Luray Caverns

Our hotel, Days Inn, isn't that great but we made it through the night okay.   No fridge or microwave or even a coffee pot!  Old tv and just plain old.  Got breakfast at McDonald's and drove 12 miles to Luray Caverns.   It opened at 9:00 and we got there at 8:30.  We were the ONLY car in this huge parking lot!  We walked to the ticket window to the sounds of piped in music.   It was a scene from "Wally World" or Shrek and Farquaad's Duloc.   It was hilarious! !!

We walked around the grounds and then got in line.   We were the only ones until the last minute and then 9 more people came in.  It was a nice small group and our little teenage tour guide (Lexie) started us down 70 steps to the awesomeness of the Caverns.  It really is awesome!   Those stalagmites and stalactites form 1 inch every 120 Years!  And one formation was 1 inch every 300 Years...and it was huge!  We saw so much history because these Caverns have been forming for millions of years.  If you get a chance you must see it.

After the 1 hour tour we climbed back out and we saw a great toy museum showing toys from the 1800's through present day.  It was nice remembering the toys we grew up with.   Next door was The Car and Carriage Caravan.  Here were vintage cars and carriages and bicycles from a carriage in the 1800's all through the 1910's.   Benz, Rolls Royce, Ford, Etc......beautifully restored.   Leather, mahogany, steel finishes and candle lanterns and just gorgeous workmanship.   I kept thinking of Uncle Bill and Jay Leno.
Next door to this was The Garden Maze and it was our favorite! !!!  Think Harry Potter and the maze he went through.   It was so much fun.  You had to find 4 "Goals" and stamp your card each time.  We split up but David and I ended up together and he was like a bloodhound and found the goals so quickly!    Bill missed Goal #1 and then we all got separated.  David made it out easily while we floundered for awhile.   Finally made it out and we thanked our lucky stars! :)
The next thing was the Luray Museum which was well done recording the history of the area.   So, we finished our day at 1:00 and drove the very twisty road back.  Stopped at a Walmart and got some cheese, crackers and fruit and ate lunch at the hotel.   Took naps and are ending our day quietly in the hotel.   Tomorrow is our trip to Manassas to see Liz.