On the way down to the Lu Ray Caverns in Virginia we found the perfect place to stop for lunch: Hershey, Pennsylvania! We rolled down the windows as we approached Hershey and you could smell yummy chocolate from miles away! The town is much smaller than I expected and to be honest, there’s not much to see besides the park and chocolate factory. Because we are going to Dollywood later this week, we decided to pass on Hershey park (one amusement park a trip is plenty)! But we did stop at the museum to look around and of course we bought some yummy chocolate!
The kids are documenting everything on their Fugi Intax mini 9 cameras and making fantastic scrapbooks!
Look how cool! the lamp shades in town are Hershey kisses!
I can’t think of a better photo can you?! (P.S. Kingsley refused to brush her hair this morning. Awesome… she just might have dreads at the end of this trip. Stay tuned!
From Hershey, we headed south to the Lu Ray Caverns in Virginia. It was about a 3 hour drive (or short nap depending on where you are sitting in the Car… I’m in the back and got a good hour+ nap in!) When you pull off the highway, you realize looks can be deceiving. We thought the first town was were the caverns were located but it was in fact another 14 miles uphill to the actual town of Lu Ray. And let me tell ya… there aint much there! When I was searching for places to stay the night, everything looked pretty dated so I decided on driving another 30 mins down 81 south to a town named Harrisonburg. Best decision ever, Harrisonburg is the happening spot! They had an Olive Garden AND a Waffle House! Woohoo!
Anyway, the town of Lu Ray is tiny and the Caverns are its main attraction. You can access a self guided tour through the caverns that last about an hour (depending on how fast you walk and how many photos you stop and take)! It really is unbelievable to think that these formations have been around since before dinosaurs existed !! After you finish the tour, there are some cute shops, picnic areas, a museum and a vineyard. They also have some fun interactive adventures for the kids and the whole family. One of which was a garden Maze! OMG… I have always wanted to do a corn maze but the kids were too little or scared. But the Garden Maze was so fun! We had a blast and it was the perfect thing for us all to do after a long day in the car! We finished our day with dinner at Outback Steakhouse.. ha ha .. I haven’t been there in maybe 20 years. But it’s a chain restaurant after all so I knew we would all find something to eat. Tomorrow it’s on to the Biltmore hotel in Ashland, North Carolina- over the river and though the Blue Ridge Mountains we go. I have to say, its only been the first day and it feels absolutely fantastic to be on this adventure with my parents and kids! Next year Josh will have to take time off work to join us!
