Sea Day

Our second sea day in a row and our last one for a bit. After today we will have four port days in a row. But, you will have to wait to hear about them. Our morning began the same as usual. Gym for me. Extra sleep for Megan. Breakfast at the Pinnacle Grill where Megan finished up some Algebra homework for later in the afternoon and demolished her second of four mangos she bought in Nuku Hiva. I am still anxiously awaiting my avocado to get ripe. Next it was up to Project Linus where I finished my second blanket. Photo below. When someone finishes a blanket they turn in what left over from their yarn balls, aka “muffins” and I took the pastels and made a blanket with the “leftovers”. It was a lot of color change, but I think it turned our well. I started my third blanket as well today. I am doing a granny square next with the left overs. At noon today Megan was invited to a wine tasting event. Yes, you read that right, Megan was invited. It is for four and five star mariners, we are four, and for some reason the invitation just came in her name. I did the right thing and went on her behalf. They had wines to sample that they offer in the wine packages aboard the ship. Invitations for this event have been going out periodically for the last week or so as it turns out they had to host this event multiple times as there are approximately one thousand four and five start mariners on this ship currently. I am not surprised considering this unique group of world cruisers that are aboard. I got to catch up with Freddy and Bob who I hadn’t seen in a couple of days. It is funny no matter how “small” or “big” you think the ship is, the perspective is really skewed by how much time you spend out of your cabin, participating in events, and dining in the public dining spaces. We have people we see every day because we all participate in the same activities and others we won’t see for weeks even though we know they are on the ship. The afternoon was spent writing this lovely blog to you all and Megan met with her tutor. Tonight we had dinner in the main dining room back at our usual table at 5:00pm. Tomorrow morning we will pull into port in Papeete, Tahiti. We have some fun adventures planned but you will have to wait to read about those.

Sea Day

Another Sea Day, another wonderful day of routines. Gym in the morning to get the blood pumping and to work off all the not so wise food choices I am making. Home to wake up Megan. Pinnacle Grill for breakfast. My waitress knows my usual order, egg white frittata, extra vegetables. add mushrooms, no meat and no chili flakes. Fresh fruit and now herbal tea. I am three days without coffee. My stomach is feeling a little better and I am going to stick to this for a week and see how I feel. Then it was time for project Linus. Back home after Linus and Megan got ready for tutoring and I updated my blog and took care of whatever business I have to take care of. I was at the pool by about 2:30 and started a new book I got from the library. We had dinner tonight in one of the “pop up” restaurants. Tonight is the first night they offered Tamarind which is a Chinese themed specialty restaurant. Periodically throughout the month the Pinnacle Grill, which usually is what I would refer to as our steakhouse, morphs into something different. Wine tasting dinners, Tamarind, Italian food, and Rudi’s Sea De Mer. I’m not exactly sure what they all are because we have not gone to them previously due to the up charges, but we are walking on the wild side with our ship credits and trying some new experiences this year. We had dinner with Gail and Marty who have dined here many times and followed some of the food recommendations. Everything I had was spectacular. I had a dragon roll appetizer, the barramundi red curry stew for an entree, and a cheesecake mouse for dessert. Below are photos of my dessert and Megan’s Mango dessert. The level of service is definitely escalated and it was nice to see our regular breakfast servers dressed in asian themed attire for the evening. The conversation flowed easily and we had such a nice evening. I was done for the day at the end of dinner. Megan went off to play cards for about an hour. Another full sea day. And tomorrow we shall do it again. Hugs everyone!!

Nuku Hiva, Marquesas

*(Photo’s to come later as the website is not letting me load any. Enjoy reading about our day. Come back later to see all the beautiful pictures.) Revised 01/20/23

