June 10, 2015 
š“Ā Day NavigatorĀ š“
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Sarah & i were feeling really run down, tired and a little concerned about what the rest of our dream holiday had in store for us. But now we had a few days at sea, so we decided to get out there and enjoy the time we had left. šĀ
ā§ Sarah relaxing and reflecting ā§
During our time at sea, Sarah & i loved standing and looking out over the vast ocean. It seemed to put perspective on how majestic and awesome our God is. Also how small we were in comparison and yet he loves each one of us…amazing! šĀ
Shopping…Ā
Thereās nothing like being surrounded by handbags to put a smile on Sarahās face! šĀ
Of all the placesā¦i never thought iād be in a handbag store, on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. But Sarah seems to find these shops wherever we go… and if it helps her relax, iāll be right there with her! šĀ
Another fave spot…
Each day weād find our way up to this spot and just look out over the pool deck and take in the full panoramic view of blue. There was always a live band playing, giving a great atmosphere and a hot-plate thingy where i could get a fresh burger! Mmmm šĀ
Hair salon…
After Sarahs last trip to the hair salon she was really pleased with the way the stylist had cut and styled her hair around her eyeā¦. but the hospital adventure had kind of ruined it. So i thought she might like to relax and get it done again. Whilst waiting in the waiting room i took this shot through the window ā¦.Thatās the best view iāve ever seen from a hair salon! šĀ
The evening restaurants…
So far i havnāt said much about our evening meals. For the first few days we really struggled with the buffet restaurants, as the food was placed in big trays under a glass cover with really long fork/tongs to pick up the food. Sarah had no idea what she was picking up as it was just too far away for her to focus and the waiters didnāt understand we couldnāt see properly, which caused a few problems!
At home we try to stay away from self service/buffet style places …not because we are too snooty, lol …but because we simply canāt find anything e.g plates, food, cutlery, where to pay, which causes too much stress and makes us wish we hadnāt gone out at all!Ā
After a few days we decided to try the āOrion Restaurantā which was waiter service. On entrance the waiter asked if weād like to share a table or sit by yourselves. Sarah said āSharing is fine with usā (I thought is it really… š¦ The waiter then escorted us to an empty 8 seater table. After he passed us our menus (which we had no chance of reading) our table soon filled up with people. After friendly helloās Sarah said to the lady next to her āI donāt want to be a nuisanceā¦but we are both registered blind and so canāt read the menus. Would you be able to read it to us?ā After the confused look on all of their faces (my imagination from the body language) the lady said āOf course, but iād never have guessed that either of you had sight problemsā. (My thought was āYou need to be on this side of my eyes to understand the problem :(ā) After weād heard the menu, Sarah whispered āThis works perfectly for usā¦we get the menu read out, and we get to meet lots of different lovely people” šĀ
Shortly afterā¦we heard the people sitting opposite us say āDid you hear the āCode Alphaā last night?ā The others replied āYes we did, it woke us upā¦it was after 1am!!ā āYeah i know and there was no need to call it around the whole shipā.
I said āSorryā¦that was us.” Ā āIt was you two! what happened?ā Sarah showed her bruised and bandaged wrists (from where the drips had been attached) and explained everything that happened. We heard this same complaint for the next few eveningsā¦. and even some different, elaborate explanations of what had happened (even one story where Sarah was said to have died and been taken off the boat by helicopter in a silver bullet coffin????.) Ā
We also heard that quite a few people had complained to reception about the 1am code alpha (because they thought it was a call to abandon ship) and how they felt they shouldn’t have been disturbed in the middle of the night!!
