A High Seas Adventure

The Ark Encounter,
Williamstown, Kentucky

In the nine days since my last blog post, Gary and I have been on a (figuratively speaking) high seas adventure. The Ark Encounter (click on that for their website) is a recreation of Noah's Ark, as described in the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapters 5-9. This amazing attraction is located in Williamstown, Kentucky, about 40 miles south of Cincinnati.

link to purchase this book:
click here

For those who may not be "Bible buffs," I'll give a quick digest of the story: God decided to flood the earth due to human wickedness, preserving Noah, his wife, their 3 sons and their wives. Over some 75- 100 years Noah and his sons constructed the ark per the instructions given to them by God and then a representation of the animals entered the ark with the family of 8 humans. A catastrophic flood covered the entire earth while the people and animals remained entirely safe in the ark for a total of about a year. At the end of the storm and after the waters began to recede, the ark rested on a mountain. As the occupants of the ark departed, God promised to never again destroy the earth by flood, confirming His promise with a rainbow.

It is a fascinating (and I believe TRUE) story that my synopsis falls short in explaining. This recreation of the ark is a graphic re-telling of the story and an absolute marvel to see.

I took a lot of snapshots (a real photo-dump, as we bloggers like to call it). I will label some of the pictures but will TRY to keep my commentary minimal. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." You will see that I was fascinated with the size of the ark. 

Our first glimpse of the ark from the parking lot: note the tan, one-story building on the left of photo. Beyond that is a dark structure -- that's the ark.

This picture taken from inside our truck, looking toward the entry area where tickets are purchased (if not done previously on-line). There is a metal-detector. We were told if we were carrying an umbrella, to hold it above our head while walking through security. At this location we boarded a shuttle bus that took us to the ark area.

the tower on to the right of the ark
is a part of the zip lines

If you check their website, there are different options for tickets. One could easily spend several days at this attraction both due to the enormity of information and exhibits inside the ark as well as to take advantage of the zoo, the zip lines, the shops, and eateries. We chose the one-day senior pass which cost us $60 each. Prices vary by date and age.

We thought this was a good time to go, when public schools are in session and fewer families are on vacation. But as the day wore on, we still saw a lot of people, including home-school families. There were many seniors, like us, and I can't tell you how many tour buses were in the parking lot, there were so many. 

Again, a snapshot to prove we were really there (I can still hardly believe we got to make this trip!) and to illustrate the size of the ark, which is some 150 feet LONGER than a football field.

Approaching the entrance to the ark. We walked underneath it, past the fence. We walked up many wide, gently sloping ramps throughout the ark, including at the entrance area. Everything is very user, handicapped, wheelchair-friendly. We saw some elevators, too, but the ramps were comfortable enough for us. There is a great deal of walking involved, but benches were conveniently stationed throughout (and we used them!).

My photos will not be in chronological order according to the story. There were many exhibits like this one, which is Noah with his family praying, thanking God after the flood. 

Huge, true-to-life cages with detailed animal statues of all kinds, and sound effects, filled the lower levels. It was like a zoo (but without the smells!! 🤭)

Gary looks into the cages of the animals. As you can see, while giving the impression of being dimly lit, the entire area is easy to navigate and has a wonderful ambience without the animal scents and motion of the sea.

There were the animal cages, posters, and all kinds of illustrative exhibits on all 4 levels of the ark.

In the very center of this picture is one of the ramps to get from one level to the next. 

A large wall was devoted to the names of donors who contributed to make this project possible.

I think my favorite part of the ark were these rooms depicting the living areas where Noah and his family resided. This particular one is what is imagined to be the living quarters of Noah's son, Japheth and his wife. Each scene illustrated some assumptions that have been made about the personality or preferences of the different individuals. 

More of these life-like rooms:

This scene depicts Noah and his wife as he releases a dove to the outside, in an effort to determine if it was time to leave the ark. He did this a couple of times, with the bird returning. On maybe the second or third time, the dove returned with an olive twig in its mouth. Eventually he sent out a bird that did not return, indicating they could go outside onto dry land.

I did not take pictures of the snack areas and gift shops inside of the ark. There were also many displays focused on creation, how animals have developed from the days of Noah, and so many other really interesting subjects having to do with the Bible, all very well researched. There was more to see and read than our energy would allow, and also as time wore on, the crowds greatly increased. We were very glad we were among the very first to arrive that day.

For our lunch, we chose to order a burger and French fries outside and ate at one of these tables. 

While there were snack concessions and shopping kiosks inside the ark, outside were more of the same, including even a sit-down restaurant. The above wood sculpture is a purchase I made at one of the gift shops.

And of course, if you know me, I found refrigerator magnets to remind us of this wonderful adventure. 

These are our tickets. Souvenirs.

This is a map of the entire area. It is a very family-friendly attraction with something for everybody.

This is a diagram of the ark. If you go, be sure to wear comfortable shoes!! 

After our lunch, we had seen all our minds could absorb and needed a rest. We rode a shuttle bus back to our truck and headed south and west to our next adventure, which I plan to share in my next blog post.  