There is land outside my window. I haven’t seen land in eight days and there it is coming into view. I was awake at 5:00am this morning and went out on my patio. I watched the sunrise to the east and Nuku Hiva, Marquesas approach from the west. There was even a rainbow to greet us as we approached the island. Megan and I grabbed a quick breakfast in the Lido from the buffet. It started to rain while we were eating so we headed back to our cabin to quickly grab our raincoat and our COVID cards as recommended by the cruise director. Better safe than sorry. Today was a tender port so we had to report to the theater and await our excursion group to get called so all the people in our group could be in the same tender boat. Today’s excursion was the one and only we had to choose from. We took a scenic drive around the island. We got to see a lot of amazing blooming flowers, black sand beaches and panoramic views of the ship and the bay from high atop the mountain. We visited two villages and saw where they are recreated some historic sites in a place more easily reached by tourists. We saw many bread fruit tress, a staple of the diet here, and many coconut groves as coconuts are a large exported item from the island. We also got to sample some local fruit and dried breadfruit. Which I actually fell I love with at a roadside stand in Tonga in 2020. I was very happy to have it again and purchased a bag of it to bring back to the ship for me and a bag for our amazing server Jenny who waits on us most morning int he Pinnacle grill. She loves salty food like I do and they will definitely feed her cravings too. There were lots of local inhabitants selling locally made crafts and jewelry as well. Megan got a carved Nuku Hiva key chain and I picked up a beautiful Lei for only three dollars! I wore it all day and it is currently in our cabin and it smells heavenly in here. The way they transport you around here is in a pickup truck that accommodates four people inside and then some have additional seating in the bed of the truck. Megan got an outside seat and I got to ride shotgun in the truck. There are no air conditioners in the vehicle and it was 80 degrees today. Oh, and the driver doesn’t speak English as French is the primary language on the island as well as Marquesas. So there were about 15 trucks in our group and at each predesignated stop there was a lovely woman, Anne, we gave it information on the place we were visiting and what we were seeing. Our driver had an auspicious cough so I took one for team Merson riding the cab, window down and I was double masked every time we got int he vehicle. Which wasn’t easy in the heat. Megan owes me for this one. We decided it was best to stay safe and healthy. We stopped but the local farmers market right at the pier before boarding back in the tender boat to head back to the ship. Megan got four Mangoes and I got a giant avocado. Once we were back on the ship we decided to go and have some lunch in the lido. Megan of course brought a Mango and proceeded to devour it in expert fashion as she eats them often at home. She said it was the best Mango she ever had in her whole life. I can’t wait to watch her eat the other three!! Then it was back to the cabin to enjoy the internet that is surprisingly better than I had expected. I got caught up on my backlog of blog posts and downloaded all my photos from toady. It’s hard to decide which ones to share with you but I hope you enjoy them all. I decided to take an evening to myself and ordered a Cobb Salad off the room service menu and watched a movie. Megan went and had dinner with Gail and Marty in the main dining room. The ship hosted a “GLAMP OUT” on the ship last night. A fun play on a camp out with faux campfires, the hotel manager hung out in a canoe in the pool, and there was fun food passed like mini hot dogs, bacon maple donuts and s’mores. Megan had a lovely time. Tomorrow is another sea day and we will get a chance to resume some of our regular activities that we didn’t get to do today. Ship life is a fun balance and we are having a delightful time. Hugs to you all.

Sea Day

Another Sea Day, me day. And our last sea day for this stretch as tomorrow we will touch land for the first time in 8 days. It’s funny to hear the passengers talk about how “long” we have been at sea. I believe in 2020 we had two times when we were at sea for about 14 days each. I will say that Megan and I do keep ourselves quite busy and never get bored on sea days. There is always so much to do. I was up first thing this morning and got in line to get into the gym. There were about 25 people there waiting when the gym opened at 6:00am. I came back and woke up Megan to start our day at the Pinnacle for breakfast. After breakfast Megan went off to Mahjong and I went and sat with sweet Ginny for our project Linus time. She is so nice, always saves me a chair next to her. We have staked our claim to the same two chairs every day right in the window. I say we are like two cats sitting in the sun playing with our balls of yarn. I am almost done with my second blanket. I will post a photo when I finish it. I met Megan back at the cabin around noon and she had tutoring and I took some time to take care of business items for back in CA and updated our calendar of activities for on the ship. We have had a few excursion changes and I like to keep our schedule up to date. We received a delivery of a fresh bouquet of flowers this afternoon as well. I made arrangements for flowers to be delivered to our room every two weeks. I love how the look, smell and make me feel. And it makes our cabin feel even more like home. We were in the main dining room at 5:00pm for dinner this evening and hosted our friend Ginny at our table. On the way out of the dining room we ran into Gail and Marty and chatted with them while they waited for their food to get delivered. It seemed like an exceptionally long time for their food to come and we learned that if there are people at your table talking to you the servers are instructed not to deliver your food. I felt bad because we had stood there yaking for quite some time. Hope they didn’t have to eat cold food. When we got home last night my dress that had gone off to the tailor was hanging in my cabin all completed. It turned our beautifully. They really did quite an amazing job!! I will make you wait to see the photo of the dress until you get to see me in it. Megan and I are going right to bed tonight. We are wiped our from the day, from the continued time changes, and from the amazing time we are getting to spend talking and enjoying the company of others. I haven’t had so much adult interaction probably since the world cruise in 2020 and I am enjoying every minute of it. Tomorrow LAND HO!!. Sweet dreams.

