by Ryan Markiewicz | Jan 22, 2025 | Berlin's Wall
All,
Got invited to attend the inauguration – Thank you, Congressman Kelly 🙂
Got down there Monday morning and it was cold. So cold that they decided to move all the events indoors, so instead of 250,000 guests watching it, only a few hundred got in, and we just watched the inauguration from our hotel room.
We then went to the JP Morgan reception (thanks, Brian Linville) and had a drink and some pretzels. Washington was all secured, so it was tough getting around. Lots of road closures and fencing. We had to do a lot of walking (which I don’t mind), and I wore my Josh Allen jersey (which got a lot of “GO BILLS” from passersby. I love repping the Bills. Fans everywhere).
Notice, I did not wear a coat even though the wind chill was single digits. I lived in Buffalo for 15 years and worked outside in the steel plant and then as a dockworker there for years, so maybe I just got used to it. But unless there is wind, I don’t mind the cold. I honestly told Yuriy that I could easily take off my jacket and jersey and walk around bare chested (I think I have actually done that before hahahahahaha) but Yuriy said that with all the armed security around, they might think I was a nut and take me down. So…the shirt stayed on (this time. I wasn’t kidding. 😉
Not that unusual for announcer and former Bills QB and all-time fan, Ryan Fitzpatrick. It must be the Buffalo in us 🙂
Tuesday, we had several very good meetings with several very interesting people. Our Erie friend, Steve Scully, arranged some of them, and Derek arranged the others. Talked about the new administration and the future, but mostly about Ukraine. We got to meet with some of Senator John Fetterman’s staff and had a very productive talk. LP is kind of a hidden gem here in Erie, and I think the world is finding us more and more. We are making some great inroads with our Ukraine support efforts and making a real name for ourselves. “Punching above our weight.” I think Senator Fetterman (and likely Senator McCormick, our 2 US Senators, will visit Union Station the next time they are in Erie).
Yuriy also got interviewed by Steve on an Sirius XM. Did a great job.
Thanks to Congressman Kelly, Brian Linville, Senator Fetterman, and Steve Scully for making this an enjoyable and memorable trip to what is a historic event.
Onward! -JB
by Ryan Markiewicz | Jan 3, 2025 | Berlin's Wall
All,
Back in America. What a cool and amazing trip this was (I say cool, but actually, the temperature in Antarctica was about 20 degrees warmer than it was in Erie. It was around 30 degrees there and, of course, never got dark. A weird phenomenon).
It was awesome to experience a part of the world that most people never get to see. And the landscape really is ferocious and beautiful at the same time. Crazy that there are no land animals whatsoever on this entire continent (bigger than North America). And crazy to think that at one point in Earth’s history, Antarctica was attached to all the rest of the continents in one giant land mass.
When I was a kid growing up in NYC, we would sometimes go to the Museum of Natural History on class trips. I remember the entrance being a very long hallway, and on the wall was a mural of TIME from the Big Bang forward. The formation of stars, planets, and life on Earth. And I remember when you got to the end of the hallway, it said; ‘The last coat of paint on this handrail represents the amount of time humans have been alive’.
This trip made me remember those visits.
It’s funny that Neil deGrasse Tyson, the head of the Hayden Planetarium, was one of the guests onboard our cruise.
Thanks to Daniel and Tristan Fox, and Space2Sea for an unforgettable experience.
-JB
William Shatner, known and beloved by all. At 93 still in command!
Astronaut Jose Hernandez was a great guy with an amazing life story.
Highly recommend reading his book or seeing his movie.
Stephen Wiltshire and his sister, Annette.
His life story is here: https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=stephen%20wiltshire&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#ebo=0
An amazing artist with another incredible life story.
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Charlie Duke, one of the original Apollo astronauts. A legend!
Antarctica. A forbidding yet beautiful part of our blue planet.
by Ryan Markiewicz | Jan 2, 2025 | Berlin's Wall
At the very beginning of this cruise, the captain and crew leaders made one thing very clear to all of the passengers: IN ANTARCTICA, THE WEATHER HAS THE FINAL SAY!
They told us to understand that, accept it, and be patient/flexible.
Well, the day we could not get to the Research Station and had to take shelter in one of the bays, we ran into this school of Orcas (and with a flexible adventure cruise like this one, the captain changed course so that we could see them up close).
Amazing sight.
And, as is often the case in life, it’s best to turn disappointment into a different opportunity. As Fridrik, our expedition leader, often said, “We have Plan A. And then Plan B, C, D, E, F as required.” 🙂
The Orcas were an unexpected treat.
-JB
by Ryan Markiewicz | Dec 27, 2024 | Berlin's Wall
Yesterday we were supposed to visit the Ukrainian Research Station here in Antarctica, but as always, the weather rules the roost here. 15-20′ waves and very low visibility forced the captain to take shelter for the day instead.
