The Hills Are Alive.....

We took a much needed vacation last week.

We didn't want to go far, so we spent the week at the Woodstone resort at the Massanutten ski area in VA. Overall, I would have to say our time there was great. I never feel like I spend enough time with Daleen and Colin and I was glad we could just get away as a family to do family stuff.

I was really surprised at how close the resort was to Richmond. It's less than two hours away in the Shenandoah Valley. And the trip up over the mountain was very scenic. It had been a long time since I had been up this particular road (Route 33). When my parents were dating, there was this house (more like a shack) just before you go up the mountain where the people living there always had their laundry hanging up on the front porch. When I was young and we went on this road, my parents would point out the house... and the laundry. I was happy to report to my folks that the house is still standing.. and yes, they still have their laundry hanging on the front porch.

The resort itself and the accomodations were really nice. We got a two bedroom condo right off the golf course. The first night, we just relaxed and unwound. We had a spa tub in our condo that would fit about six people, which I sat in until I was severely pruned up but nicely decompressed.

The next day, we decided to head back up the mountain to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. We headed north to an area called Big Meadows and parked there after making a few stops at some of the scenic overlooks. Colin was excited by all the deer walking around by the parking lot. I was not as excited as this was only due to people feeding them. But I have to admit, they were some plump looking deer, so people must be feeding them well. Anyhow, while there, we discovered there is a nice little trail called the "Story of the Forest Trail", which leaves from the parking lot. It was good because is was fairly flat and there are several markers along the trail which point out the various features of the trees and rocks. That trail then connects with Dark Hollow Falls trail, which we decided to follow so Colin could see a waterfall. The falls were really nice and of course, Colin wanted me to carry him back up from the falls on my shoulders which was good exercise for me. Then as we neared the Big Meadows parking area, there, in the middle of the trail, was a large female Black Bear and two of her cubs. I instantly made the decision that we would not be those idiots you read about in the paper, and sent Colin and Daleen back down the trail to Skyline Drive and figured we would walk back up the drive to the parking lot. Then of course, after they were safe, I became one of those idiots and whipped out my video camera. Sure it was probably a dumb move, but the footage was awesome!

Colin talked endlessly about the bears and how mommy and daddy were scared the rest of the day. I don't know that I was scared, but I definitely didn't feel like trying to find out how tame those bears were. On the other hand, Daleen and I really enjoyed our day in the park. We checked out the Big Meadows campground and Lodge. We are planning on putting a camping trip there on our to-do list.

Day three of our vacation consisted of a trip to Luray Caverns. After you accept the fact that it is a huge tourist trap, I guarantee you'll enjoy it. The formations are pretty unbelievable. It has been at least 20 years since the last time I was there, so it was pretty much like seeing it for the first time again. Daleen and Colin liked it a lot as well. Colin kept asking where the dinosaurs were! The only problem we had was that we took a picnic lunch for after the tour, but there are so many bees there, we basically had to sit in the car and eat. I have a severe problem with bees. So you can just imagine what people were thinking, watching me more or less jumping around, almost like I was doing some kind of interpretive dance, swatting with one hand, and holding a sandwich with the other.

The ride back from Luray was good though. Shenandoah National Park doesn't sell a one-day park pass. You have to buy a one-week pass for $15. Since we already spent the money the day before, we decided to cut back over to the park and go south on Skyline Drive back to the resort. Along the way, we saw another giant Black Bear and some gigantic whitetail bucks.

Day four of our trip was spent in the town of Harrisonburg. When you drive into the town, there is a sign that says they are "The Friendly City". We kind of chuckled when we saw that, but then we found out they mean exactly what they say. Everyone we met that day was so nice. We spent a lot of time at their Childrens Museum, which while small, rivals the massive Children's Museum in Richmond. We also made a trip to the Shenandoah Heritage Market where Daleen bought this huge quilt she's been looking for.

Then day five of our trip was spent at what was supposed to be the highlight of the vacation..... The Massanutten Indoor Water Park. This ended up being the biggest dissappointment of our time there. First of all, it was expensive. $86 for the three of us.... I am not making this up. That wasn't the bad part though. What dissappointed us the most is the people working at the waterpark were extremely unfriendly. Obviously they are not from Harrisonburg. Oh, and although the park is indoors, they must not have paid the heating bill, because we were freezing the entire time. We were going to stay at the resort for dinner, but because the people working there were so unpleasant, we decided to go back to Harrisonburg and get back to some folks that knew a thing or two about being nice. We ended up going to Cici's where everyone seemed happy. Along the way, we got rear-ended at a traffic light by a young girl. Not a scratch on the car and the poor girl was beyond extremely apologetic......... she's from Harrisonburg for sure.

We had a lot of other little adventures on our trip. Overall, it was a really relaxing vacation. Everyone had a great time and we connected as a family like we hadn't in a while. I was surprised at how much there is to do up in the Shenandoah Valley and inside the national park. If you're looking for a close and easy vacation, I would definitely recommend the Woodstone resort. We will be going back again sometime for sure. Just be sure to stay away from the waterpark.