By the time I finished the morning, it was 2 p.m. At that hour the Snack Bar was the closest thing open. The name really doesn't do it justice, because it features a bakery counter, made-to-order pizza (take-out or delivery), sandwiches, a grill, and Baskin-Robbins ice cream. This must be one of the few places with pizza delivery via electric carts! In general, it is clear that the food on Kwaj really gets close attention. For one thing, we are repeatedly told that our cargo shipments have been delayed in favor of mail and food. Hmm, radio parts or ice cream? Computers or celery? Some choices would be tougher than others! My mother and wife have both been involved with quantity cooking for captive audiences, and I can say that Kwaj does a pretty decent job. So far, the salad bar at the Café Pacific (aka the cafeteria) has been very fresh, and the selection of entrees has ranged from grilled mahi-mahi to bratwurst with sauerkraut. If you hit something really below par, you can always go back and try something else, since it's a fixed-price buffet line. Of course, as you go to other islands on the atoll or to the camps on the outer islands the food arrangements get much less elaborate.

The reason for the long morning was what might be called a Cheshire Cat storm. Yesterday's forecast had the ITCZ setting up to our north with no significant activity here. In the event, a large area surrounding and covering the northern and central parts of the atoll developed really impressive storms by midnight. These storms repeatedly reformed as the night wore on, so the radar and satellite displays were very impressive at the 6:30 a.m. briefing. Once again the planes were notified to set up for takeoff about 11 a.m. Almost as soon as the decision was made the storms started to fade, and by noon there were just a few showers. I think they were smiling at us (thus the Cheshire Cat)! The planes were first delayed, then cancelled, and so I had to cancel the extra weather balloon launches scheduled for 2 p.m. The morning also featured a call from my wife and daughter, a nice treat reminding me of my "real" life back in the States.

For a change of pace this evening I tracked down the Kwaj library. I wouldn't have thought to look for it over the bowling alley, but it's a cozy place with a decent selection of books. It appeared that a group of Marshallese women were having a meeting in one of the alcoves when I arrived, and I noticed a children's section. In common with the Ten-Ten (a take-off on "Seven-Eleven", I think), the newspapers weren't real current. I might need to do a little web surfing, because with my schedule, I never see the television news.

Today marks my first week on Kwaj. "Routine" doesn't quite describe my day, but at least I've got the basic activities in hand so that all the other oddball issues can be fit around them.

George Huffman