 |
||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SETI
- Allen Telescope Array
- Optical SETI
- Interstellar Message Construction
- Project Phoenix 1995-2004
- Background Science
- History of SETI
- Center for SETI Research Team
- Other people doing SETI
- Hollywood's View of SETI
A Day Off
by Alan Patrick, Project Manager New Search System
Our hectic observing schedules allow for little time off, however when we do have a break, many of us like to explore and try new things. Earlier in the observing run, some of us decided to check out Sunday Brunch at the Villa Montana Beach. Jane Jordan called ahead to make reservations, which she later needed to change. We would be arriving later than we thought. When she called them a second time, it turned out they apparently did not have the first reservation, which struck us as odd.
We worried that they may have lost the first reservation and wondered whether wed have a table waiting when we arrived. As it turned out, there were plenty of tables! It is so easy for those of us who are working up in the isolation of the control room to be out of touch with the rhythm of resort life in coastal Puerto Rico. It is the off-season for travelers to this tropical paradise, so we were among a very small number of guests at the resort's restaurant that Sunday afternoon.
Our table, like every table, offered a picturesque view of the area. I sat in awe, as I scanned the landscape from the open-air restaurant. Every vista would have made a terrific photo for a resort brochure. For a very long time, I sat quietly gazing at the surf pounding the beach and the spray filling the air, feeling a small breeze ease the humidity, listening to the sounds of some birds Jane identified. I felt totally relaxed; a wonderful and welcome change from the high-intensity atmosphere of the control room!
Roughly an hour away from the Observatory, the resort is an entire world away from the mainstream. It is sometimes easy to forget that we are in a place that offers such wonderful sights, sounds and sensations. As I think about Project Phoenix concluding, I hope there will still be opportunities to experience more of this wonderful island.