Things I'll miss (and others I won't)

It's not long now before we switch to remote observing from our offices in Hilo. I've set a date of mid-December for the change but as you might expect the actual date is not something I'll share here! Local staff already know and so will the UKIRT board very soon as I'm off shortly on a trip to tell them. I can't wait to experience November in England again, I still remember how wonderful the weather is there at this time of year...

This got me thinking though. What will I miss after the switch?

Things I'll miss (in no particular order):

• Sunsets and sunrises from Mauna Kea.
• Working at a place most people on the planet haven't been to.
• Being at the coalface of world-beating observational astronomy.
  
• Talking to visitors about Mauna Kea and astronomy.
• Dark and beautifully clear nights where one can see the Universe and Milky Way with their own eye while not even being dark adapted.
• The out-of-this world experience of stepping outside the dome in the middle of the night, looking at the sky and just saying "wow!". (Moonlit nights excepted).
• The vivid and rather pleasant dreams sleeping at 9,000 feet provides.
  
• The company and conversation of good friends and colleagues during a long night and catching up on news from the old country.
• Brilliant scientists and observers visiting and keeping us informed of all the latest research and discoveries in their area.
  
• Watching a first-time observer run up the stairs from the bathroom to the control room and then collapsing into a gasping, helpless and oxygen-deprived heap and me saying "I told you not to do that!" (maybe that should be in the next section).
  
• The drive down at the end of a long night watching the sunrise and the remarkable show the atmosphere puts on.
• Winter snow and ice.
  
• The comradeship of Hale Pohaku staff.
• The cookies Hale Pohaku cooks bake for us to take to the summit.
  
• Breakfast at Hale Pohaku (this is one I'm going to really miss).
  

Things I won't miss:

• The 2am "wall". You think working the night shift is bad in your job? Try it at 14,000 feet!
• The commute to Hale Pohaku and the bone-breaking dirt road above Hale Pohaku.
  
• Being stuck in a 15-vehicle convoy on the way to the summit while dodging the speeding day crews on their way down to sea-level.
• Phone calls every few minutes asking "how's it going?.
• 16 to 17 hour "workdays".
• Clearing winter snow and ice from the doors.
  
• Tourists asking "Can we have a quick look through your telescope?", "Have you seen any UFOs?" and "Are black holes real?".
• Evacuating people from the summit who are really sick due to the altitude. I can tell you it's not a lot of fun and extremely stressful for all concerned.
  
• The vivid and very unpleasant dreams sleeping at 9,000 feet provides.
• The fried chicken dinner at Hale Pohaku (do you want fries with that?).
  
• The Captain's Platter dinner at Hale Pohaku (with extra napkins to soak up the grease).
  
• Mashed potato for dinner at Hale Pohaku (Do you want a sick bag with that?).
  

You know what? I'm going to miss the place dreadfully and suspect I won't really know what I'll miss until it happens in December. I will be up there from time-to-time and will be at the summit again mid-December during my secret "switch-to-remote-observing" dates, but since they won't be full nights spent at the summit they don't count. Or maybe not. I've a hankering for watching another dawn from the summit...