We crossed the international dateline, so we missed Wednesday Jan 16th completely. So, hello from the future. Good news, there is going to be a tomorrow. We know because we’re already here. We have started heading a bit north on our course to Japan. It has cooled down about 10 degrees and the seas are windswept and a quite rough. We have wind coming from multiple directions and it’s windy and wild outside. Big nasty swells and a lot of big ups and rocky bottoming out. It’s exciting, but I am certain there will be some seasick folks today and for a couple days to come. It’s still beautiful even in this state and according to the folks on the bridge, not another ship around for hundreds of miles. I am working on a tune for Megan’s pre-port medical talk, one that will include highlights like not overdoing the sake intake and avoiding monkey bites. The basics.

We hear that there is snow in Japan, and we will be glad we have our puffy coats and long pants. Our plan is to explore Kobe for a few days and then head to Kyoto. I love Japanese culture, art, and food so am very excited for this stop. Ports are much closer to each other after this long haul across the second half (more than!) of the Pacific. The pace and routine is very different than home and we are all finding our groove.