Tuesday - October 9

A cloudy warm day......we exercised out on our patio (been doing this inside Flo with all the rain and cooler temps).    Nice to put on the shorts and sandals again.   We drove into Luray, nice little town with many hills and all nestled in the Shenandoah Valley.    Had a good breakfast at Gathering Grounds and then I checked out a few shops.    Ran some more errands and then to the Luray Caverns which are a big attraction in this area.

Last time (close to 50 years ago) that we were in any caverns and probably only time was the Meramec Caverns near St. Louis.    The Luray Caverns is quite the place and enjoyed our guide, Gabe who took us and several others on a guided tour (1+ mile).    WOW.......absolutely incredible rock formations

On August 13, 1878 Andrew Campbell, his 13-year old nephew, Quint and a local photographer, Benton Stebbins discovered the caverns.    They were officially opened to the public with lights and walking path in 1954.    Here are some highlights....these caves are 400+ million years old     Another interesting tidbit - 500 weddings have been performed in the caves thru the years!

reflecting pool 

 7 million years old

The Wishing Well where people can throw in their coins and to date (since 1954, over $1 million has been given to various health-related charities)

A tribute to the military from Page County, VA who lost their lives in the 2 World Wars, Korean War and Vietnam

Gabe, our tour guide who is soon enlisting in the Marines. 

Along with the Caverns, our ticket included tour of the old car museum (dating from the 1800's to 1941) and the Shenandoah Valley Museum.    

The Meeting Place for the Brethren and Mennonite  - Circa 1800

We had spaghetti, salad, garlic toast, and wine for dinner eating on our patio - beautiful evening.   then a walk around the park and met a really neat couple from Australia (Peter and Chris).     They have been in the US since August renting an RV and seeing lots of sites in the NE, Maritime Provinces, etc.    They will be heading back to Denver by the 20th to turn in their RV and head on home.    They have done this for several years and traveled all over Europe, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, England, etc.    So enjoyed visiting them and sharing travel stories - love their accent!

Found these cute, colorful characters on a farm outside Luray

This happy boy loves kindergarten