Time. Time ticks away the days. Some days can’t pass fast enough. Others you wish you could make them last forever.

Our time spent away together was the latter—It was restful, beautiful and full of good food and God’s blessing.. All the things we needed to enjoy our time.

Vacations are good for the soul and even better for a healthy marriage. Like a fine wine, marriage needs time and rest in order to deepen its quality. This was a long-awaited time to invest in us.

I’ve shared with you many of the foods we enjoyed in our last post. But today I want to share more…

One of my favorite hobbies is framing special moments with the lens of my camera. This past week provided lots of opportunities, and I want to share them with you.

Our cruise was on Celebrity’s Equinox to Grand Cayman, Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. The last three we had never visited before now. Although it was quite hot, the breezes kept it bearable.

We learned the surprising history of Bonaire’s salt industry. An island with no other natural resources, harvesting salt was highly valuable in the 1500’s to the 1800’s—before refrigeration was available. We learned that sea salt in its natural state with no herbs or spices will last indefinitely. The ones with added herbs for five years.

We met many new friends including a couple from Northern Canada celebrating their 20th anniversary. They have 6 children and were really enjoying their time alone. You could see the joy on their faces.

Another couple we met from The Villages who have been on many, many cruises. They were a wealth of information and even showed us how to get off the ship sooner this morning. That was a blessing given the crowds on board. They are the only people we’ve met who have cruised to the Galápagos Islands. They shared all their experiences with great detail. Although I’ve never desired to go, their stories made it quite inviting.

One day Tom and I were having lunch. I happened to notice an abundance of brown algae floating by our window. We were wondering aloud how this algae is increasing around the Caribbean and Florida. We remembered when vacationing in Mexico, the staff having to rake it off the beach every morning to make room for tourists to enjoy the sand and sea. And did it smell! A man seated close to us commented, “You know, that’s why I’m here.”

We discovered he was the featured speaker for the Beyond The Podium lectures on the ship about the algae in our world. We had seen it on the itinerary but hadn’t made it a priority to go.

Dr. Levine happened upon this opportunity to work on the cruise line when he was taking a personal cruise with his wife of 44 years. He was sharing with a group about what he does as Professor Emeritus and CEO of the Algae Foundation. He drew quite the crowd by his knowledge and ability to explain the science of the sea. The Cruise Director noticed and he was told, “You know we hire people like you to share on our cruises.” The rest is history.

We went to his final lecture the next day and found his discoveries fascinating. The most notable when he was invited to descend into the depths of the sea to 950’. It is pitch dark that far below the surface, until their submarine turned on the lights. To his astonishment he found bright colored algae growing in this darkness that was thought to require light to grow. Amazing! All we could do was praise God for such a creation.

We saw on the schedule a string duo from Kyiv. Having such a close connection to Ukraine as well as having visited there before the war destroyed much of this city, we made it a point to listen. They were talented and so very personable.

Roman is the violinist and Michael, the cellist. Their talent is impressive. We enjoyed their music throughout the week. We introduced ourselves and shared our love for their country and how our prayers have been continually for their victory over their enemy.

It was touching when they playing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” realizing the longing for their country to find their way back home-like the song chimes, “if happy little bluebirds fly, beyond the rainbow—why, oh why can’t I?” I may have cried.

So many moments to celebrate together God’s goodness in science, food and entertainment. He is the giver of good gifts, many of which we enjoyed all week long. These are more moments captured with my camera…