After spending the day getting to know the finer details of souvenir shops in Santa Cruz, we moved on to dinner…namely happy hour at The Rock restaurant on Charles Darwin Ave. We found Karen and Frank there after their excursion to the Charles Darwin Center, and while I ran to do a little research on the restaurant’s fine musical selection (Buena Vista Social Club), I was stopped by a man, who commented on the quality of the music, and we struck up a conversation. Turns out the man was W. Bruce Strickrott, pilot of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s HOV Alvin.
Bruce
HOV Alvin
Naturally I was shocked, but he’s a pretty cool guy, and it turns out we all had a lot in common, with lots of things to talk about, so Bruce and a colleague of his, Allison, joined us for dinner. I’ve been watching Discovery specials about this sub since I was a kid, so it was great to hear firsthand accounts of experiences aboard. Turns out driving a research sub can be exhausting work, but he says it’s exhilarating and calls it “the best job in the world.” I believe him.
Less exciting but still cool, I also took some pics of the wildlife making the most of the local fish market this morning.
Fish market adversaries (marine iguana & pelican)
Survival of the fittest?
Into the Sun 
3 Responses to Unlikely Dinner Guests
Ummmm, you just stopped a stranger on the street and he just happened to be the hunkiest thing EVER. (HE stopped YOU? oh. hmm) ‘Kay. I’d love to hear (read) about his experiences with Alvin and the WHOI, I mean the dinner conversation. Did you take his picture here? (or did he autograph a fan photo? haha)
{{{{HUG}}}}
Lest you forget, I got a man…but, we were in a restaurant, the music computer was right by his table, and he was alone, so he made conversation, then Jason came over, and we invited the guy to our table. Maybe you should take a cruise here…it seems the ratio of interesting scientists to tourists is pretty high…not sure how many hot scientists there are here though. That one may have been the needle in the haystack.
Read the WHOI page ref and all the interesting photos and details about Bruce and his work. The Galapagos get together of notables must have been spectacularly interesting. Glad you were able to meet and enjoy – I know you’re out of touch for a bit now, love and kiss, kiss – M