Leaving Skyland Lodge, we followed Skyline Drive heading for our exit to Luray. There were several deer along the road as we traveled north.
At Hope Mountain, there is a tunnel thru the mountain and I asked Scott to stop so I could get out and snap a photo of the runner before driving thru. As he was pulling into the overlook to park, he saw something black in the side view mirror and said, "hey, there's a bear!!"
Of course I got all excited and of course the wrong lens was on my camera. It took next to forever to dig out my long zoom lens and extender and I was hollering "tell the bear to wait for me!" - lol! Nothing is ever quick when you are in a hurry! I managed to snap on my zoom and make a mad dash towards the bear while I was fiddling with camera settings so as not to miss the shot! The bear, which appeared to be a yearling, ran across the road and up the mountainside. Out of nowhere two other photographers with long lenses showed up and we all were trying to get "the shot", b/c bear photography is both challenging and tons of fun! As the bear was climbing up the mountainside, it turned back for one last look at us before disappearing into the thick mountainside. The two men told me the bear had been spotted in that same area the past several days, so I suspect they had been hanging around waiting for an appearance. I was thrilled that I was able to get the one decent shot with a whole bunch of useless blurred shots! I learned a valuable lesson that day; bring 2 cameras on our next road trip and have lenses on each camera, so that a zoom is available to grab and run for unexpected wildlife encounters!
We exited Shenandoah National Park at highway 211 and drove into Luray, where we stopped at Luray Caverns for our cavern tour. There was a man-made waterfall outside the ticket office, where several mallard ducks had made themselves very comfortable and didn't care the least bit how close you got to them!
THE FIRST DISCOVERY
A CANDLE. ONE ROPE.
THE FIND OF A LIFETIME.
Cold air rushing out of a limestone sinkhole atop a big hill west of Luray, Virginia, blew out a candle held by Andrew Campbell, the town tinsmith, on the morning of August 13, 1878. So began the discovery of Luray Caverns.
Campbell, three other men, and his 13-year-old nephew, Quint, were exploring the area, looking for a cave. With the help of local photographer Benton Stebbins, the men dug away loose rocks for four hours before, candle in hand, Campbell and Quint slid down a rope into the cave. They could scarcely believe what they saw. The party had discovered the largest series of caverns in the East, an eerie world of stalactites and stalagmites seen by the light of a candle.
Campbell, three other men, and his 13-year-old nephew, Quint, were exploring the area, looking for a cave. With the help of local photographer Benton Stebbins, the men dug away loose rocks for four hours before, candle in hand, Campbell and Quint slid down a rope into the cave. They could scarcely believe what they saw. The party had discovered the largest series of caverns in the East, an eerie world of stalactites and stalagmites seen by the light of a candle.
* * * * * *
Touring the cave was a lot of fun and very interesting. We expected it to be much cooler than it was - it was more humid than cold. Enormous chambers are filled with towering stone columns, shimmering draperies and crystal-clear pools. The National Park Service and the Department of Interior designated it as a Registered Natural Landmark.
This is the largest body of water in the covers However, its deepest point is not more than 18-20 inches. This sparkling lake reflects a myriad of fantastic form and create a mirror image of the abundant stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
The Great Stalacpipe Organ is the world's largest musical instrument. It literally makes stalactites sing by gently tapping them throughout three acres of the caverns. It's a musical masterpiece that can't be found anywhere else in the world...or under it! We listened to "A Mighty Fortress is our God" - it was beautiful!
The tour lasted an hour or so and after we got back to the truck we heard canons blow from nearby. Across from the caverns, it appeared a Civil War Re-enactment was happening, so we drove up closer, parked the truck to take a closer look.
LURAY VALLEY MUSEUM
WELCOME TO THE ORIGINAL
AMERICAN FRONTIER
WELCOME TO THE ORIGINAL
Step back in time and discover the rich history of the Shenandoah Valley at the Luray Valley Museum. Your journey begins at the log Stonyman building which houses historic items from pre-contact Native peoples to life in the bustling 1920s. Continue your exploration across a seven-acre recreation of a small 19th century farming community. Knock on the door of the 1835 home of the county's first Delegate to the Virginia General Assembly. Peek into the Hamburg Regular School, the area's first school for African American children. Read the actual signatures of Union and Confederate soldiers scrawled into the walls of the Elk Run Dunkard Church.
* * * * * *
After Patti rang the bell for peace and liberty, we headed back to the truck and back on the road in no time, headed for DC. You have to go into Maryland to get to DC and that's where we started hitting the DC traffic. We navigated our way, with the help of Onstar to our Airbnb row house we had rented for the next 4 days. We could tell right off the bat that parking was going to be an issue - no spaces in front of our row house, so we drove to the back where there is a small garage (much too small for our truck) and a narrow and I mean SKINNY-NARROW driveway (I really should have taken a pic!). We pulled in the side mirrors as Scott proceeded to try to pull into the drive way - drivers side of truck was nearly touching the garage and passenger side was nearly touching the fence. Scott was afraid if he got the truck pulled in, he'd never get it out, so we nixed that idea and decided to drive back out front and find a place in the street to park, knowing that on Monday and Tuesday we could not park out there. That would be figured out later tho.