Sea Day

Happy Birthday Megan!!  This lucky girl gets to celebrate a second birthday of her life onboard a Holland America world cruise.  Her first was her 11^th birthday in 2020 and today she turned 14. As I headed out to the gym this morning, I was attacked my ribbons and balloons.  In the middle of the night the birthday fairy cam and decorated our cabin door in honor of Megan.  I made her wake up and see the decorations and she begrudgingly obliged.  Then she crawled back into bed, and I was at the gym before it opened.  There was about 20 people in line this morning waiting for the doors to open.  I knocked out my workout and headed out the door.  I went by the crow’s nest to get Megan her favorite, a Chai Latte and a pastry to start her day.  Megan received two birthday cards this morning in our door ide mailbox to start her day off with an even bigger bang.  We went to the Pinnacle for breakfast and then up to project Linus.  Everyone wishing Megan a Happy Birthday everywhere we went.  She is like the mascot of the 2023 World Cruise.  Everyone notices her because she is young, they all assume she is much older, and she is always ready with a smile and a hello.  Arrangements had been made to allow the Project Linus group to help celebrate Megan special day.  About 10:15am the staff came in with trays of muffins, cookies, and cupcakes and all sang Happy Birthday to Megan with the entire Project Linus group joining in.  It was so touched to see Megan so Happy and spoiled.  After project Linus Megan went off to play Mahjong and continued to crochet and spend time with my friend Ginny.  Megan met with Bonita at 12:30pm so she could do tutoring.  Megan is doing so great flying through her math lessons and really grasping the concepts.  There is a great advantage to 1:1 tutoring. The room service steward came by our room this afternoon and delivered a Happy Birthday cupcake to Megan with a sweet note signed by the captain wishing her a Happy Birthday (Dessert #2 for the day).  Around1:30pm we met up at the pool for some relaxing time, reading time and sunbathing.  The servers tried to stump Megan with some brain games, and she got even with a couple of her own.  Then it was time to head home to shower and get ready for Megan’s birthday dinner.  We invited Gail and Marty to join us on the Main Dining room for Megan’s celebration.  At the end of the meal the staff delivered a cake that I had ordered for her (dessert #3 for the day) and gathered many other servers around to sing the traditional Indonesian song of celebration. Her serenade was led but our server Regy, who was our server on the 2020 WC, and we are blessed to have him serving us again this year.  If you have cruised with HAL you know the song I mean.  It was wonderful to have everyone around us in the dining room join in in celebrating her. After dinner we went and got a guided tour of Gail and Marty’s cabin.  Suffice it to say that these two have World Cruising down to a science.  The way they organize everything, have things labeled, and a place for everything and everything in its place.  They could teach a class.  I was impressed and got a few ideas I may have to duplicate.  After dinner I was exhausted and Megan went off to play cards.  Tonight we set our clocks back another hour as we travel farther west.  Time to start having to do math before we make phone calls (or you make them to me).  All in all I would say Megan has a wonderful 14^th birthday.  She was recognized and celebrated by many.  Her second World Cruise birthday to date.  Sweet dreams everyone.  