The Cough…
If you can rememberā¦on Day 8 there were a couple of people in the hospital waiting room with deep growly coughs. Well todayā¦Sarah’s got it too !! š¦ This deep booming growly cough (reminds me of the Rockford Fosgate subs in the boot of my old custom Nova) is giving Sarah lots of Ā chest pain, a sore throat and a pounding head. Weāve noticed the unique sound of this cough around the ship as weāve been exploring! ā¦.As if Sarah didnāt have enough on her plate with no sleep, uncontrollable blood sugar, one eye closed and exhaustionā¦she now has this nasty cough š¦
Keep smilingā¦ šĀ
I have no idea how she does it. But no matter whatās going onā¦Sarah has Ā a lovely beaming/contagiousĀ smile on her face that blesses all who see her š Ā
Ā The Azores…
After about 4 (or is it 5?) sleepless nights (iāve lost count) we were looking forwards to arriving at the Azores. Sarah was especially looking forwards to getting off the ship and onto solid ground and having the freedom to explore another fantastic island! š Ā
Yippee land ahoy!!!
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iChristian 
What a beautiful couple you both are! Loved reading about your tour š Blessings to you both!!
Awww Julie…thanks so much for this amazing comment! It really encourages me.
Sorry it’s been so long for this reply, and for me to finish this cruise. Sarah & i are just back from a cruise we took a few weeks ago and i forgot that i’d not finished this one. I’m excited to share our new cruise, so i’m quickly finishing the last day of Transatlantic Sunset so i can share it with you guys!
Thanks again for joining us on our crazy adventure, i hope you enjoy the rest of the trip! š
Wow!! What an adventure you all had! Beautiful pics, Steve!! What a blessing!!
The blessing is mine, to know that you’re taking time to join us on our cruise and leave loving and encouraging comments. God bless you.
Reblogged this on Just me being curious and commented:
Surviving or thriving …
Steve “the blind photographer”!! Steve the man who takes pictures and weaves words and music. Steve, the man who brings God with him in such a delightfully loving and real way.
Why just “survive” – let’s all THRIVE!!
Awwww Paul, thank you so much for the reblog. So please you are enjoying our crazy adventures. I thank God for you. š
Those people should just be thankful that the code wasn’t called because they needed help. Sometimes people speak without thinking. UGH!
Hope Sarah has been doing well since your trip.
Hi RoSy! Yeah when i first heard that people were complaining, i thought “I’m so sorry my wife’s coma had disturbed your sleep for a few minutes”. I really need to take every thought captive! š
She had her diabetic pump appointment where they reprogrammed her pump to her profile, although the doctor wasn’t happy that they’d sent her a refurbished pump instead of a new one which isn’t working perfectly. He is looking into a new one with a bigger and brighter screen which would be fantastic! š
She also (a couple of days after we returned home) started a new job at World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) so she’s really busy getting settled in with all the new learning!
Thanks so much for joining us on this amazing trip! š
Good to hear that she’s doing better. And- congrats to her in the new job. That’s wonderful!
God bless.
Sarah is amazing, considering all she went through on your trip, Wow. And you both are an awesome couple. š What an inspiration to the rest of us. Blessings to you.
Hi Mel! Thanks so much, for not only this beautiful comment…but for being an example to us all in your walk with Jesus.
I thank God for you Mel. š
What a great couple. You are blessed my friend, you have what millions only dream of.
Hi Sammy! Awww thanks so much. I just had to show Sarah your lovely comment, and she said
“I prayed to God that he would find me the right man…and he did!” š
I certainly didn’t think i deserved such a lovely wife. I was not a Christian when we met…But God knows what He’s doing and after nearly 11 years with Sarah our love has blossomed from a tiny seed and is growing into a beautiful sunflower!
I strive each day to be an Ephesians 5 husband! Thank God He’s even given us clear teaching on how to do this! š
Thanks so much for your lovely, heart warming comment! God bless you. š
And God bless the both of you with many great years ahead.
That is the most chilled post on this gorgeous travelling!! I feel refreshed!! š
Thanks Paul! I hope you can remain chilled…as it’s taking me ages to finish this 19 day tour, to get the photos sorted etc. Hope you don’t get too bored waiting for the next instalment…it will be Christmas soon, lol! š
Reading your words – always chilled!! š