Aquarium
On Saturday, we drove to Monterey. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and I could actually smell the ocean. I'm still filing all of these wonderful scents under "Don't Take It For Granted." We walked down Cannery Row to the Aquarium, arriving around lunchtime. James' eyes were wide as we walked through the jellyfish exhibit. He had lots of questions about them, mostly having to do with their stingers. I realized that all of James' knowledge about marine life comes from "Finding Nemo."
We stopped for a delicious lunch at the Aquarium Restaurant. Fish and chips always taste better when you eat them by the Pacific Ocean. Then it was time to really focus on all the exhibits. James spent a little time at every window before asking what was next. He had a great time looking at octopi and crabs and penguins and otters and sharks and rays and fish of every shape and size. He had at least as much fun, if not more, pressing all the buttons and pulling all the levers at the many interactive displays. James is, in every way, a 6-year-old boy.
The focus of the day seemed to be Petting The Stingrays. Since learning that we were going to the Aquarium, James had talked about Petting The Stingrays about 45 times a day. On the drive to Monterey, he brought it up 8 or 9 times. And, of course, when we finally got to the spot where you can Pet The Stingrays, the stingrays (which were actually batrays) were having none of it. They were huddled in a corner, apparently tired of being petted. James took it pretty well and we promised to go back and try again before we left. We had to go back twice before the rays were in a petting mood, but he did finally get his hand on one. Triumph!
It was a wonderful day. Sunday had its own high point as we got to see The African Children's Choir one last time. They did a short program at a Community Church in Monterey and we stuck around long enough for one more hug from our girls. Marjory and Travisan were glad to see us. Travi asked if they were going to see us again, and why not since we seemed to have been following them everywhere. But we had to tell her that this was probably it. That made us sad but we were so grateful that God put us in the same place and we told them that we would always think of them and be praying for them. And who knows? God may have one or two more surprises for us all.
Sometimes I feel like I have to look hard for God's blessings. But this weekend they were obvious and plentiful. I felt the warmth of His sun and was awed by the size of the ocean. I saw His beauty and creativity in the creatures of the sea. I was blessed by His surprises when I got to enjoy the songs and hugs of the choir again. And I was so grateful for my loving family as we shared time together.
"May you be blessed by the Lord, the Maker of heaven and
earth. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has
given to man."
posted by Thurman8er @ 8:56 AM
6 Comments:
The Chaffee Zoo now has Stingray Bay, an area for petting two different types of rays. Just thought James might like to know! My kids loved them and they were pretty friendly the day we went.
Kristy
We need those type of weekends. BTW - I know Greg won't mind me telling this but one time at Rockledge in a sermon, Greg referred to “Cannery Row” as “Canary Row.”
Great picture. Why is it that Aquarium's sell fish on the dinner menu? Even the Baltimore aquarium has a fish sandwich on the menu. Do you get to walk through and go "ooh I'll take that one grilled with a side of coleslaw"?
Randy stole a bit of my response, but it's sad to think your lunch happened to be those fish exhibits that didn't make it!
And you can just ignore Cecil's comment.
Monterey...Carmel...magical towns! I've such fond memories of both, especially at 16 when my folks let me take the station wagon and toodle all over the towns with my brother and sister in tow. Now, all I do is get lost when I go there...what is it about youth that makes them fearless and full of adventure? One day you'll take a 16-yr-old James to Monterey and he'll want to toodle around as well! He'll be OK.
Remind me to tell you about the Pebble Beach Open I attended...
I can still taste the calamri I had at the Captain's Table at Cannery Row...yum.
Sounds like a wonderful weekend. Aquarii are amazing.
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