Virginia’s for Lovers [of nature and history]!

Now entering…. Virginia! State #10 of 50-States-Before-They-Graduate. Check out our Mid-Eastern States Itinerary.

Stop #1:  Natural Bridge | Natural Bridge, VA

Deemed the “Bridge of God” by the Monacan Indians, Natural Bridge was at one time owned by Thomas Jefferson….

…and surveyed by a young George Washington, who (according to legend) carved his initials into the stone under the bridge.

The scenic Cedar Creek Trail takes you past the bridge archway to Lace Falls…

as well as a re-creation of a Monacan Indian Village.

A local news channel interviewed us when we were at Natural Bridge. This may be the disadvantage advantage of being a boisterous family.  The reporter caught us off guard, and I even tried to talk him out of it as he attached the microphone to my shirt.  You know how the Bible says to always be ready to give an answer?  Well, I kind of felt like I wasn’t ready to give an answer in this particular situation.  Though my vocabulary reduced to that of a kindergartner, I did manage to say something.  (You can see the utter delight at this unexpected opportunity in my face below.) They’ve taken down the video – I wish I had saved it!

Natural Bridge was massive – at least double the size I thought it would be.  And I had no idea when we decided to work this into our schedule that there are several other things to do.  Included in the ticket price is admission to the Butterfly Gardens, Wax Museum, and Jefferson’s Playground (an arcade and sluice mine).  There’s also a night light demonstration at the archway called the “Drama of Creation.”  (We were there for about 3-4 hours and still did not see everything.)

Stop #2:  Foamhenge

Just outside of Natural Bridge on Hwy 11, you’ll see a sign for Foamhenge, a full-sized replica of Stonehenge made out of styrofoam.

It was a quick stop to see something fascinating, to say the least.

Stop #3:  Shenandoah Crossing Resort | Gordonsville, VA

This was a specific stop in mid-Virginia where we met up with our good friends from Florida.

We stayed in a yurt.  What’s a yurt?  Well…

Definition:  A circular tent of felt or skins on a collapsible framework, used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia, and Turkey. [and Virginia.]

It looks like this:

It’s like a tent but not.  Thankfully, this one was not collapsible, and it wasn’t made of felt or skins but, rather, some vinyl-ish type material. (Note:  Because it’s a tent, you just might have some gigantic ants accompanying you as part of your unique spend-the-night-in-a-yurt experience. When given the opportunity, we usually give up comforts to stay in weird structures like this. See the time we stayed in huge stone teepees in southern Kentucky.)

While at Shenandoah Crossing, we enjoyed taking Levi out on a kayak.  By “we,” I mean “our friend Chris…”

…because I was obviously taking pictures, and Gary was fishing with the other boys.

{Levi + fishing pole = get out of the way!}

We swam in the pools and played hockey miniature golf

and enjoyed the animals.

Mostly, we just spent time with our friends.

It was very fun, and… well, Tina, when are we doing this again?

Stop #4:  Monticello | Charlottesville, VA

Monticello was the home of Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States.  Jefferson designed and modified Monticello over a period of 40 years.  To see into his life, to take a look at all the gadgets, to observe his amazing ingenuity and scholarship, and to stroll through the gardens and fields – these all provided such a great aspect of American history for our family.

Although much of Monticello is geared towards adults, the tour guides were great at involving the children in their talks.  Monticello also offers “Exploring Monticello” pamphlets for children, and the education center includes interactive exhibits to learn about slave life, gadgets, and other specifics about life at Monticello.  Our boys enjoyed writing their names using a polygraph and even translated a secret code using a cipher wheel.

If you can’t make it to Monticello in person, visit the website!  For children, Classroom Monticello offers on-line activities and information about Jefferson and life on his estate.

Stop #5:  Mount Vernon | Mount Vernon, VA

Admission to George Washington’s estate includes the Mansion (a guided tour), the historic gardens and grounds, the blacksmith shop & slave quarters (with demonstrations), the pioneer farm, Washington’s tomb, the slave memorial & burial grounds, Washington’s distillery and gristmill, the education center (hands-on history exhibits), and the museum.  This place was incredible!

The interpretive historians explained how Washington’s innovative treading barn works.  [The costumed interpreters throughout Mount Vernon were so much fun!  If you go to Mount Vernon, you HAVE to sit a while and listen to Lady Washington.  The woman who acts as Martha is completely mesmerizing.  Honestly, I think the two older boys and I could have watched and listened to her all day!]

While we were observing some of the livestock, we witnessed first-hand the difference between city and country folks.  Let me reminisce…

The children from a local school walked up to the stables and covered up their noses shouting, “Ew! gross! it smells like a petting zoo! gross!” Levi walked up a few minutes later, inhaled deeply and grinned, “That smells good! It smells like horses!”

That’s my little farmer boy! [Not that we have a real farm, but that’s beside the point…]

Among other things, we also overheard a woman talking about how we wouldn’t want to pet the sheep because they are too dangerous.

*sigh*  [My thought:  We must be close to a really big city or something…]

Photos of the Upper and Lower Gardens:  I wonder if they have to battle hornworms?

I guess (for us) any trip to an old, historical house ends up with some sort of photo of the outhouse.

Public restrooms, anyone? [They were the nicest outhouses I’ve ever seen! I guess I forgot to include the ones from Monticello.]