We found a spot across the road, unloaded the truck and settled into our house. Since it was still early in the day and the weather was great, we decided to head into DC and walk the Monuments, then get dinner. First stop tho was Wal-Mart for a few needed items. Walmart has a big parking garage that ended up being our life saver due to the fact that parking in the street is such an issue for Monday and Tuesday due to the street sweepers. We left the truck at Wal-Mart and called Uber to pick us up and take us to the memorials, where we walked the full area.
The Monument Plaza was massive, and just so much to take in - the architecture, the detail in the stonework, the inscribed words...
...and this...I was not prepared for the amount of names that is on these walls, the people taking rubbings, the people looking for specific names, the flags & memorial flowers left...
...the children who have left letters...it was all emotionally difficult to take in...
Steve found someone that helped him find Richard G. May...a local Collinsville boy...
After that we headed to the WWII Memorials, which in itself was both massive and impressive!
The sun was beginning to set, so we decided it was time to grab an Uber to dinner - that became a challenge as Patti's phone was dead, so I downloaded the Uber app and after multiple tries we finally got a driver. Hell's Burgers was the destination...after being dropped off out front, we noticed it was closed - oh no - now what? We started walking to find somewhere else to eat. We came upon "Busboys and Poets", such an interesting name for a restaurant, and decided since we didn't have much of a choice at that point, to try to get a table. We looked at a menu, and I made the decision Scott would be able to find something he would eat from it - haha! It's actually a Gluten-free, Dairy-free menu, so I was all for it! While waiting for our table and people watching, we learned just how "interesting" this place was...lol. There was a sign that said "Muslim women of spoken word sold out" (hmmm) and the attached book shop contained many "politically-correct" and some of the most liberal book titles I have ever seen in my life - I will spare you the details of some of the titles I happened to notice! (hmmmm)
We finally got to a table and shortly thereafter a large group of Muslim women came out of a back room...apparently a convention of some sort was going on (hmmmm). Steve needed to use the restroom, so he went off to find that, which was upstairs. The staircase was a massive open curved staircase in the center of the restaurant. When he returned, he told us that there were prayer rugs all over the floor upstairs (hmmmm). Then we started looking at the artwork on the walls..."interesting" to say the least...things that just make you wonder...there was also a rather loud group of young adults at the bar near our table, with many "interesting-looking" people coming and going from all directions...we were getting the full experience of Washington DC, right there in that little place all at once as we flew under the radar of trying not to stick out as conservative southern folk obviously in the wrong place - haha! Despite the atmosphere, the food was phenomenal - I had the best panini sandwich I've ever eaten and Steve, Patti and Scott said their food was also excellent! It's places and experiences like this when we never have dull moments together and are able to live to tell about it! These are the times we will always remember and talk about - haha!
We finished eating, paid the bill, then headed outside to get an Uber driver to take us back to Wal-Mart, where the truck was parked. We made it there without incident and back to our row house where we played cards and laughed about the evening before heading to bed! Tomorrow we have to be up and at em with a very early start at the US Capitol.
The Monument Plaza was massive, and just so much to take in - the architecture, the detail in the stonework, the inscribed words...
Jefferson Memorial
We finally got to a table and shortly thereafter a large group of Muslim women came out of a back room...apparently a convention of some sort was going on (hmmmm). Steve needed to use the restroom, so he went off to find that, which was upstairs. The staircase was a massive open curved staircase in the center of the restaurant. When he returned, he told us that there were prayer rugs all over the floor upstairs (hmmmm). Then we started looking at the artwork on the walls..."interesting" to say the least...things that just make you wonder...there was also a rather loud group of young adults at the bar near our table, with many "interesting-looking" people coming and going from all directions...we were getting the full experience of Washington DC, right there in that little place all at once as we flew under the radar of trying not to stick out as conservative southern folk obviously in the wrong place - haha! Despite the atmosphere, the food was phenomenal - I had the best panini sandwich I've ever eaten and Steve, Patti and Scott said their food was also excellent! It's places and experiences like this when we never have dull moments together and are able to live to tell about it! These are the times we will always remember and talk about - haha!
We finished eating, paid the bill, then headed outside to get an Uber driver to take us back to Wal-Mart, where the truck was parked. We made it there without incident and back to our row house where we played cards and laughed about the evening before heading to bed! Tomorrow we have to be up and at em with a very early start at the US Capitol.
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