Here we are at the last two days of our adventure. There is still a lot going on aboard ship. Each ship in the fleet on each cruise has an “On Deck for a Cause” fundraiser where participants make a donation, get a shirt, and walk 5K (12 times around the deck) for cancer research. The fleet has raised over 5 million dollars since they started the drive. It was good to be a part of it, especially since this time I was able to label myself as a “cancer survivor”!

Much of our time has been taken up with thinking about packing and the actual packing itself. What will we ship? What will we take on the airplane? Will everything fit? It has all worked itself out. We leave all but one bag in the hallway before midnight and it will magically be taken to the pier warehouse in the morning. Monday morning, we will hire a porter, find all of our bags and then go through customs. Most of our bags will be shipped home via FedEx and we will only take two small bags to the airport.

I finished one last art project, the cultural show by the Carib Indians on the island of Dominica. I cobbled together three different pictures to come up with this scene. This afternoon, we are putting on a small art exhibition in the area where we do our painting every sea day. I will display three pictures including this one of the Carib Indians.

It will be great to be home again, but at the same time it is tough to say goodbye to the ship and the crew who have made this South America/Antarctica adventure so memorable. We have made a few new friends along the way, but we really miss our Oakridge family.