I guess I could call this post What I did on my summer vacation (last year). I’m writing it now because I’m not quite sure what we should do this year! Joshua’s last day of school is Friday, Sophie’s already out, and vacation time fast approacheth. Every year, we pretty much go on vacation to the same place: my parents’ house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Because it’s free, my mom cooks, and they offer Grandma & Grandpa child care! Plus, there’s tons to do around there, and it’s gorgeous. Pictured above is Natural Bridge, which is…a natural bridge. (Which was once owned by Thomas Jefferson!) An amazing stone bridge that just naturally occurred. And, is actually used as a real bridge as well. I’ve been there twice as an adult, and once or twice as a child, and it never fails to absolutely bowl me over. My kids loved it, too. It’s somewhere you REALLY need to see in your lifetime. Put it on your bucket list!
There’s also a creek that runs right alongside the trail at Natural Bridge, and the trail leads to a waterfall. When we were almost to the falls, we saw an honest-to-goodness REAL live baby otter! It was sooo awesome! We were seriously giddy over it. We love watching the otters at our local children’s museum, and to see a real one was just amazing!
There are also a few other attractions at Natural Bridge. The folks at the Lexington & Rockbridge County Visitors Center gave me two free tickets because I am a super famous blogger (seriously, tweet about where you are going on vacation and see what happens!), and we paid for the kids’ admission. We loved the butterfly house they have there, and they also have a fun toy museum, which was really more fun for Bobby and I than for the kids because it had all sorts of toys we had when we were young. (I wouldn’t pay for the toy museum on its own, but as part of the package deal it was cool.) There are also some caverns nearby you can take a tour in, and it’s pretty fantastic. It’s the second time I’ve taken the tour through there, and the first time was pre-claustrophobia so I did enjoy it more the first time. But it was still neat and I am glad we took the kids! They really liked it a lot. I couldn’t get any decent photos inside the caverns with my phone camera, but here is an awesome one another visitor took on Flickr.
Finally, we had one more local adventure in Rockbridge County. The Virginia Safari Park!! This is a park where you drive through and buy buckets of food and wild, exotic animals come up to you car window and eat from your bucket or hand. WHAT?? I was skeptical, nervous, and OK – scared. But we ended up LOVING it! Adults and kids alike – we thought it was the coolest thing we’d ever done!
The camels totally stole our feed buckets. But it was still REALLY cool. Also, one of the camels ate the ENTIRE bucket. Like, the food inside and then the actual BUCKET! Dag, yo!
So, that’s the fun we had on our vacation LAST year. But unlike Emily, I don’t enjoy planning vacations, so I am not sure what side adventures we will take on our mountain vacation THIS year. But I know whatever we do, it will be fun! How could you not have fun with this crew?
Where are YOU vacationing with the family this summer? I could use some ideas!
You could take a side trip to Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Williamsburg area; plenty of kid activities ie aquarium, water park, museums plus of course the beach. Williamsburg has a lot of historical interest.
Laurel, that is where Emily is going this year!!! So we will likely do that next year after she guinea pigs it for us this year and tells us where & where not to go! 🙂
Throw in a night of tent camping for some adventure! Moms hate it but kids love it.
I don’t know exactly what part of Virginia you’re headed to, but Washington D.C. might also make for a good side trip.
This year we are headed to fabulous New Jersey in early August to visit family. In late August we’re taking a quick trip to the beach in Destin, FL to recover from said trip to New Jersey.
I am more of an INDOOR girl… 🙂
…and of course there’s the Stonewall Jackson, birthplace of your favorite UP!
Sounds like a great trip! Isn’t Shenandoah National Park around there? We went there years ago to hike. And the Monticello. Both were beautiful. I’m a little obsessive when it comes to planning vacations. We leave for California soon and I am about to bust with excitement.
I loooove Virginia! My brother and sister in law live in a little beach community on the Potomac called Fairview Beach. It’s near Fredericksburg (lots of history like Williamsburg), and is also near DC. Perfect balance of Nature + History + Big City! We went there for vacation two summers ago…
This year we’re going to Chicago and to Minnesota for a family reunion. Not as monumental as last year’s Universal Studios (Wizarding World of Harry Potter yayyyy) and beach trip but still tons of fun. I always try to go to at least one museum no matter where we go (or a historical marker/national park, etc.) I am the female Clark W. Griswold. 😉
Chrissy you and my MOM. I’ll never forget a torturous stop at the Musuem of the Appalachias on a trip home from a vacation once… 🙂
That’s why your mom is awesome. Fact: I am currently a volunteer intern (in the archives and collections) at said Museum of Appalachia in Norris, TN. 🙂
That. is. AMAZING!! I am sure I’d love it more now than I did when I was 6!
I would head over to Outer Banks, NC if I were you! We’ve stayed in Corolla, NC many times, and you can’t beat the prices to rent a house with a PRIVATE POOL for a week. Split the rental cost with your family or friends to get a really great deal. Also, if you’re booking now for this summer you can get some great last minute deals (like this one: http://www.brindleybeach.com/rental/house.html?ID=509&User=BRIN2742&Avail=20130616&Stay=7). Since we still have little kids, we love this kind of vacation where you can swim all day, cook your own meals, and walk over to the beach only when you are mentally prepared to deal with the sandy mess your kids will become. Also naptime is so much easier when you can lay your kids down inside the house, and then go back out to swim or soak up some sun! Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now. We leave for our Outer Banks vacation in a week! Can you tell I’m excited?!
Suzanne we are strongly considering a 2-night side trip there this summer during our regular Virginia stay just to check it out!