Bidding in our charity auction closes this Friday. As you read this blog, Pencils for Kids, Inc., Global Traveler‘s selected charity, is in Thailand, ready to make the first delivery of supplies to disadvantaged children. My daughter, Kate Gallagher, is joining Loretta Jitner, founder and CEO, PFK, on this journey. I took Kate to JFK on Thursday to catch her Air China flight 982 to Beijing, with a connection to Bangkok on flight 797. I tracked her flight, which was already delayed due to the late arrival of equipment, on flightstats.com. The flight, on its way to Beijing via the North Pole, was taking several turns to avoid bad weather over Canada. The lost time on the ground was further exacerbated by these maneuvers in flight. In Beijing, Kate had to run with an Air China agent to her flight and was driven to the plane, which had already pulled from the gate! As you guessed, her luggage did not arrive till the next day, but getting to Bangkok was crucial. She was able to see some of the city sights before starting her adventure in Chiang Rai. The PFK team will be delivering hundreds of backpacks to the orphanages in this region. Please go to our auction website and bid to help this worthy cause! -Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO