Day 2: Natural Bridge, VA

Day 2: Natural Bridge, VA

Griffin slept till 8 (wow! Vacation time!) and then reveled in the chance to watch cartoons while we slept a little longer.  Then we lazily got ourselves together and hit the breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant, a nice, old fashioned, kind of formal dining room that was nonetheless very kid-friendly. They had given Griffin a little “passport” book for the complex, with things to fill out on each page as we did different activities, with stamps that the hotel staff had at each stage. So he started working on that. Eventually, before we left, he’d completed all the pages/steps, and brought it back to the reception desk. The super nice lady at reception told him he’d earned a prize from the “treasure chest,“ so she brought out a treasure chest filled with oriental trading type toys, which he got to joyfully pick from. I mean every single person who worked at this place was just so crazy nice I couldn’t get over it!

We headed back down the 137 stairs to the pavilion and then through the natural bridge entrance. The bridge is right there, they make it seem like it’s this huge strenuous hike. But it’s totally not.  It IS, however, really awesome.  It’s also super old and full of history- apparently George Washington himself, hung out here a bunch, and later Thomas Jefferson brokered the purchase of the land and a large surrounding area, from the French, for something like $2.40.  In the photos you can see lots of benches, because they do a lot of historical lectures here, and also weddings. It really would be a great spot for a wedding.

Signs said to beware of falling rock, and they had hard hats available as an option. Griffin loved that! 

Beyond the bridge, they’ve set up a “living museum” of a Monacan village, which is the native American tribe that is from the area. It’s really well done, and even Griffin found it interesting. After that is another half mile hike or so through the woods along the river, to a waterfall. Great for wild little city boys to run along, get a whiff of nature, and wear themselves out.

From there, we continued on to the natural caverns, which go 33 stories underground and are pretty darn cool. Griffin loved it, and at 45 minute or so for the tour, it was just the right length.

And then….we loaded up some snacks, packed up the car and headed out, about 2pm.  Griffin was asleep within a half hour, leaving Steve and I some peace and quiet to enjoy the scenic mountain drive South.