Rickie, Frankie, and Alex have returned from yet another successful research cruise along the NES LTER transect! Although our lab has attended many summer and winter cruises, this was only the second spring cruise we attended, and what a trip! The cruise took place during an unusual bloom of phytoplankton, for which the whole science party was giddy to sample and understand the underlying drivers that led to its formation. This was also Rickie’s 10th research cruise as part of our lab, and she was excited to celebrate double digits during the calmest cruise she has experienced. On to the next cruise this summer!