DAY TRIP

So we finally put the tools down from fixing and improving the house and went on a day trip. We decided that we would go exploring. Mark wanted to go to the Shenandoah Valley but we really had no destination. So the deck guy told us that we should go to Skyline Drive but that it is really at its best in the fall when the leaves were changing. It is a popular tourist spot and the drive is about 1 1/2 hours long but we would have to drive down about 3 hours to get to the starting place. So we figured since this was not the time of year,when the leaves change, that we would go to where you come out and just wander around and check it out. BUT FIRST...I saw this little diner down in Fairfax when I was there last week and so I told Mark that we needed to have breakfast there.

It was awesome, straight out of the 50's with a jukebox at your table.

You put a quarter in the jukebox and you could hear your song played over the speakers in the restaurant.

We didn't play anything but we had a pretty good breakfast. AND they had gluten free stuff too. I was going to try some gluten free pancakes just to see what they tasted like. But I settled for Buttermilk pancakes.

So from there we went down the 66 towards Front Royal, VA. That is the place

where Skyline drive ends. It is a quaint little town that is rich in Civil War history. There is a driving tour of the city and you just follow the map. While we were there there was a Celtic festival going on and there were lots of people playing bagpipes with kilts on.

We didn't stop for that festival but found a place called Skylines Caverns. We stopped and debated whether we wanted to go in or not.

Me, being a fan of rocks, I was eager to go in but Mark, not being a fan of rocks, was willing to take the tour if I wanted to, so off we went into the cavern entrance. It was dark and musty in there and our tour guide Jamie really needed some extra help. He had that whole tour memorized, and boy was it memorized. He did not vary too much from the script....

You go down into the caverns and of course they have lit up alot of the places so that you can see the rocks better in certain areas. It is almost 265 feet down into the caverns at one point and the cavern goes down at least 350 feet but Jamie says only spelunkers are allowed down there. Spelunkers are cave explorers...(Yes I had to come home and look it up!!!)

Mark asked Jamie if he was a spelunker and he said no, not yet. Then he said to Jamie, well you know there is a medicine for that.....Jamie had no sense of humor...

So here are a few pictures of the caverns.

Each of these areas have an explanation about what they are but I can't exactly remember. I only wish I had brought my good camera to take pictures, but my phone didn't do too bad.