I didn't get collared at Customs?
A 48.5-pound suitcase featuring the contents above, a long skinny cardboard box, an entire cooler (stuffed with desiccant and birdseed) packed into my carry-on, and no one batted an eyelash. Not sure what this says about national security, but I'm glad I flew out of D.C. scot-free. I thought I was going to go the entire trip without once having to pull out my permits, but that hope ended after I bungled an answer at Customs. ("Who am I staying with for 23 days? Um...a friend? No, a contact! Dammit...hang on.")
Also, pretty sure that was the first time I've been through Immigration in a bright yellow and teal building. With a guy in the corner playing live music.
Other notes:
-Yep, I'm spending nights on a boat, but cooking and working in a house with a scuba-dive crew. (edit It's definitely not like Archbold.)
-Dinner was stirfry. Stirfry was made from ingredients bought at the local grocery store, plus a jar of broadbean paste smuggled in my suitcase. The imported produce was cheaper than I was expecting, but I'm not feeling the $5 cereal.
-Watched a tremendous lightning storm while making dinner. Please make the wetlands wet! Those were some bone-dry marshes we visited today.
Okay, time for bed. I'll try to write more often now that we've officially transitioned to Fieldwork 2009!