The Alvin is finally at WHOI, so I jumped at the opportunity to go to work with Dad. As we drive, we pass by the ferry that takes tourists to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. We pass my favorite restaurant, Allen’s, and of course the best coffee shop in Falmouth, Coffee Craze. The brownies there are the best. Once we get past the tourist area, a string of familiar stone buildings flank both sides of the street. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution looks the same every single year no matter how much time passes. Just the thought of all that marine life, the tanks of fish, and enormous deep-sea vessels sends a rush of familiar excitement washing over me. We park in front of Building 40, our usual WHOI home. I grab some of the remaining boxes that Dad still needs to bring upstairs to his office. Once we get inside, I set them down in the foyer. At the end of the long hallway are the double doors to the tech shop. “Can I?” I say. Dad rolls his eyes with a smile. His hair sticks out from underneath his WHOI hat and he nods as he puts down his boxes too.
