve not as an opportunity to answer yes or no, or to get answers right or wrong; rather, these questions serve as an opportunity not only to assess what you know or think about the scope of the principle but also to learn, explore, and investigate the demonstrated principle. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please indicate so in the blog and I would be glad to answer your questions and initiate a discussion.

For this blog post, I will start with Principle 1: Earth has one big ocean with many features. After you have had some time to think about this principle, please click on the link below:

https://tinyurl.com/mryxzmfp

which will take you to a Padlet (an electronic bulletin board) with three questions to answer. Please click on the rounded plus sign and record your answer on the blank note that appears under each column. Once you have finished typing your response, click on Publish in the upper right-hand corner and you are done with that question. Once you finish your responses for all three questions, you may then close the page. Thank you for participating in this exercise and I look forward to reading your responses.