From Matthew 24: 38-39, 42 and 44:

For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man…..Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

Touching on Pleasant Topics

Today I'm featuring Joyce's questions on the Hodgepodge for Sept. 16: if you would like to link up with your blog, click on the link below.

http://www.fromthissideofthepond.com/2026/09/hodgepodge-questions-volume-671.html

1. How do you define beauty? 

framed artwork in our home

I define beauty as calm with a respectful reverence that encourages peace and kindness with cheerful colors ranging from bright to subtle. This description can apply to people, landscapes, home design, art galleries and probably everything else.

framed artwork in our home 

Truly, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder," because not everything I consider to be beautiful is acceptable to others, and vice-versa.

Speaking of cheerful colors, our puzzle (assembled on the glass table top) is FINALLY coming together. (LOTS of beach umbrellas)

2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)

I've never taken an overnight trip by train although I think it would be nice to experience. I'd want my own place to sleep in privacy (as opposed to sitting in the same chair/recliner for the entire trip) and I would want to dine on train food (whatever that is) while watching mountain scenery or water views.

3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.

I'll go with "in a nutshell." I prefer brief, well-worded responses over long explanations. 

4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell? 

Tacos for lunch on Labor Day weekend

Tacos. You can put anything inside the shell, which makes tacos a good way to use up refrigerator leftovers. I prefer soft flour tortillas over the crunchy corn tortilla shells; but if somebody else is doing the cooking, I'll take a taco any way they want to prepare it.

5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate. 

Both Gary and I have said we didn't think we would get this old! The cards we give and receive are really special.

We like cake and ice cream and do something to make the day special. Sometimes that's a trip out of town, out of state, or just to a favorite local restaurant.

For Gary's first birthday after we got married, we were visiting Sister and her hubby on a road trip. She baked his favorite, German Chocolate, in the form of cupcakes, for us to take with us in the car. That was so nice.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Here is a thought-provoking statement that I have found to be true:

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara

Lamentations 3:22-23 (again!)

 

Yes, I've posted this before (from a different artist). Some things are worth repeating!

Looking Back

 We are told to not look back too much lest we get into the weeds of painful memories that tend to morph into bitter regrets. But a little backward glance, especially over the very latest of our days, usually doesn't hurt.... 

We have dined at Crumps Landing along the Homosassa River several times over the last couple of years. When we had our floors replaced, the salesman told us it was a favorite with his family and now we heartily agree.  

I ❤️❤️❤️ eating on the water. It's absolutely one of my favorite things about living in Florida.

All of the dining is outdoors and most of the [many] tables are under umbrellas, awnings, or this very large tiki roof. There are fans in some areas. Beside the water there might be a breeze.

The stretch of river where the restaurant sits is a "no wake zone" for the boats, so aside from background music, there are no obnoxious noises to contend with as we dine. It's about an hour's drive from our home. We arrived at 11am, when they open, and before it could get crowded.

After placing our order, I took this selfie of the two of us, but then Gary said I should take one with the water behind us, so here's that:

Either way, we look like incognito movie stars!! (ha-ha!)

Gary ordered a burger, and I got the steak tacos.

Crumps' food does not disappoint!

As for other recent memories made, the annual rainy season has FINALLY moved into our part of town. We tend to get a really hard downpour about once a day (late afternoon or in the evening) with about one inch registering in our rain gauge. It is helping with the extreme draught conditions we've had for many months (hard as that is to believe for Florida).

In addition to the rain, nature has also provided us with some visitors. These are 2 baby Doves nested in one of our palm trees. 

A raccoon visited us one morning while we were sitting on our back patio. As interesting as that was, there is concern that it may have been diseased. Raccoons are nocturnal animals. When they're prowling around at 10am in broad daylight, they may be sick. We left it alone and it eventually wandered off.

Our current jigsaw puzzle is a doozie (i.e. very hard!). I broke my own promise to myself when I brought this one home from the library. It has 1,000 pieces (500 - 750 pieces is my personal preference). This puzzle has many colorful beach umbrellas that I thought would make this a quick-assemble, but NO! 

It may (or may not) help that we work our puzzles on a glass-topped table. 🤭 But that fact does make for an interesting snapshot, don't you think?!

In the kitchen, one day I got it into my head to try out a recipe for tomato pie. However, when I saw the effort and time that's necessary to chop and drain the juices out of the tomatoes, I opted instead to make my bacon quiche in a ready-made crust and serve sliced tomatoes on the side. There were no complaints from my dinner partner! 😋

To conclude this post that began with "Looking Back," it is no secret there are many things in our past that do not make for pleasant memories. I cannot overlook these two events:

But oddly enough, right in the midst of our unhappy memories, there are good things, too. One of my eleven grandchildren was born on 9/11.

An undeniable fact of life is that we face potholes and pop quizzes [nearly] every day. While I wish that were not true, for those of us who are true Christians, there is blessing in adversity. We tend to learn better through the challenges. In troubles God is trying to get our attention so we can learn, be strengthened, and benefit in helpful ways. 

And we know that in all things 

God works for the good of those who love him, 

who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 NIV

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara