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They went two by two
Monday, July 12, 2021 at 04:44PM 
Two guys, two girls, one selfie
I've been meaning to tell you about this for a while.
In early June, TG took Dagny, Little Andrew, and Allissa on a road trip.
You read that correctly: Papaw and three of his grandkids had an out-of-town experience.
Time for lunch and a treat
Not a mom or a wife were along for the ride. We all stayed home.
The group's destination was the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky.
It was on a Sunday afternoon that TG and Dagny set out for North Carolina, where they would rendezvous with two of the Tar Heel Three.
Road trip!
(Melly did not go. She would need her mother by her side and that wasn't an option.)
The two girls and two guys sortied at six o'clock on Monday morning, shortly after the birds had begun singing and chirping in the trees.
If you'd been underground for seventeen years, your eyes would be red too
TG had been wanting to do this trip since the Ark Encounter opened in 2016. He'd basically been waiting for Dagny to get old enough to truly appreciate it.
Allissa, thirteen, and Andrew, nine, are in the appreciative age group too.
It's a faith life
Spirits were high.
They didn't stop for several hours. Not because TG wouldn't, but because everyone was having a great time and stops weren't necessary.
Dagny and Papaw at the museum
I called them around noon and learned that they had begun their lunch break about a half hour earlier, at a DQ Grill & Chill in Lexington, Kentucky.
They were still there, finishing up their ice cream. Everyone remained super psyched for the unfolding day's activities.
They'll talk about this trip when they're old and gray
When entering the restaurant, they'd spotted a red-eyed member of the Brood X cicada group, the seventeen-year type (Great Eastern Brood) that emerged late this spring in certain parts of the country.
Their collective sound is deafening.
(Have you ever heard the seventeen-year cicadas? We have, once before: in Chicago in 1990.)
It was a crazy contest
A few hours later, TG and the kids arrived at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky (greater Cincinnati).
Everyone enjoyed that and learned a lot, and by early evening they were ready to check in to their hotel and go in search of supper.
Papaw said we were supposed to pose, so pose we did
I had researched the best place for them to stay, and ended up booking them at a Holiday Inn Express on Frogtown Connector Road in Walton, Kentucky.
The property was about halfway between the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.
We learned about the dinosaurs
(The twin attractions, both operated by Answers in Genesis, are forty-three miles apart.)
All reports that came back to me were that the hotel was fantastic. So if you ever look up and realize that you're in or near Walton, Kentucky, and you need a place to stay? You know what to do.
For supper there was a debate as to venue, and they ended up at Waffle House. Solid choice.
The ark dominates the landscape
Later (much later), TG had to use a stern voice to get the kids to settle all the way down and go to sleep. They were exhausted to the point of hyperactivity.
Even so, everyone got a pretty good night's rest. They were up fairly early to get ready, pack, load the car, and enjoy the hotel's free breakfast.
(Does anyone think it's really free? Haahaha.)
It's even bigger up close
Once at the Ark Encounter, they began marveling at the scale and scope of that endeavor.
The ark, built to biblical specifications (calculated from the closest estimation of cubit measurements to be 510 feet long, 86 feet wide, and 94 feet high) as God commanded Noah, is recognized as being the largest freestanding timber frame structure in the world.
Through the rainbow arch
I can't say what it's like since I've never been there, but you can see from the pictures that it's a sight to behold and there's a lot to do.
The kids loved it all, but they particularly enjoyed petting a large snake, and watching a canine exhibition.
The snake was friendly
I think the biblical characters with a hole cut out to stick your face through, are so cute. They had a great time with that.
Also it was raining for much of the day, which Allissa joked was appropriate for a visit to the ark.
They also visited the gift shop, where TG bought a book and a hat. He remembered me too, selecting a magic coffee mug.
Andrew and Allissa ... I'd know them anywhere
When he showed me my mug, at first I was underwhelmed. It did not look like something I'd pick.
But then I filled it with boiling water and the colors emerged.
The canine exhibition was a big hit with the kids
Noah's ark, atop green flood waters, with a blue sky and a rainbow, God's promise to never again judge the earth in that way.
(The rainbow, which as a symbol has been appropriated by a certain faction for purposes wholly unrelated to God or the Bible, has definite scriptural significance.)
And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
Genesis 9:12-16
I enjoy watching the small and clever made-in-China miracle unfold every morning when I pour my coffee.
Name those biblical characters
Eventually it was time for Papaw and the grands to head for home, which was a seven-hour drive.
It ended up taking eight hours, due to a traffic jam. They pulled in at Stephanie's house in Lenoir at midnight.
TG admits that ideally he should have stayed a second night. But unless you have purchased annual passes, you have to buy tickets for the Ark Encounter twice if you want to enter on two consecutive days.
At first glance, my mug failed to impress
And even though the two younger children got into each place for free, everything was adding up.
Plus, the children wanted to get back home to their mothers.
TG got another good night's rest, then spent the morning visiting with Stephanie before coming home to me.
Add hot liquid and things begin to develop
Dagny stayed behind at Aunt Stephanie's for a few days. They brought her home in time for her birthday party that Saturday.
It was a jam-packed trip, but one that yielded many happy experiences and wonderful memories.
I never had the opportunity to do anything remotely like that with the only one of my grandfathers that I knew.
The thank-you letters arrived one by one
The children were grateful. After a few days had passed, their thank-you notes began arriving.
I guess I'd have to say that if you could choose only a few things to teach your children -- I mean really hammer home -- one of them would have to be the importance of writing timely thank-you notes.
I drilled it into our kids and they have drilled it into theirs.
Gratitude should be put into writing
It's a good thing and a right thing to do. It means so much to the recipient. TG glowed when reading the notes of gratitude from his grandchildren.
The notes inspired me to find an inspirational gratitude quote for my letterboard.
Now we are looking forward to the birth of baby Rhett in a matter of days.
Sounds good to me
The anticipation level is fairly high, as you might imagine. Please pray for our Erica.
Although summer is technically only a few weeks old, it feels to me as though we're halfway through.
I'm glad we're not. Autumn may be right around the corner but, as much as I love the fall of the year, it is welcome to take its time.
And that is all for now.
=0=0=0=
Happy Monday
Reader Comments (15)
Hi,
Thank you for sharing the story about the birds and snake.. what a rescue mission indeed for Erica!!!
I LOVE this post. I shared a trip with my grandpa when I was in 9th grade. We took the ferry across Lake Michigan to visit his brother. We then drove home crossing the Mackinac Bridge. It was a very special trip, with lots of special memories that live inside me. I know the same is true of this trip for your grand children.
xx oo
Carla
@Carla ... precious story and precious memories! Grandpas are special and not around forever. xoxo
Wow! I am so impressed that TG did this. Bon wouldn't be attmepting it without me, even though he is a very hands on Grandpa! We've been to the Creation Museum, but still need to visit the Ark.
It's funny - and sad that as I was scrolling down and saw the rainbow on this post I immediately thought of the terrible agenda by the LGBQT bunch.
The face cut out photos are so cute and I like the mug too.
I have to tell you that I got teary seeing those thank yous. They've been taught well.
Baby Rhett! I knew it was getting close. I expect to hear when this joyous event happens and will be praying for Erica.
I’m a summer gal, too. That mug is very cool (when it gets hot!!) I love the idea of a grandpa trip. My husband, known as G Pop, has always been great with kids, so I can picture him doing that. Like you, I only knew one of my grandfathers, and he was already 70 by the time I was even born. Besides that, he had 22 other grandkids!
I’ve known a few people who’ve visited the Creation Museum, but I don’t remember them mentioning the Ark. It looks tremendous! Everything sounds like a great trip. I also taught my kids to write thank you notes. So important, but often forgotten these days. An email is not the same!
@Mari ... I know, right? Most men would shudder at the thought of traveling with three kids. Allissa's age helped; she and Dagny are so close, and Andrew just likes to hang with Papaw and talk sports. I know what you mean about the rainbow! It's time we started speaking up for what it really means. I'm tired of having other people's false reality forced on me. I hope you will take the girls to the ark! It is really something.Yes our Rhett will be in our arms soon. I appreciate your prayers for Erica. xoxo
@Bijoux ... There's just something about summer! Even with the sticky heat, I love the luscious sounds and sights of it and I miss it when it's gone. You must have come along late in some lives, to have your grandpa be so old, and for so many grands to have gotten in on it before your arrival! But G Pop is on the job for your grands! And yes, teaching the writing of thank-you notes is a lost art and one that needs to be revived. An email is better than nothing but you are right -- certainly NOT the same! xoxo
What a wonderful memory for them to have! I do not know a single Grandpa who has taken the kids on an adventure like this!! And your mug is TOO perfect!
@Ginny ... I don't know any other grandpa who would attempt it either. It's pretty great, I must say. And so is my mug! Yes it is perfect and I love it! xoxo
Oh wow! I stand in awe of TG for taking these grands on a trip like this! Hats off to him! What an adventure! I would love to see the Ark Encounter. Looked so very interesting. Your grands will remember this trip for a very long time!!
Summer seems halfway over to us because the kids go back to school August 10th (really I have no idea why they start so early here when it is so blazing hot).
Saying a pray for Erica and a healthy Rhett.
And oh my, thank you notes! I kind of lacked on teaching my kids the art of writing them except for "big" things like graduations. So kuddos to you, Jenny, for having your kids and then they in turn having their kids write them!
betty
@betty ... I think you hit the nail on the head with why summer seems to be over before it even gets started. Dagny will go back to school in mid-August too, and I'm not sure of the date for Allissa and Andrew but I assume it is similar. So short! When I was a kid we got three full months of summer and it seemed so endless! So many days to sit under a tree in the yard, and read. TG certainly is an intrepid sort because he loved taking the kids on his own and showing them the ark and the museum. These are subjects dear to his heart and he wants his grandchildren to lay hold of the truths taught in these places. But he is a completely un-fussy no-drama type and there's not much that can come at him that will make him bat an eyelash, haahaaa!
Don't beat yourself up about when or how seldom your kids wrote thank-you notes! Some people go a lifetime and never write one. I think that's a shame. I learned about thank-you notes at the knee of my paternal grandmother, Doris, whom I adored. I saw very little of her throughout my life but once she visited us when I was a young teenager, and she had come from visiting another friend or family member, and I watched as she perched on the side of the bed (she was the size of a bird) smelling of Shalimar which was her signature (I wear it now), writing what she told me was her "bread and butter letter" to the folks she'd just stayed with. I had never heard of such a thing but she explained its importance and I watched her write in her elegant handwriting and knew that was something I would always want to do. I have failed many times but I'm pretty sure that I remember to write one more often than I forget. It's amazing how such small, seemingly insignificant actions can have a ripple effect over decades, and echo in so many lives. xoxo
Yes! The report on this lovely trip! Equally wonderful, for the Grandfather and for the Grandchildren. Memories for a lifetime.
Btw, they are perfectly adorable children!!!!!!! (And Papaw is not "too bad" himself! -giggggles-)
The mug's charm, unfolds..... -smile-
Oh yes, we all have Erica on our minds. Millions of gentle hugs to her....
This summer is being weird. That's about the nicest thing, I can say, about it.
Gentle hugs,
Mari-Nanci
@Mari-Nanci ... I agree! Weird summer, so far. And yes, Papaw is a looker. Always has been, hahahaha, since long before I succumbed to his many charms. The grands will never forget their road trip with him and that's important! He gave the most precious thing anyone can give: their time and themselves. Thank you for thinking of Erica! We are down to the wire! xoxo
What a wonderful memory for them to have, I'm sure they'll look back and cherish this summer.
I do not know any pappaw who has taken the kids on an adventure like this, very brave of TG.
Love the mug 😊
@Jane ... Good to see you, friend! Yes I believe those kids will remember the trip to their dying day, and they'll certainly remember it with great love when their Papaw is gone. He's a good man and yes, a brave one, haaaha! I am so partial to my mug. It makes coffee hour even more fun. xoxo
What a special trip Papaw and the Grands had! I had to laugh at the cutout faces photos - priceless. We also love getting thank you notes. We keep them on the counter to enjoy. When the Grands visit, they see them, and I hope realize how much each one means to us. These memories made with the family will last for a very long time, Jenny. PS - I like the mug.
@Barb ... the cutouts make me laugh every time. And YES the notes are super-special. I think if people knew how much thank-you notes mean to those getting them, they would write them more often. I heard the other day that, because of devices, children and young adults rarely if ever put pen or pencil to paper anymore, for any reason. Many barely know how to write. That broke my heart. xoxo