We were packed and ready to go early in the morning, because we wanted to visit Lurray Caverns today. Luray Caverns and Skyline Drive were a little out of the way of where we were headed, so we figured that visiting on our drive to Lake Anna would be the best time to visit. Driving through Shenandoah National Park certainly wasn't the most straight forward way to Luray Caverns from Chippokes Plantation (the speed limit is 35mph), nor was it the cheapest way to go (you had to pay to enter the park) but we were glad we did it (sort of - I'll explain that in a bit).
The drive through Shenandoah was nothing short of BEAUTIFUL. Mid May is when many of the trees are in bloom, the colors everywhere are vivid and bright, and some spring flowers are making their appearance. The only other time that I could imagine it being equally as beautiful would be during Autumn.
Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park
The higher we drove, the more spectacular the views became. We pulled over at several overlooks along the way. It didn't matter if we driving or pulled over. The views were more beautiful than we could have imagined!
Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park
The higher we drove, the more foggy it became. It wasn't a rainy or cloudy day at the moment, it was just that we were so high! Make sure you bring gum or something to alleviate those popping ears!
The higher we went, the more foggy it became.
The drive was very fun and relaxing, until we had reached the top. Once we hit the top, we had to go down. And our van's breaks did NOT like that at all. While I am sure the drive down was just as beautiful as the ride up, I couldn't tell you if it was or was not. I spent most of that ride with my eyes shut in desperate prayer that He would allow us to make it down the mountain in one piece. Our brakes were smoking and making a burning smell, and all I could think was that our breaks would give out, and we would be hurtling over the side of the mountain at any moment. Thankfully, God protected us, and we made it down the mountain safely! But, needless to say, I'm not so sure we'd try that again unless we had a lighter load in our van and the breaks were brand new!!
Luray Singing Tower
We made it down to Luray around 1:30, and since the Luray Singing Tower would be singing at 2, we decided to set up our picnic lunch on the picnic tables there and enjoy the songs. I had seen a Singing Tower in New Olm, Minnesota when I was a girl and loved it. I was eager to see this one! If you are curious what to expect here, this video will give you a good idea.
Unfortunately for us, a thunderstorm rolled it's way into Luray in the middle of the show, so we packed up our cooler and went back to Luray Caverns before the rain started.
Luray Singing Tower
You can't safely walk to the tower and back with kids, but the drive is super short. If the road wasn't so busy, you wouldn't even need to drive. You can see the singing tower from the cavern's parking lot.
Luray Caverns
We made it inside Luray Caverns to buy tickets just in time. We walked through the door, and the skies opened up!
Luray Caverns
The caverns were mind blowing. The are so large and so beautiful that you can barely comprehend it! I have a million pictures from inside the caverns, but I'll only post a few.
Wishing Well
Wishing Well in Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns
Listening to the recordings about history of the caverns
Enjoying our time in the caverns
Dream Lake
Luray Cavern
Luray Cavern
Ephraim
We decided to get one adult audio tour and 2 children's audio tours. Ken and I shared one, and the 3 kids (Felix could care less) shared the 2 children's audio tour. It took a little bit longer to go through the area that way, but it was cheaper, and I don't think we would have been finished looking at each area when the tour on the section was finished. So for us it worked well.
You can see in the pictures above that it came with headphones so that you could listen without disturbing other people (or so that people couldn't get a guided tour without paying, depending on how you look at it). There was a device that was similar to a large remote control that you put around your neck. When you got to a certain part of the cave, there would be a sign telling you what number to dial on your device so you could listen to the correct portion of the tour. The adult tour was interesting, but I listened to the children's tour most of the way. I found it more interesting than the adult tour! :)
It was cool in the caverns, but no one in our group found it cold. We brought light jackets in case, but it wasn't needed. Also, the cavern is cavern friendly, but there are a few parts that are VERY steep. The kids and I almost went for a ride downhill in the caverns at one point because my foot slipped on a wet spot!!
The stalacpipe organ was also something that was very neat in the caverns.
Stalacpipe Organ
The organ plays "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" by having mallets hit different stalactites and stalagmites in the caverns. Each one makes a different note. We all loved this section. We had been studying "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" for hymn study, so we all familiar with the hymn. It was very interesting to hear it played in such a different way! It was the first time any of us had heard music played on stones!
If you haven't heard the hymn before, here are 2 of our favorite versions:
Yes, that's right. "A Might Fortress" is the theme song to Davey and Goliath.
When we finished with the caverns, we walked along and explored the shops. There were many cute novielty stores between the caverns and the garden maze. And of course, when the last store was an ice cream shop with some of our favorite ice cream bars, could we say no? Of course not!
After our ice cream break, we went over the the garden maze.
Luray Garden Maze
We had a blast here. We let the kids lead the way, and it took us about an hour to find our way through.
Ready to escape the maze
Found a robbin's egg on the ground
Looking down from the lookout tower
Everyone got a ticket - you had to find the 4 hidden spots in the garden
Found the "secret garden"
The kids REALLY wanted to take a 2nd run through the maze, but it was getting late, so we said no. It was an hour and a half to Lake Anna, and we knew we would need to stop along the way for dinner. We stopped by at a KFC along the way and ate dinner there. They happened to be having a Sunday Family Meal Deal where you got a bucket of chicken, a few sides, some drinks and a cake for a very decent price. I LOVE KFC, but we don't eat here often, so getting to have dinner here was a special treat for all of us.
By the time we made it to Lake Anna, it was dark out. Exploring the outside would need to wait until tomorrow, but for now we could explore our new home away from home!
We were spoiled by Chippokes, and while Lake Anna was nice, we preferred the Chippokes house over the Lake Anna house. The Living Room, Dining Room, and Kitchen were all open concept, and that made it extremely echo-y. Also, the furniture was not nearly as comfortable. The dining table had 2 chairs and 2 benches. There was no TV in the family area at all, nor was the cabin stocked with books and games like Chippokes had been. It felt very cold as opposed to the "welcome home" feeling of Chippokes. We were glad that we had spent a week in Chippokes instead of at Lake Anna.
The one thing that Lake Anna had that Chippokes did not have was a fire place. That was nice to have.
Living Room/Dining Room
Living Room with Fireplace and fold out bed/couch
Kitchen - not as well stocked as Chippokes
The children's room was nicely set up, and had 2 twin beds in it.
Kids room - 2 twin beds
The master bedroom had a queen sized bed, and it was quiet comfortable. Each bedroom had a dresser along with a closest.
Queen bed in Master Bedroom
We pulled in all our suitcases and food from the car, threw the kids in PJ's and called it a night! We were tired after a long day!
We had done so much in so little time! It was amazing to think that our vacation was already half way over! We had a wonderful week in Chippokes Plantation and exploring southern Virginia. We were thankful that God had blessed my husband with a job that provides ample time off! Having 2 weeks of uninterrupted time to spend together is a precious gift that we are very blessed by.
Since it was our last day in Chippokes, we made it a rest day again. This gave us time to pack up and have a relaxing day further exploring Chippokes.
We started our day by hiking the nature trails in the park. We wanted to do that early in the day, before it got too hot to be enjoyable.
We had tons of fun walking the trail. Everything is so different in Virginia compared to upstate New York. There were so many new trees, birds and animals to see! The trail was pretty empty too, so as long as we walked quietly, we saw tons of wildlife!!
Strangest root system we've ever seen - a Cyprus "Knee"
Tiny crabs under the bridge
The trail at one point opens up so you can walk along the James River
Wading in the James River
We stopped at the Overseers House for a look around, but it was unfortunately closed to tours when we stopped by.
Chippokes Plantation Plaque
Overseers House
We continued along until we made it to the gift shop and the farming museum. The gift shop was very cute, offering many old fashioned games and candy. We picked up some penny candy for the kids and headed off to check out the farming museum. The farming museum was interesting since we had recently learned about Cyrus McCormick, and many of the farming equipment we had learned about was there.
