Saints in the Bahamas: Three Days to Departure!

How fortunate do I feel? This time last year I was preparing to head to France as a chaperone for the Normandy Scholars program. I will never forget visiting the Pointe du Hoc memorial and looking down at the tall cliffs that brave US Army Rangers scaled in order to knock out six large German guns that were aimed at Omaha Beach. We also had a great time in Paris, wonderful students and, of course, the amazing Madame Van Way as our leader.

This year Mrs. Myhre and I are leading 9 students on a coral reef expedition to the Bahamas. We will be staying at the Gerace Research Centre on the small island of San Salvador. Operating out of this facility we will be contributing to a 20-year long study of coral reef populations. The students will be taught how to identify key coral species, how to map them, and how to perform a Point Intersect (PI) analysis - in order to determine what percent of the reef is constituted by live coral. It won't be all work, though! We will be taking several field trips during our week on the island. Last reported temp: 80 degrees F.

Here is a shot of me from 2008 in San Salvador, Bahamas. The next is one of the beaches where we will be doing our research.