Sea Day

Sunday Sea Day. A true day of rest. Megan and I stayed in bed until 9:00am this morning. I woke especially early as normal, but forced myself to take a day off from eh gym and roll over and go back to sleep. After playing, who’s going to go across the hall and get mommy her coffee, I remembered we had to turn in our passports this morning so I lost. Periodically the ship has to present our passports on our behalf to immigration of certain countries. The first one is coming up so we turned over our passports to the ship for safe keeping. We also had to show them prove of our visas for both New Zealand and Australia as well as our yellow fever vaccination card. And yes, I did also get my coffee. Next it was off to crochet group. The group was a little smaller than usual this morning, porously because people were standing in line to submit the passports as well. You can imagine the logistics for having to do that for every passenger on board. This morning was the first Sunday brunch put on this cruise. We skipped breakfast this morning so we could participate in the event. See the menu posted below as well as a photo of the second course we were given. It always make me feel like a giant when we get to eat tiny food. It is always a wonderful sampling of some amazing foods and it did not disappoint. Then we headed back to the cabin because I have four days of blogs to get posted and I was hoping to get all caught up. It was a slow go but I successfully got all caught up on all my backlogged posts. Megan also met with Bonita for her tutoring for Algebra. I hope you enjoy seeing and reading about all the fun things we are doing. Don’t forget to check out the new and improved photos of Megan’s new hairdo. Make sure you leave comments and I can pass them on. Tomorrow is her 14th birthday and I have a few surprises up my sleeve. You’ll have to wait to hear about them tomorrow. I am waiting to hear back from the tailor on some alterations I want to have done on some clothes I brought. I have heard wonderful things about how well they sew. I also went to the photography studio and grabbed our portfolio of prints they have taken of us so far. I am in the process of getting them into my computer so I can show you all some of the great photos they have taken. I also have a new dress that I brought that I am not 100% happy with how it fit, so Henji, from guest services made arrangements for the tailor to come to my cabin and take a look at my dress. The tailor took to work on it and redesign the back it will be more comfortable for me to wear. We learned in 2020 that they do fantastic seamstress work on the ship. Permission had to be granted before they were allowed to work on my dress and I had to sign a release of liability waiver as well. It was then time to head back to the cabin to get ready for our 5:00pm seating for dinner in the main dining room. Tonight is Dressy night again so we opted for something a little dressier, which means what we would normally have worn, LOL! After dinner we took a little of our spare time and were finally able to reach out to family back at home. A quick hello and I love you was passed on while we had reception oh so briefly. Sometimes it’s all in the timing. Lastly, we went the Main stage to see tonight’s show called Swing, Swing, Swing. A 50’s style dance and singing show. It was pretty good and we enjoyed the music. Tonight we set our clocks ahead 30 minute. Yes, you read that correctly half an hour. So weird to us. We are officially leaving the Pacific time zone which we will not see again until May 12th, 2023. Farewell and Adieu. You must now do math again when remembering if it’s a good time to call or text me. Enjoy the photos some are from the past and one is from the brunch this morning. Eventually I’ll move the photos to the posts for the day they were taken. But for now I’ll post them a bit at a time so as to not overwhelm you all. Blessings and peace to you all.

Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Getting on the ship day…World Cruise take two here we go; Falmouth, Jamaica; Puerto Limon, Costa Rica; Fuerte Amador, Panama; Formal Night (many more photos to come); and Sunday Brunch menu and Main Courses (tiny food).

Sea Day

Another day at sea.  Another hour of extra sleep?  Guess my body had a different plan.  I was wide awake at 5:00am this morning.  So I stayed in bed until it was time to get up and open the gym at 6:00am.  Megan and I had decided to sleep in this morning, no alarms were set…but my body had a different plan.  The gym was pretty full for that 6:00am opening but with the time difference everyone’s physical clocks are off.  I went out and enjoyed some fresh air after my work out again.  I chance to cool down, enjoy some water, watch the morning traffic through the pool deck, and a chance for Megan to sleep a little longer.  When I arrived home Megan was already awake and lounging in bed.  I to myself changed and ready for the day.  Complete with my San Francisco Forty Niners sweatshirt that I brought because today is game day…television reception pending.  We also sent out our laundry.  For those not familiar with how laundry service works for us, we get a carbon sheet and a laundry bag to send out an unlimited amount of laundry while we are on the ship.  Every item of clothing has to be documented on the sheet, I keep a copy of the sheet and off it goes to the laundry department.  It usually takes about two days for us to get back our items all cleaned, pressed and/or dry cleaned.  It definitely changed the way we packed this year as compared to the previous world cruise.  Megan and I headed off to the Pinnacle for breakfast and then to the Project Linus Group.  Megan put in her briefly at crocheting and then ran off for Mahjong.  After crochet time I came back to the cabin to help Megan with some homework.  She isn’t have tutoring today as Bonita honors the Sabbath on Saturday and does not do math tutoring on Saturday. Next stop deck two with my fingers crossed that we will get good enough wifi reception to allow us to watch the Forty Niners playoff game. As luck would have it about 5 minutes before game time the ship was able to get the game in and I got to watch the Niners win their game!!  Then it was back to the cabin to get ready for dinner.  This evening we ate in the Canaletto specialty restaurant which specializes in Italian food.  We had the opportunity to eat with Freddy and Bob.  Freddy is one of Valerie’s friends from the 2020 WC.  Freddy was a member of Valerie’s trivia team.  She and her husband are back on this cruise and it was wonderful catching up with them over a wonderful meal.  Tomorrow is Sunday and the ship will besotting a special Sunday brunch in the main dining room. Megan and I will skip breakfast tomorrow and go to that instead. We also made a decision to sleep in and try and get some lazy cuddle time. We’ll see how that goes. Hugs everyone!

