February 18 was the anniversary of the third apparition at Lourdes. According to a book purchased in the gift shop of our hotel, Bernadette was visited by Our Lady at 6 a.m. on that day. What a gift that Bob read about this and suggested that we visit the Grotto on that date at that exact time.
Here is an excerpt from EWTN.com:
The apparition was manifest to Bernadette for the third time on Thursday, February 18, when she went to the grotto accompanied by two women of Lourdes who thought the "damiezelo," as Bernadette called her, was the returning spirit of a young woman, one of their dear friends, who had died a few months before. On this occasion the same little figure appeared to Bernadette, smiled warmly, and spoke, asking Bernadette to come every day for fifteen days. Bernadette promised to come, provided she was given permission to do so.
Bob, and the two oldest girls and I were practically alone at the grotto and were able to pray a Rosary for the healing of Cyndi as well as for some other intentions we had brought with us from home. It was a beautiful experience made even better by the angelic sounding voices of the girls in prayer.
Amazingly, this time of year is not tourist season, despite the fact that many of the apparitions occurred during this time. Most pilgrims come in the spring, we were told. How blessed we were to have been there at this time.