Natural Bridge

When Matt and I got married we had a grand plan of how we would spend our weekends. One weekend in Harrisonburg, one sightseeing to local sights (day trips) and two at home. So far that has not been happening, but last weekend we did get got go sightseeing.

We drove about a half an hour north to see Natural Bridge. Natural Bridge was once owned by Thomas Jefferson, engraved upon by George Washington, and also listed as one of the 7 wonders of the natural world (though it is no longer on that list).


It is truly a gorgeous sight. The road at the top of the picture is route 11 (the road that parallels interstate 81). The river is a tributary of the James. The bridge is MASSIVE! The next picture shows Matt in front of the bridge to let you know the scale. It is said that this bridge is taller than the Niagara Falls.
Once we saw the bridge and did our required amount of oohs and ahhs, we went on the nature "hike" that is offered on the same trail.
We stopped by a spring that has a nice gazebo by it. We met a nice couple from Baltimore, MD who was nice enough to take this picture of us.
Soon after the spring we encountered a remake of an Indian village. They had people dressed as characters to answer questions. It was a lot of fun to walk around and see what life might have been back then, at this location.
At the end of the nature trail "hike" we got to see the waterfall. It was a nice leisure walk and a lovely to spend a Saturday.After we returned from the hike we went to the toy museum which is also on the grounds. We went through the museum saying (about every two minutes) "I had one of those" or "I remember that!" It was fun. Then we went through the Wax Museum. The Wax Museum was creepy, informative, and fun. Matt and I actually learned a bit about American history through the museum. If you have a chance you should go to Natural Bridge and the local museums (which are included in the ticket :)

After we left....tired, happy, and hungry we decided to stop off at Buchanan, VA to get some food from the Burger King. Little did we know that it was not only a good place for food, but it was also their annual weekend for Civil War reenactment. So we sat, relaxed, ate, and then found a nice spot to watch a scrimmage. North came to "invade" the south went after them with guns, then came the cannons, finally came the men on horses with swords. It was loud, hot and a great surprise. We did not expect to have this addition to our road trip but it was very fun (I have never been to a reenactment).

What a great and surprising weekend. We only expected to see a bridge, yet we had the joy to see so much more.

Friends

This past Sunday Matt and I had the chance to visit some friends that we have not had much of a chance to see in about a year. Last summer we went to Smith Mountain Lake to visit Cris and Andrea, friends from our church in Harrisonburg.

We have seen and talked to each of them off and on for the past year, but this past Sunday we took the trek up the mountain to visit them at their house.

We had a great time talking, having target practice, eating, playing games, and talking some more. We left with with full bellies, much laughter, a mint tea start, and the feeling that we were a bit closer to our friends.

Sing Along!

I think that it is about time for a "Sing Along" Blog! So everyone come sit by the campfire, and join in on the sing along. I know that you know the tune, I hope that you pick up on the words pretty quickly and as you read this blog...I hope to hear your beautiful singing.




Here we go...

"Mister Daniels"

Mister Daniels had a farm
E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had an
Onion
E-I-E-I-O
With an.....(uh, what sound does an onion make?)

Let's try this again...

Mister Daniels had a farm
E-I-E-I-O
And on that farm he had a
Pepper
E-I-E-I-O
With an....(ok, what sound does a pepper make?)

I guess that our "farm" does not go too well with this song, but we now have onions, peppers, broccoli, peas, and spinach all planted into our garden! Once the frost danger has past we will plant the rest of the of our garden or what is becoming more like a farm :)

Hiking

It was a beautiful day in Roanoke on Sunday. So Matt and I decided to try out a hiking trail that we had just found out about that is about 2 miles from our house. It is hard to believe that something so beautiful and undeveloped is so close to neighborhoods, Walmart, Lows, etc. But it is there.We were told that the hike was moderate to strenuous. Looking at the start of the trail, it does not look that bad. It is 1.9 miles to the lookout and is supposed to take about 3 hours to hike. So we had the information, were following the blue blazes, and we were on our way.


We saw some very small waterfalls along the way, we think that it might be water from Tinker creek.
Beautiful flowers, budding bushes and trees, and blocked views were a common thing along the trail. We would like to hike this again to see it when everything is green and growing.
My shutterbug (my loving husband who loves to take pictures) was constantly stopping to take pictures of flowers, leaves, rocks, views, me, pretty much anything that he could point his camera at, he took a picture of. It is a good thing that digital cameras were invented :)
At the top we found a couple who were willing to take a picture of us with the gorgeous scenery.
Isn't this amazing?
What a view! And to think, it was only 2 miles from our house. Just to show that you do not have to go very far to see the true beauty that God has made.

Then, from the top we headed down...and I decided that it might be fun to run down the mountain. So we ran down most of the trail (we walked down the stone steps, strange curves, and the bridge that was covered with water). It was so much fun, but our legs can feel it today.

Back home we quickly prepared and had a wonderful dinner at our house with our neighbors the Underwoods.