For our 10,000-reader hit giveaway, the winner is (drumroll…)
Kurt from Connecticut! (sorry about the crappy pictures, and that I haven’t showered for five days–it’s a harsh continent!) Kurt, send us your address at kiellanddaniel@gmail.com, and we’ll get your box in the mail. It may take a while; we’ve passed the airmail deadline by just a hot minute so I think it will go by sea vessel.
Congratulations, Kurt, and THANK YOU so much to everyone who reads this blog, it’s fun to share this experience with you all.
~
In other news, Daniel is the South Pole Scrabble Champion! He won a very, very close game against Mikey of http://mikeygoingdown.tumblr.com/ (this is an awesome blog–check it out). And, improving my 4th place score in the South Pole Spelling Bee from last year, I made second place in an equally close Bee this year. Hooray!
Stay tuned for the Barn Dance… a friend and I are planning a live music-ing, line-dancing, polka-ing extravaganza this Friday night (keep in mind, this is a work night for us, but all the Saturdays were claimed by other events that we couldn’t compete with)! We will teach and call line dances, polkas and waltzes, and it’s going to be awesome.
brown paper blue ink 
Now all I have to do is beat Daniel to become Scabble King of the South Pole! Cool.
Must hear about what dances you do and who shows up for the Barn Dance. So glad you are doing it. Dave
Wow, thank you very much! A nice long sea voyage for the package will be fine, I look forward to seeing it whenever it manages to find it’s way all the way up here.
My daughter Erica has already laid claim to the South Pole patch. I think I may be raising an explorer here, she’s only seven but she’s become fascinated with the Pole since we read over the camping post you made. My wife picked her up a simple picture book about the South Pole at the library and now she’s spouting off facts like she’s some kind of expert.
I’m looking forward to the postmarked box and the pint glass, at least Erica won’t be taking those from me. I’ll drink the first Long Trail from it in your honor.
Thanks a lot for offering up the goodies. Your blog reaches 10,000 readers because it’s not only a fascinating look at life at the South Pole it’s really well written and the pictures are fantastic showered participants or not. We really appreciate you sharing your very limited free time there with us.
Kurt
Thanks Kurt! What a sweet message, I shared it will all the people in my office. A friend who just moved out East said, “Long Trail? Long Trail Ale? Is he from Vermont?” and proceeded to tell me about how it’s her new favorite beer. We only have crappy New Zealand beer here, so it will be good to go home and drink something decent. I got your email and I will let you know when the package is on it’s way. Tell Erica I said hello!
For some reason the hardest thing to get used to where ever I’ve been is the new beer. It’s a little easier now with decent micro-breweries all over the country but it always takes some searching. 😉