I like cold weather and there isn't a lot of that in South Carolina. I don't even own a winter coat. I figured Antarctica would be the perfect winter getaway.

In January 2004 I headed south, way south, 6500 miles south, to Ushuaia. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world. That is where I joined up with Lindblad Expeditions and boarded the National Geographic Explorer for the final leg of the trip to the ice.

The Drake Passage is amazing. If you are susceptible to motion sickness, you'll get seasick. If you've never been seasick, you'll get seasick. If you're a fighter jock, you'll get seasick. 36 hours of 60 foot seas in a 300 foot boat - you do the math. Oh yeah, one more thing: the lifeboats. Remember the James Caird? These are open boats too, just smaller.

No shit - you gotta do this trip. Go to Antarctica and go with Lindblad. It is worth puking for 36 hours straight. Seriously! As soon as I can scare up another spare $15k I'm going again. I started saving my pennies for a return trip the day I got back.