Nathaniel on a McCormick tractor
Ken walked back to the cabin to get our van when we realized how far we'd come, and that more than likely the kids wouldn't make it back to the cabin if we kept walking forward. So while Ken went for the van, the kids and I continued on our way down the trail and eventually found some wildlife that Virginia and New York do have in common: Turtles!
Examining a turtle
We eventually made it over to the Chippokes Mansion where we met up with Ken and our van. Ken took a tour of the mansion while I took a tour of the gift shop with the children! This gift shop was different than the other gift shop. The other gift shop had old fashioned games and candy, like an old fashioned general store that you might find in Little House on the Prairie. This gift store was filled with all sorts of dollar gifts that the kids could buy like slinkies, bubbles and paddle ball, and TONS of BEAUTIFUL knick knacks for Mamas to buy! The man who gave the tours of the mansions, and the woman who ran the gift shop were husband and wife, and a wonderfully friendly couple. She treated my children to some bubbles and we chatted while the children had fun blowing bubbles. Before long we felt the drip, drip, drops of little May showers, so we headed inside, where she showed us the car that Chippokes was restoring.
Cute little Felix in the car Chippokes is restoring
Ken and her husband soon showed up and we chatted for a bit until they got a call to let them know a major storm was headed our way. So we all said our thank you's and goodbyes and headed home!!
View of the storm rolling in from the kitchen window.
While we had fun watching the crazy thunder and lightning, the kids were disappointed that the rainstorm ruined our plans of swimming in the James River.
We reminded them that we were headed to Lake Anna, and then to a Baltimore hotel with a pool, so while swimming in the James River was out, swimming would still be happening this vacation!
We spent the evening watching the storm, watching some more Wild America, and packing up the house. Tomorrow morning we would be on our way to Lake Anna!
Up next: Skyline Drive, Lurray Caverns, the Lurray Singing Tower, and a Garden Maze
Once again, we were up bright and early! The children enjoyed some playtime outside while Ken and I packed up the car.
A game of cops and robbers - with Felix as the robber!
And then onto one of the favorite "rides" of the day - a ride on the ferry!! There were so many birds around that any bird enthusiast child will love the ferry. We bought Nathaniel a little kit that had a compass, magnifying glass, and binoculars as one of his souvenirs along with a bird book of Virginia birds. He spent every spare minute and every ferry ride like this:
Get a close look at the bird
Figure out what bird it is.
If your children are interested in birds, a great book is the Birds of (pick a state) by Stan Tekiela. We had one for NY and so when we saw this one about Virginia birds, we grabbed it for the kids. There were many birds which aren't in our area of New York. The kids had a blast identifying all the different birds we saw.
Reminder: Bring a light jacket. It's a little breezy on the ferry.
Jamestown is closer to Chippokes than Williamsburg. In fact, you can usually see the ships in Jamestown from the ferry. The ferry pretty much lets off in Jamestown. It only took about 40 minutes or so to get from Chippokes to Jamestown.
As you see, Ainsley's bonnet didn't get used once!
And please, please, please, get this picture when you go to Jamestown. It's a must do. :)
LIFT!!!!
Unfortunately for us, we hit Jamestown with just about every school in Virginia. It was much more crowded than we expected it to be. Crowded places do not make this homeschooling Mama happy. And unlike Virginia's Living Museum, there was no where to escape them. There were too many groups and they were everywhere!
Waiting our turn to tour the boats
Even with how crowded it was, the staff was great. They obviously had to let school groups on together, but they would sneak us non-school groups in between the school groups so that we had a chance to see the boats without being shoulder to shoulder with people.
Feeling how uncomfortable and cramped the beds were
We didn't stay down on the docks for too long. We did see the boats and enjoy our time down there, but it was INCREDIBLY muggy and buggy down there. Finally, the gnats and mosquitoes drove us away.