Sea Day

Sea Day #4.  Happiness is…. Routines, relaxation, and rest.  Those are my three new R’s.  I’m not in elementary school anymore so I get to make up my own.  I woke up particularly early this morning.  I slept very hard for 7 hours straight and woke up feeling guilty about all the calories I consumed in that fantastic dinner last night so I was at the gym when it opened at 6:00am.  The best part of working out that early is that I was completely done by 7:00am.  I went out by the pool deck to get some fresh air and to let Megan sleep a little longer.  I watched the sea rolling along, well we are actually the ones rolling, but it’s all about perspective.  I watched the yoga people doing their morning routine.  After the first day in the gym with so many people participating, they moved the yoga class to the Lido deck next to the pool.   The bartenders were setting up for the day and people walked through with their morning coffee and food from the buffet.  Sometimes it’s just nice to be, watch the world go by, and breath fresh air.  Something I forget to do that when I am back at home.  Next, I headed home to get ready for the day.  We were off to breakfast, we kept it light, cause we are both still full from last night.  Then we went to crochet.  I finished my first Project Linus Blanket today and got to turn it in.  Next Megan headed off to Mahjong and I headed to the spa for my first massage of the cruise.  A true time to just be pampered and relax away.  The noon report from the captain mentioned that we are crossing the equator around 5:45pm this evening. We receive a note this morning telling us we are being given a temporary pass on the King Neptune ceremony until later in the cruise when we cross it a second time.  (Google that one if you don’t know what it is).  The captain also mentioned that we will crossing the Prime Meridian as well as the Equator this trip.  A first for him, a rare occurrence for most.  Without internet access I can not look up the significance of that and I am excited to learn what that actually means.  Tonight was the first formal night, captain’s dinner, and gala all rolled into one.  Such a fun time to get all dressed up and to see the other passengers in the finest.  Megan went off to play Catan at 3:00 with her regular group and I worked on my blog for a bit.  I am unable to post anything, but eventually I will be able to and you will be reading this just like normal.  We were all dressed and ready for dinner with enough time to spare to go and meet with the photographers and have our pictures taken since we are all dressed in our finest.  Dinner was absolutely wonderful.  They pulled out all the stops for the menu and we enjoyed escargot, filet mignon, lobster and crème Brule for dessert.  Wine was hosted by the captain tonight and I enjoyed a couple of glasses of Chardonnay with dinner.  After dinner, since we were all dressed up, we really didn’t want to go home yet, and we didn’t want to go to the club, so we wound up in the Crow’s nest for a couple of intense rounds of Mexican train.  Never played dominoes in a beaded gown before and it was so much fun.  Megan is really a delightful travel companion.  She puts up with doing things with me and also enjoys her independence doing things without me.  Around 9:00pm Megan headed home I headed to the Billboard venue for the Gala.  The captain and his partner Sasha came and had the “first dance” of the evening.  Then they invited other passengers and crew members to come and join them on the dance floor.  I watched for a bit and then took my leave to head back home myself.  It is bittersweet being single and traveling on a world cruise sometimes.  But I am so blessed to be here in this time of my life enjoying this trip with my lovely daughter.  We set our clock back another hour tonight, so we are officially back in the Pacific time zone.  Hello, California friends and family!!  I know there are more storms heading to CA this evening and into the weekend.  Keep the people there in your prayers please.  Sweet dreams to you all.  

