Starting mileage: 3498 Starting time: 8:00 am
Ending mileage: 3743 Ending time: 5:00 pm
Travel mileage: 254
We planned to take the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park but when we got to the southern entrance it was a bit foggy and traveling up the mountains, the fog became more and more dense. At most of the scenic overlooks visibility was zero although a couple times we could see into the distance. Along the way we saw numerous signs of forest fire, some of which must be quite recent as the ground was completely black. We decided to bail out as soon as we could and go directly to the Luray Caverns which I had wanted to visit since I was a child.
The Luray Caverns are one of the largest in the eastern US and are truly spectacular. The tour takes a little over an hour and covers over a mile underground. One of the most amazing is a reflecting lake where it looks like you are seeing stalactites under the water when they are actually a perfect reflection. We both enjoyed the tour. There is also an adjacent car museum which has some of the first cars and engines made, from converted horse wagons to luxurious Rolls-Royce and Mercedes cars from 1910 - 1920. This was more interesting than we expected.
This was a good activity for a rainy day although not so good for a picnic lunch which we ate inside the car in the parking lot. It rained steadily all the way to our hotel in Martinsburg.
The clerk at the hotel recommended Boyd's Steakhouse in downtown Martinsburg. It is decorated as a "speakeasy" and has numerous items from Al Capone, including his bar and hutch. Carmen had salmon and I had scallops, both of which were very good.
We planned to take the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park but when we got to the southern entrance it was a bit foggy and traveling up the mountains, the fog became more and more dense. At most of the scenic overlooks visibility was zero although a couple times we could see into the distance. Along the way we saw numerous signs of forest fire, some of which must be quite recent as the ground was completely black. We decided to bail out as soon as we could and go directly to the Luray Caverns which I had wanted to visit since I was a child.
The Luray Caverns are one of the largest in the eastern US and are truly spectacular. The tour takes a little over an hour and covers over a mile underground. One of the most amazing is a reflecting lake where it looks like you are seeing stalactites under the water when they are actually a perfect reflection. We both enjoyed the tour. There is also an adjacent car museum which has some of the first cars and engines made, from converted horse wagons to luxurious Rolls-Royce and Mercedes cars from 1910 - 1920. This was more interesting than we expected.
This was a good activity for a rainy day although not so good for a picnic lunch which we ate inside the car in the parking lot. It rained steadily all the way to our hotel in Martinsburg.
The clerk at the hotel recommended Boyd's Steakhouse in downtown Martinsburg. It is decorated as a "speakeasy" and has numerous items from Al Capone, including his bar and hutch. Carmen had salmon and I had scallops, both of which were very good.
Day 15 route
Dogwood at scenic overlook on Skyline Drive
Inside Luray caverns
No comments:
Post a Comment