Today we headed out to Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where Aunt Grace grew up, to attend Aunt Grace and Uncle Jim’s church (Zion’s Christian Church) in Maurertown, about an hour away. After church, we visited with some members of their congregation who explained (with heavy Virginian accents) the art of making Apple Butter which we got to sample. Hopefully, we’ll be able to replicate it’s yummy goodness when we get home. We made a stop for lunch at the Woodstock Cafe (the “other” Woodstock) and had the 81 Pileup. Biscuits with eggs, cheese, bacon, grilled onions, red-skinned roasted potatoes, and cream chipped beef gravy that we just couldn’t get enough of.
The first stop, after lunch, was at Woodstock Tower in George Washington National Park, to look over the valley and take in the bends of the Shenandoah River. Second stop, Luray Caves. For me, these caves are similar to the Mount Timpanogas cave that I grew up visiting. Luray is not a National Park; it’s privately owned and has a gift shop attached. You drive up to the entrance, pay a fee, and take an hour tour that is almost a mile long. It is quite a large cavern and there are many impressive rock formations of stalactites, stalagmites, and columns. In one area of the caves, where weddings occur, there is an organ that has tiny piano hammers hooked up to various stalactites to create notes. It was pretty cool to see and hear. After the tour, we took Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park. This drive through the Appalachians had many impressive views of the valley and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such a beautiful drive! We can only imagine how much more beautiful it would be when the large variety of deciduous trees are covered in leaves. Finally home and ready to relax, and spend more time visiting.
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