Sea Day

Good morning those of you on land from those of us at sea! Had a little bit of a rougher evening last night. The ship is swaying a little more and there is a cabinet in our room that makes a knocking sounds when we we are moving. It woke me up several times thinking someone was knocking on our door. I will have to solve that mystery and nip it in the bud later today. We are heading into a little rougher seas over the next few days and we will see if we are able to safely tender in Marquesas are we get closure. If it isn’t safe the captain will not put the passengers in danger. I was off to the gym at 6:30am ship time. But since we have been changing the clocks back, the gym was quite bust this morning. I had to use a treadmill instead of the elliptical. I am not ashamed to say that with the rolling of the ocean I did have to keep both hands on the wheel so to speak. It would be far more embarrassing to fall off the treadmill then it is to hold on, LOL!! After my workout I met Megan at the salon to talk to the hairdresser about what she wanted and then I left her for her transformation and headed to the Pinnacle for breakfast. It is funny how when we are apart everyone inquires where she is. Especially during meal times. After breakfast I headed home for the big reveal. She looks fantastic. Even more mature than she already did and with her permission I will post photos below. We headed over to Project Linus time so she could make her grand reveal. She received so many compliments. After crocheting Megan headed back to the cabin for tutoring and school time and I went the pool for some sun, reading and a frozen cocktail. This is definitely the life. I sat there and watched the fellow passengers also reading, eating (a favorite pastime of many on board) and napping. It is a forced slow down when you are cruising, especially during sea days. I will tell you that coming up in April I believe we have 26 ports in 30 days and I will not be feeling the same way then, but for now, I am going to enjoy every moment of peace that I am blessed with. We relaxed the rest of the afternoon away and slowly got ready for our 6:30pm reservation for dinner at the Pinnacle Grill. We invited Gail and Marty from Project Linus to join us for this, the first of a couple of celebrations, for Megan’s 14th birthday coming up on January 16th. You can never have too many celebrations right? The pastry chef created her a special birthday cake.  Gail and Marty presented Megan a sweet gift and birthday card.  Several officers came by the table and wished Megan and happy birthday.  The executive chef and the pastry chef that created her cake came by the table and also wished her a happy birthday.  We stayed at the restaurant for three hours and had a most wonderful evening talking and laughing the evening away. Megan tried and convince Gail that they should go and play cards, but I was tired, and I suspect they were as well so we called it a night. Another fantastic day at sea.

A new hot pink dressed picked out for me by Megan.

Thank you Gail and Marty for helping to make this evening so special.

Sea Day

Another Sea Day. Another day of socializing and relaxing. But first to the gym. I haven’t been able to get my gym buddy, aka Megan to go with me yet. So when I get back to the cabin in the morning, I get the joy of waking her up so we can start our day together. We tidy up the room and get it ready for our amazing room stewards, Eko and Rosi, to come in and make our room look like we were never even there. Fresh towels, trash emptied, laundry picked up and dropped off, floor vacuumed, bed made…it is better than a fair godmother. They work so very hard and we are so appreciative of everything they do for us. It is one of the things I miss the most when we get back to the “reality” of life back in Cayucos. I miss cooking very much though. I love being in the kitchen and creating and preparing food for those I love. I do miss it and have serious withdrawals when I am on the World Cruise. We went to breakfast together and Megan was diligently working on her math homework. Seven days of sea days means seven days straight of math tutoring and assignments for her. I don’t make her do school on days we are in ports because we are off the ship most the day. But every sea day she does school. I went and spent time with our lovely Project Linus group and Megan went off to learn how to play Mahjong. Then it was time for tutoring again for Megan at noon and I went the Neptune lounge to relax, have a cup of coffee and get all caught up on my blog (you’re all welcome). We headed to the Greenhouse Spa this afternoon and scheduled Megan a haircut for tomorrow and we booked me a massage package which will get me 10 massages over the next 120 days. Megan has been wanting a change in her hairdo for a while so now is the time. We had our friend Ginny join us for dinner at our table tonight. She is sweet older woman from Oregon who shared several excursions and a love of crocheting with us in 2020. It’s nice to see her again and she and I been having lovely conversations during our Project Linus time. After dinner we headed “home” for the evening. Megan and I both spent some time reading. Another pastime I enjoy and don’t take or make enough time for when I am home in California. I started a Nicholas Sparks book and Megan is reading a novel she brought from home. We set our clocks back yet another hour this evening. For those of you keeping track we are now one hour behind CA time and I suspect we will be back on Pacific time in the next day or two. By the time we reach the Marquesas Islands we will be three hours behind you all. That’s almost one hour a day I think. I’ll keep you updated on that. Hope you are all doing wonderfully and that our CA loved ones are drying out.