Virginia: November 3rd-6th
We stayed at the 'Jellystone at Natural Bridge' campground. Needless to say, it was extremely quiet during the week. I guess the Snowbirds have already begun their migration south! It wasn't the original location we had planned on, however, many campgrounds closed on October 31st and this was one of the few still open in the area. As it happened, this was a fantastic location. We were extremely close to Natural Bridge, one of the (self-proclaimed) 7 Natural Wonders of the New World. It was an impressive sight and the ticket price covered a mile walk beyond the Bridge to an Indian Village, across the Lost River to the Lace Falls.
We spent Thursday afternoon wandering the trail, asking questions of the volunteer on duty and the 'Indians' in their camp, playing Pooh sticks on the small river bridge and stopping to draw the bridge as part of our art lesson for the week - a surprising amount of concentration given by everyone on all of the above. George Washington surveyed the Bridge when he was 18 years old and his initials are carved into the wall. We are learning a great deal about the life of George Washington on this trip, he was involved in quite a lot!
The ticket was good for 48 hours and also included a visit to the Wax Museum and Toy Museum, so we returned after school on Friday. The historical story of the area in wax figures was very interesting and ended with a number of past Presidents on display in the foyer, before entering the theatre to listen to a retelling of The Last Supper, complete with Jesus and His 12 disciples at the table. Even Caitlin commented that she was glad we were Christians because there was so much religion involved in everything we were seeing - I guess we have entered the Bible Belt of America!
The Toy Museum wasn't as impressive as the Wax Museum, but Jake and Caitlin were still interested. The Family who owned everything have many toys on display, collected over the 100 years from 1900 to 2000. Most things were still boxed and evidently the displays change, based on theme. Jake lingered longest around the Star Wars exhibit.
In the evening, Dave took the kids back to hear the Story of Creation, put to lights and music at the Natural Bridge, so he did not see it in daylight but it was quite spectacular in the dark by all accounts. It was a chilly few days in Virginia, coats that we had not worn for months were brought out of the closet, we didn't even have a fire at this first campground: too cold!
We spent Thursday afternoon wandering the trail, asking questions of the volunteer on duty and the 'Indians' in their camp, playing Pooh sticks on the small river bridge and stopping to draw the bridge as part of our art lesson for the week - a surprising amount of concentration given by everyone on all of the above. George Washington surveyed the Bridge when he was 18 years old and his initials are carved into the wall. We are learning a great deal about the life of George Washington on this trip, he was involved in quite a lot!
The ticket was good for 48 hours and also included a visit to the Wax Museum and Toy Museum, so we returned after school on Friday. The historical story of the area in wax figures was very interesting and ended with a number of past Presidents on display in the foyer, before entering the theatre to listen to a retelling of The Last Supper, complete with Jesus and His 12 disciples at the table. Even Caitlin commented that she was glad we were Christians because there was so much religion involved in everything we were seeing - I guess we have entered the Bible Belt of America!
The Toy Museum wasn't as impressive as the Wax Museum, but Jake and Caitlin were still interested. The Family who owned everything have many toys on display, collected over the 100 years from 1900 to 2000. Most things were still boxed and evidently the displays change, based on theme. Jake lingered longest around the Star Wars exhibit.
In the evening, Dave took the kids back to hear the Story of Creation, put to lights and music at the Natural Bridge, so he did not see it in daylight but it was quite spectacular in the dark by all accounts. It was a chilly few days in Virginia, coats that we had not worn for months were brought out of the closet, we didn't even have a fire at this first campground: too cold!
Comments