Star Gazing or Alligator Bait

I’ve been planning an upcoming trip to Amelia Island. Rent house with pool – check. Make list of junk food to take for the grandkids – check. Activities – still working on that.

The Georgia magazine we get lists wonderful activities by the month. The recent issue had a great article on star gazing. Because Amanda’s boys have studied constellations in school, they are much more knowledgeable than I am, but I love star gazing. I love thinking about how much I don’t know. I wonder about so many things in the far reaches of space. God is an awesome Creator!

I was so excited to see that Okefenokee Swamp is a certified Dark Sky Star Gazing Site. It is only an hour from where we will be staying. Though our family is traditionally an early to bed and  early to rise crew, I figured we could forgo a good night’s sleep to enjoy a famed place to study the sky.

UNTIL

Ronald reminded me about the alligators and snakes.

In a recent trip to Hilton Head, I encountered a snake on the boardwalk in broad daylight which scared the frazzle out of me.

Even scarier is the memory of one of our first trips to Okefenokee.

We just had two grandchildren at that time. My son-in-law had read that if you make a certain sound, alligators will come. He tried making the sound and sure enough, several alligators peeked their heads up through the green slimed water. One was walking slowly toward us on the opposite bank. Did you know that alligators can run 20 miles an hour? I didn’t know that at the time, or I would have fainted on the spot!

Now these were not sweet, tiny alligators that you feed at tourist attractions. These suckers were the size of tanks! I can’t imagine how big their teeth were! Actually, I could.

I knew we were invading the territory of some of the orneriest creatures on earth. Maybe not ornery. Maybe just hungry. I wasn’t about to become alligator hors d’oeuvres. I was born, but it wasn’t yesterday! I won’t be that brave again! Ronald and Mark picked up the little ones, and we carefully headed back to the boardwalks as we prayed the alligators already had breakfast and lunch  that day.

The old man and I decided to choose watching the stars via YouTube and forgo the Great Alligator Adventure.

Blessings

KB

Proverbs 22:3 The wise see danger ahead and avoid it!