Weekend Getaway

A couple of weekends ago Nana and Pops volunteered to take the boys so Bryan and I could have some relxing time without them. I was very excited--this could not have come at a better time. My job has me at my wit's end, the kids were getting on my very last nerve, and I feel like I never get to see Bryan due to our crazy work schedules. At first I started looking for good weekend deals for a Las Vegas getaway, or even Atlantic City. Thankfully, Bryan pulled me in and reminded me that even though it would be cool to hit Vegas for the weekend, it would be such a rush to get there, play hard, and come back that it wouldn't be relaxing at all.

So we pointed the car toward the mountains and drove without plans. We stayed off all the interstates and major highways and took in the view. We drove by beautiful Lake Anna and realized it just might be the place to invest in a future family vacation spot. When my parents come up for Labor Day weekend we may go check it out again. Anyway, Bryan & I ended up at Luray Caverns that afternoon.

I've been through Cave of the Winds in Colorado, Mystic Caverns in Arkasnsas, and a few small caves carved out in Palo Duro Canyon Texas--but none of them were as pretty as Luray. When the weather gets cooler and all the summer tourists are gone, we plan to take the kids. We did have one funny glitch there--Bryan ran into our neighbors in the gift shop bathroom! Stalkers... (just kidding!)

After driving through the little town of Luray and not finding any hotels we felt like staying in, we drove on down the road to Blacksburg--home of Virginia Tech. This was the first time I'd been to Blacksburg, so I was excited to see the home of the big East Coast college football team that everyone around here seems to talk about. We stayed the night there and visited the campus in the morning. And what a beautiful campus it was! All the buildings are built to the same theme--like huge, stone castles with giant wooden doors. Kind of reminded me of Hogwart's (I know, I am a dork.) It was just beautiful surrounded by trees and mountains--I would love for one of our boys to go to school there just so I could visit! And it snows there in the winter--just gorgeous...

Since it was Sunday, we had to start making our way back home to get ready for the next workday. Our final stop before picking up the kids was the Natural Bridge. George Washington actually carved his initials in the side of this thing--he carved so deep that it's still there today. Amazing.
And here's a rather unflattering photo of us in front of it (no, I'm not preggers--that's just how this shirt fits).
So we had a great weekend getaway in the mountains while the kids spent quality time with their grandparents. And thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Nana & Pops for doing this for us--we really needed it!!