We had a couple of free days during this week between SOWER projects, so we decided to take a little road trip and check out some nearby (ish) sights. First stop was The Ark Encounter, just south of Cincinnati in Williamstown, KY. We’d had some great recommendations from friends – and it did not disappoint!
Although the Biblical telling of the catastrophic worldwide flood is familiar to many, seeing it life-size and walking through it’s decks was awe-inspiring!
The Bible give many details about the building of the Ark, but it does not give many details of the logistics of caring for the animals that God sent to be in the Ark, or how the people managed life on the Ark. But using as much research as possible, the Ark Encounter recreated not only the size of the Ark (HUGE!!), but also gave plausible explanations of how the feeding, watering, and cleaning up after all those animals could’ve been accomplished. It really is a fabulous experience, which in its essence is very Gospel centered. It was a bit of a splurge for Gary and I and my only disappointment was in how expensive it would be for families to enjoy it. But WOW! If you can – do!
We stayed in the area overnight, and the next morning met a new friend at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati.
We had never heard of this museum -and oh my, what a treat!
It combined history and nostalgia in such a winsome way!
An extra level of delight was our personal tour guide, Fred, who is a dear friend of Lara’s and on the board of the museum. He had so many interesting stories about many of the signs and different signage techniques.
It was such an interesting morning and all the signs were fascinating – but none so much as this sign display that caught Gary’s (Pops to his grandkiddos) eye –
How cool is that!! From gold letters to blinking bulbs to neon art to signs on the side of a building –
it was a great experience!
If you are ever in the Cincinnati area – I highly recommend both of these attractions. They were very different, but both were so very excellent!
And the day (today!) ended with a very lovely evening with all of our Columbus kids, and most (we were missing 3 of the 8) of the grandkids.
And this little guy is really developing some great personality!
It was a perfect ending to two lovely days.
And it is making it really hard to think about packing up and heading out on Saturday. We start heading south about this time each year, but with that crew getting older, and that new little peanut who is changing each and every time we’ve seen him this month, this year is pulling on my heartstrings just a little bit harder.
Thanks for coming along on our Cincinnati area jaunt – and the wrap up of our Ohio month!
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We loved the Ark Encounter. Taking the time to watch many of the videos at the various stations it was a real joy to hear and sense the gospel come through in so many ways. Even looking at some of our pictures after and seeing the subtle signs of the cross coming through time and again was so refreshing and encouraging. You are right about the $. I can see where it would limit family involvement. Thanks for sharing your experience. As always it is so fun to see how God chooses to bless you ..
It was my honor to take you through Fred’s Happy Place (TM) – or The American Sign Museum . ?
I’m so happy you got to chat with Tod Swormstedt – the museum’s creator. What makes being a board member so rewarding is sharing such a special place with such special people. Thanks again for allowing me the pleasure of showing you around.
Travel well and see you both again real soon.
—f
Welcome to my little corner of the internet! Thanks for joining the party – and thanks again for a great museum tour!
Loved reading this post. So glad those days were wonderful. I know it was so hard to leave. You are blessed with a beautiful family. ?
Those were very sweet days indeed!