Feb 18th, 2020 Day 46 of 128

Greetings from approximately 300 miles off the coast of Pitcarin Island (at least as of around noon today). It was a gorgeous 79 degrees today. We are hanging near the equator and after some time out in the sun today, I am a little redder then I would usually be for having been in the sun that long. But, my glow will shine brighter tomorrow, LOL!! We had a lazy morning today as we keep having so many time changes we are wide awake at 6:00am and our bodies are a little confused. Tonight we give back yet another hour, putting us back in our home time zone in California. The girls are excited to not have to constantly do math to figure out what time it is in Cayucos while they think about where their friends are at home and what they are doing. I think it will be short lived as we are continuing west and on our journey to the International Date Line. It is my understanding that we completely will lose February 27^th. We will go to bed on February 26^th and wake up on February 28^th. So does that make it a 127 day cruise, does Holland America owe us a refund? I am totally kidding, but it’s a good question…. We all had breakfast together this morning before the girls went off to work on school for a little while. Mom had a nail appointment. At 10:00 Megan I went to the project Linus meeting spot to help them lay out all the completed blankets to date on the ship. Last year’s world cruise generate 297 blankets by the end of the trip. They averaged about 80 people making blankets. This year there are about 120 people making blankets. To date they have already completed 220 blankets. Which is why they are seeking to buy more yarn in Sydney. Some amazing contacts have been, some with the help of dear ones who read my blog, and we are on track to get the yarn we need to keep everyone making blankets for the remainder of the cruise. They kindly asked for donations today to help support the yarn drive and I believe they are well on their way. I spent a couple of hours relaxing poolside today, that’s why I glow. Then, I met mom at 2:00 for a Polynesian presentation on the history of hula and Polynesian dance. The ambassadors are still on the ship and I believe they will be with us till Tahiti. I had a hair appointment this afternoon and I had my hair highlighted and trimmed so it looks kissed by the sun as well. Thank you so much Glen, you made me feel more beautiful! Then it was off to the main dining room for a nice dinner as always with the girls and mom. As usual I was back in my cabin at a too early hour as the children ran off for their evening activities with Geoffrey at Club HAL. Tomorrow the flat boats come along side our ship from Pitcairn Island and people will board our boat to sell us handcrafts, homemade honey, to stamp our passports, and to sell us postcards to be completed and then sent out from their post office. My understanding is that there are 100 people that live on the island. Receiving a letter from there is a valuable occurrence as their stamps are obviously hard to obtain and desired by stamp collectors. Regardless I will make an effort to send something home from here. Hope you are all enjoying your week wherever you are. Love and Hugs from us all…Debra

Enjoy the photos of the blankets as they were displayed today.  It is humbling to know these people have dedicted so many of their “vacationing” hours to create something beautiful for children in hospitals.  Project Linus you will be blessed beyond measure when this ship pulls into port in Fort Lauderdale.