God thoughts

Oregon Coast Aquarium
7/24/2008 6:37:38 PM by: Elsi

Just up the road from my KOA is Newport's Oregon Coast Aquarium. At the ticket desk, I read the sign offering wheelchairs and strollers and asked wistfully, “I don’t suppose you have electric carts for rent, do you?”

“Why, of course!” she said. She added $10 to my bill, gave me a AAA discount, and agreed that my being too young for their senior discount meant I’m really still young. The woman who brought the cart out asked me to wait, please, while they checked something … there was a passenger … a critter … turned out it was a small garter snake, and it had leapt off as they drove the cart out of the storage area. So I told her I like snakes, and rolled away!

I saw the king crabs, the rays … all sorts of strange creatures, with blown-glass decorations in the water with them. Fell in love with the jellyfish. Yeah, I know, they’re poisonous. But they’re so beautiful! I rolled on, quoting Psalm 148 as I went:

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! ... Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; Mountains and all hills ... Young men and maidens together; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven. ... Praise the LORD!

I went through the Orford Reef tunnel, with fish and sharks swimming all around me, even under my feet (I mean, wheels)! Then I rolled down the nature trail, looking out the overlooks and enjoying the dinosaur-type ferns. I enjoyed the octopus—fascinating to watch him use his little suction cups to move across the window!

And then … the aviary. Shore birds and sea birds, of course. And my favorites are the puffins, though I enjoyed the guillemots, too, because they remind me of Alaska. I quoted my puffin poem to the volunteer by the puffins, and she loved it! So did the clerk in the gift shop. So I emailed the words to Candy Torney, the gift shop manager, saying I thank God for the people there. She responded, "Thank you so much for your kind words about your visit to our aquarium! We are so glad you had an enjoyable time! I wanted to let you know that your Puffin poem has been circulating around the aquarium today, and you gave my friend a smile who was having a hard day a smile and a chuckle. Elsi, thank you for being the type of person that took the time to compliment the people here. I hope your travels bring you much joy and happiness. I will include you in my prayers and ask God to watch out and send many helpful people your way." Isn't the Lord good to send me Christians along the way?

I had an enormous bag of goodies when I left the gift shop, and a young man named Bryn offered to carry it to my RV for me. I accepted with pleasure and glee, and he went clear to the parking lot and patted Lady before leaving. He even kept Dolphin from exiting (he so loves to roll on the asphalt!). Bryn is headed, next week, for the California Redwoods—on his honeymoon! Such a nice young man!

Puffin (by Florence Page Jaques) {I was maybe five when I learned this}