31 Days of October: Day 16... Last Day of the Trip

You can read part 1 of this post here. You can read part 2 of this post here.

Our second morning at South Court Inn started out much the same way as our first except that the breakfast menu was even more decadent and we would be checking out after we ate.

MENU

Chocolate Chip Banana Mini Muffins

Port Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce

Sage Sausage

French Toast Croissant

Apple Syrup

Maple Syrup

Cream Puffs with Raspberry Coulis and Bitter Chocolate Sauce

After we left the Inn, we went to Luray Cavern. I'm not entirely sure what drove me to want to explore the cavern since I had just recently had a mishap in the cavern at Silver Dollar City. There was a sign at the entrance to the SDC cavern with a list of dos and don'ts, which included a description of both safe and unsafe footwear. I was wearing walking shoes... appropriate. Others were wearing sandals, flip-flops and dressy flats... not appropriate. Who was the ONLY person on that tour to slip and fall? You guessed it. I was! I fell on my keester for the whole group to see.

Now here we were at the entrance to Luray Cavern. No warning signs. No safety precautions. I should be safe, right? Wrong! Have you ever done a cavern tour? Number one rule... Don't Touch ANYTHING other than the rails. The oils from our skin will transfer to the formations rendering it impossible for deposits to attach themselves to the previous deposits. Stone steps and ramps. Metal handrails perched precariously close to ledges. Water dripping everywhere. Disaster waiting to happen. Who was the only one to slip and fall? You got it. I was! This time I managed to stay off the ground by catching myself... hands flat against a stalagmite, forever stunting its growth. What a klutz!

The photos below are random ones taken throughout the cavern...

 

Fortunately the portion of the group behind me had stopped to take pictures and didn't see the whole embarrassing ordeal. Almost needless to say, I was a nervous wreck for the rest of the tour.

Here are a picture of the stalagpipe organ and the plaque for its dedication.  Notice the quote at the bottom of the plaque.

After leaving the caverns we went to the Carriage and Car Museum there on the grounds. Cars and carriages aren't of particular interest to me, but in we went. Not as uninteresting as I had anticipated. I especially liked the child's goat cart. How fun!

Okay, whose idea was it to go through the garden maze? My feet were killing me but I tried to be a good sport. Tried. It was unseasonably hot outside but I tried to be a good sport. Tried. I sometimes get panicked when I am lost but I tried to be a good sport. Tried. Stewart can start his own blog if he wants to tell you his side of the story!

One last sight on our sights-to-see list. The Page County Museum. I love these little museums, especially seeing the items that people used in everyday life. So while my husband was checking out all the guns and Civil War paraphernalia, I was looking at the kitchen tools, children's toys, etc. There was also a one-room schoolhouse and an old Mennonite meeting house and about 3 or 4 other buildings that were being assembled for future tours. Worth the stop!

We decided to spend an extra night away from home so we stopped near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. No sight-seeing, no schedule, no nuthin! Just relaxing before heading back to reality. 

Me and my hubby....

I've loved the break from real life and I've loved telling you all about it. My husband and I haven't gone away from home, just the two of us, for the sole purpose of vacationing since 1992. I sure hope we don't wait another 20 years before doing it again! I definitely want to walk more parts of the Appalachian Trail even with the aching joints and muscles, the bruised toes, and the heaving breaths! I just plan to be in much better shape by then!!!!