Though disappointed (but nothing you can do), we watched the film “20 Days in Mariupol” about the Russian invasion in 2022. We also got to hear Jose Hernandez speak about his incredible journey as a migrant US farm laborer from Mexico to a NASA astronaut (check out the movie about his life story–truly awe-inspiring–“A Million Miles Away.” Unbelievable!)
Today we begin our journey back north through the Drake Passage to Ushuaia. Hopefully we will encounter “Drake’s Lake” and not “Drake’s Shake”. This video is not from our ship, but just like the waves we experienced yesterday before we took shelter. You really cannot even walk, and things fly off the shelves. Pretty wild.
https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=drake%20passage%20waves&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:523284c2,vid:fDSy3sddQNA,st:0
The captain announced yesterday that there is a medical emergency aboard one of the other ships heading south to Antarctica, so we are going to make a detour back to Elephant Island (our first stop) to pick up a passenger off the other ship there to bring him back to Ushuaia. One of the “rules of the sea” and the right thing to do.
Onward! -JB
A typical research station in Antarctica. Life is VERY tough here (and this is summer – 24 hours a day of sunlight. Winter is dark almost all the time)
We hiked this mountain with NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez (2nd from left) and one of his sons. His incredible life story was made into a movie. An AMAZING guy with an amazing life story. Check it out!
This is the peak we climbed with him.
The blue in some of these icebergs is incredible. The camera does not really do it justice.
Glaciers are everywhere.
Glaciers are just rivers of ice, Slowly flowing down the mountains to the sea. They break off and become icebergs.
With Mariia (yes 2 i’s in her name) and Nava. They were both Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russians and held prisoners after the fall of Mariupol in 2022.
Neil deGrasse Tyson and Charles Duke
by Ryan Markiewicz | Dec 26, 2024 | Berlin's Wall
Christmas Day, we took a Zodiac ride around a natural harbor where we saw thousands of penguins and a few Antarctic Cormorants (black and white birds that look very much like penguins, only they CAN fly) and an elephant seal (big and scary, though on land they look so slow and sluggish).
But the highlight of the day was the Polar Plunge.
Now, if you have been following my blog at all, you know I did some prep for this (my good friend and prior Polar Plunger, Gordie Naughton, laughed, “Don’t waste your time”. He was right). All the practice that I did, getting into freezing tubs of water (thanks Brian, Craig, and Aaron), how to slow your breathing and “get your mind right” for the jump (thanks, Brent) all went out the window for me. I forgot everything I learned and did everything wrong. I swallowed some water, and instead of enjoying the experience, I wanted to get out as soon as possible.
Hallie jumped too. She was not sure she was going to jump (I knew she would–can’t refuse a challenge). And 148 of the 250 or so passengers jumped, setting a new record for this company’s cruises.
It definitely takes your breath away (if you let it–I did–even though I was told not to by all those guys who “prepped” me 🤪), but it is truly an “Exhilarating” experience. It’s one of those things it’s best not to think about/just do. It’s over in less than 30 seconds, and even though your body thinks it will not survive, it will (it is very safe–they have a crew ready to pull you out if you can’t get out yourself), and you feel good, even somewhat euphoric once it’s over. Most everyone who jumped felt that way. And it became a cool shared experience with your fellow travelers. Fistbumps (and shots of vodka) all around afterward. Worth doing.
And the good news is you don’t have to go all the way to Antarctica to do it. You can do it right in LP’s backyard in Lake Erie anytime in winter. Maybe during the holiday party the weekend of Jan 17th? 😉
Onward!
Getting in line. I was way more excited for this than Hallie was, I guess.
Stepping out onto the Zodiac
Ready
Aim
Launch!
Keep Mouth Closed!
Wow, this is cold. Get me out of here!
Success! Not as bad as we thought.
And some vodka to celebrate.
The incredible raw beauty of Antarctica
by Ryan Markiewicz | Dec 23, 2024 | Berlin's Wall
Deception Island is an active volcano and one of the only places in the world where ships can sail directly into the flooded caldera through a narrow entrance called Neptune’s Bellows.
The island’s caldera was formed by a massive volcanic eruption thousands of years ago and is partially flooded by the sea, creating a natural harbor.
We landed by Whaler’s Bay, a significant hub for whaling operations in the early 20th century. Later, it became an essential site for scientific research stations. However, volcanic eruptions in 1967 and 1969 forever caused the evacuation of the stations and damaged the facilities. The pictures are the remnants of those.
The name Deception Island comes from its outward appearance. It looked like a normal island to the early sailors, but discovering this concealed inner harbor gave it its “deceptive” nature.
Finally, our boots on the ground in Antarctica
Some “chase boats” from the old whaling days
Some whale bones on the beach
3 amigos
No caption needed here
The airplane hangar used by the old science research center
Rocking the Bills in Antarctica
Houses from the old research center
Looking forward to more exploring!
Onward! -JB
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