On the lighter side-Travel-Luray Caverns, Virginia-4

Since my wife was wearing a flip flop (and I was wearing an open ended sandal), my wife's flip flop broke. Since tried unsuccessfully to find some replacement but the store did not have any and we had to go downstairs in the cavern with a broken flip flop and a very upset woman. As we ventured into the caverns, we stood in awe of the magnificent and still forming cave patterns that cannot be described in words but only to be witnessed personally and up-close. Most of the cavern has moist walls and the guide told us not to touch them since they are wet and so is the floor in some places. It was lighted inside by artificial light and at different areas, there were individual guides telling us the history of that portion of the caverns. Thank GOD there was railing so that my wives was holding onto it and not get slipped with her broken flip flop. After a long winding and sometimes treacherous walk inside the caverns and also standing outside for an hour wait, we went to the nearby souvenirs shop to get some gifts from there and then headed towards our car. After that it was time to eat and we bought pizza to snack along the way back to the hotel. As usual I was tired but my wife and daughter went again back to the pool while I took a nap and at night ate our remaining food that we had brought with us. The next morning after eating our breakfast and checking out we headed back home and thankfully it was another smooth ride with no traffic in sight. We reached home around 5.00 o'clock in the evening and another successful trip wrapped up.

On the lighter side-Travel-Luray Caverns, Virginia-3

If you drive from New Jersey which has the highest population density you would feel effects of open space the further you go away from the state. As I was driving past New Jersey I saw open spaces and when we reached Virginia, there was open space all around. And once I started driving towards the Luray caverns, the open spaces were obvious at first ascending and then descending towards the caverns. I like the open spaces as the rush of traffic gets to me and the greenery and mountainous areas were breathtaking. We took some pictures and reached the caverns to see the long lines and numerous cars in the parking area. I dropped my wife to get the tickets and she came back to tell me that it would be one hour before we reach the caverns. That was how long the line was in hot weather with sun blazing. We had no choice but to buy the tickets and stand in line. There a maze area nearby where you could go in and find yourself way out of the maze but it was not free and I was not in the mood to go there either. Another was a museum nearby where they showcased the history of the caverns and of the Shenandoah Valley, no interest here either. I just wanted to go inside the caverns and it really took us an hour just to reach the shade area of the entrance. We asked a couple to take a picture of our family and they asked us to do the same for them.

On the lighter side-Travel-Luray Caverns, Virginia-2

Near our hotel, we stopped by to get the gas and get ice cream and then went to the hotel which was about 30 miles from Luray caverns. On the way we passed through Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and then to Virginia. Our hotel was near a busy highway long Route 81 and was called Hampton ® Inn. We check in the hotel and after putting our belongings down, I was in no mood to go anywhere and since we had brought our own food, we ate some and I went to take a quick nap and my wife and daughter went to take a look at the pool area. We had not planned anything for the first day as the Caverns were open from 9.00 in the morning so we were supposed to go on Sunday. The first day went by relaxing and the room was not that bad either. We were supposed to stay till Monday so it was just fine with us in that hotel. Since the breakfast was on the house, we ventured down to get our share of it and there was rush in the eating area as the hotel was full as per the receptionist. Well after eating our breakfast, we got a discount coupon from the lobby. It was buy one and get the second one at half price so it was pretty good for us. It was around twelve o'clock that we started to drive to the caverns about 31 miles from our hotel. It was a nice and sunny day. Traffic was extremely light so we had a smooth ride towards the caverns.

On the lighter side-Travel-Luray Caverns, Virginia

We were already high on vacation (actually my wife was) as she was again looking for a weekend getaway, even after the exhausting trip to Disney World and the memorial day weekend was the excellent way to go on one. And she started to eagerly look for some place where it would be enough to go on a weekend trip without breaking the bank and where we can drive easily. I was also craving for some vacation time but not this fast as it was only a month that we had come back from Florida and she finally found a place to go which I had never heard off before. It was called Luray Caverns in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley about 341 miles from our house. I did not explore that much as I saw some pictures of it on the internet and read a little but watching it would have been an experience. As the day came on Saturday, we had already packed our bags which my wife said is more than packing stuff for three days; we started our journey towards Virginia. As our check in time was 3.00 P.M. we started at around eleven. Our hotel was 311 miles from where we live and I was dreading that there would be traffic as it was a memorial day weekend as it is called the unofficial start of the summer season. But to my surprise the roads were not clogged and we were driving at the maximum speed limit without a hint of even slowly down due to construction or accident. As I love to drive, I was the main person at the helm of the driving seat.