Family group shot (minus Mama who was about to pass out from the muggy heat)
When we got to the main settlement we took our time wandering around and talking to the interpreters. And once again, the interpreters were outstanding, and our children loved interacting with them!
This man fell in love with Ephraim, and the feeling was mutual!
And this lady fell head over heels with Felix, but really, who wouldn't!?
We went over to the exhibit about the guns with about 50 million school kids. The lady who did the gun demonstration warned us that it would be loud and boy was she right!! If your children do not like loud noises, you'll want to stay away from here! (You can hear it everywhere really, but it's worse when you are close by.)
Cover your ears!!
Gun demonstration
After the gun demonstration, we went to the Indian Village for a little bit.
After the Indian Village, we had really seen enough of Jamestown. The crowds were a bother to us, and we were getting hungry, so we set out to the picnic area to have our lunch. A juice box somehow exploded in our cooler, and most of our sandwiches were soaked. So we had to buy lunch. I don't really remember what we got except bread pudding. And the reason I remember that we got bread pudding is because it was very windy, and when you combine wind and bread pudding, this is what happens:
Bread Pudding and wind don't go well together
Thankfully, because we packed for Chippokes and Lake Anna separately, we had our Lake Anna clothes in the car. So Ken ran and got the clothes and took Ephraim to the bathroom to wash up and change his clothes.
After finishing lunch and changing into clean clothes, we headed over to Yorktown. Had we realized how much we would enjoy Yorktown, we more than likely would have done that first. But then again, if we went there first, it more than likely would have been overrun by school groups too. And man oh man do we hate crowds!
But thankfully, when we made it to Yorktown, the place was a ghost town. It looked like it would rain at any moment, and I think that kept people away.
And once again, the interpreters here were great. I really think that all the people who work at Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg and the like must LOVE their jobs. Now granted, it was only us and one other family here, so he had the time to devote to us one on one, but still it was obvious to tell he was enjoying what he was doing!
Gun demonstration - the gun was bigger than Ephraim was!
Too heavy for Nathaniel to hold on his own
We left the other family to have a little one on one time with the interpreter, and we wandered around the camp. The kids had a blast exploring the tents and the area.
While we were exploring the camp, the other family must have left. The interpreter called my kids over and asked if they were interested in playing a game. We have a similar game at home called 4 Way Countdown, so the kids knew how to play it already. He was surprised that our kids new about it. He said not many kids knew this game, but all kids seem to love it. We learned it was a very popular game to play in the camps during the revolutionary war.
Playing 4 Way Countdown (or the revolutionary equivalent)
It started to drizzle so we went inside the building and found a little dress up area. And we all know how my kids love dress up!!
The kids convinced Ken to dress up too!
Once the drizzling stopped, we headed down to the farm area. We spent a lot of time in this area. There was another homeschooling family down there, along with the interpreters who were, once again, WONDERFUL! So granted, we were talking and chatting about life more than learning about the Revolutionary War, but we had a grand time all the same!!
Foxglove in the garden
Tom the Turkey. The kids were allowed to feed him
After spending a while down there, we started to hear thunder in the distance. After hearing it 2 or 3 times, we decided to hi-tail it back to the van before the downpour started!
It was on our way home that we encountered the longest line for the ferry that we had all week. One of the ferries was down, leaving us with only one ferry. We only had to wait 3 or 4 ferries before we could board, and with all the birds around, our kids weren't bored at all! Nathaniel spotted an osprey nest with the parent coming back to feed the nestlings. He spent the entire time glued to his binoculars!
Watching the Osprey Nest
We were glad we were going home instead of starting our day. The line on the other side of the river was crazy! I can't even imagine how long their wait was!!!
Only one ferry working equals a LONG wait!!!
We eventually made it home and spent the rainy evening watching Wild America episodes and the old Superman TV show episodes. All in all, we had a good day, even with the massive crowds!
