A debt of gratitude

One of the first questions that seems to come up after I say I'll be driving from Alaska to Argentina is, "how long are you going to be gone?", followed in rapid succession with, "your job lets you take that much time off?"

Indeed, I owe a huge thanks to my colleagues and team at the Springdale District for helping to make this trip possible. Not only to my boss and the team at the district office, but also to my team of colleague EIAOs spread across KS, MO, and AR. Although I've striven to be extra useful in these days leading up to the trip, I know there is nothing I can do to lighten the workload during the three months that I'll be gone.

It's not every day that a trip like this is possible -- in fact, this years marks my 10th as an EIAO and with the USDA, and this is my special thing to commemorate the occasion. My deep gratitude to all of you who hold down the fort and pick up my slack in the meantime!

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service is good people, man.