Blue Ridge Parkway

 On our way home from Tennessee we wanted to take the Blue Ridge Parkway. This beautiful road winds it way from Cherokee,NC to Shenandoah N.P..  It is 469 very LONG miles.  
The weather was turning bad so we decided only drive about 100 miles and save the rest for another trip. 

The trees were past peak and  the leaves were 

"snowing" down on us as we drove along the road.  

 As we drove to lower elevations the colors began to show up again.  There were many tunnels along the road.  In most of them you could see the light at the end of the tunnels, but in some you could not.  It was pitch black and kind of scary to drive through them.  

 We stopped to hike Linville Falls.  The falls fell through a rocky gorge along the river.  

Can you see how the river carved out the rocks?  Pretty cool!

 Marby Mill was an old grist mill from the 1800's.  They made grits/grain and milled lumber.  They had a trail through the property and during the summer season they have people in character explaining life in the 1800's. 

They even had a moonshine still in the woods!

Before all the rain started to fall we had a nice 

drive along the parkway.  

We cut our trip short and headed home. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day! 

Lighted Boat Parade

Earlier this month we went to Alexandria, Virginia for their annual boat boat parade.  I had never been to a boat parade before.

Boats from around the local harbors on the Potomac River, dress up their boats with lights and decorations. 

I really like the reflections the lights made on the water.  

Pretty BLUE!

This sailboat was a fun one.  I liked the lights and its seventies theme.  

This little snowman was being pulled by a sailboat, CUTE!

These guys were a bit nuts.  They had a Hawaiian theme and the people were dressed in hula skirts and bathing suits.  Brrrrrrrrrr

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Autumn Glory

I think fall is my new favorite season. We don’t get enough snow here in Virginia to really enjoy winter. At our new house we are surrounded by trees. They have turned bright yellows, reds and oranges. So pretty!

Since we live only an hour from the Shenandoah Mountains, we took a day trip to drive Skyline Drive.

Of course we had to take the top down and enjoy the crisp fall weather!  The roads curved from one side of the mountain to the other.

Along the road there are pull off places to take in the views. 

We hike the Stoney Man trail.  The trail was kind of boring.  Until you get to the end and see THIS:

We climbed out to the edge of the rocks and took in the view.  You could see for a few miles in each direction.  The colors looked fabulous from up here.

Another trail we took was Dark Hollow Falls trail.  This is a pretty strenuous trail (for me).  It took you along a small creek all the way to the bottom of the falls.  You get down there and then realize you have to climb ALL the way back up.  UGH!  I exercise at least four times a week and this trail kicked my behind.

Thank goodness I have an understanding hubby who lets me stop and rest.  Thanks BABE! 

We drove 50 miles of the 109 miles in the park.  Maybe next year we can cover the next 50???   On the way out of the park we saw this black bear.  It was far away, but I got a pretty good shot with my zoom! 

Thanks for stopping by………………………..

In Our Neighborhood

Stonewall Jackson received his nickname at this battle.

Right down the road from our house is the Mannasas Battlefields.  Michael and I bought a yearly pass so we can hike all the different trails. 

Henry House

 The Stone Bridge trail is my favorite so far.  We took Blue with us on this one.  It climbs a small hill

and then travels along the river.

A friend we saw along the trail.

Thanks for stopping by.........................

Williamsburg Layouts

I tried a new way to scrapbook this week.  I used divided page protectors . They are similar to photo albums, but you can custimize the slots with papers, stickers, titles...... 

I found this way of scrapping easy if you have a bunch of pictures from a big trip.  You can get them down and in a book pretty quickly.

It helps to focus on the photos and not worry about all the foo foo stuff. 

 I love linar things so this fit me well.

 I like traveling to historcal places.  I didn't really pay attention in history

class, so I find this stuff really interesting. 

It was also Christmas time and the historical area was decoarted with these beautiful wreaths.

 All of the people in historical clothing played like they were back in the 1700's. 

 It was very imformative.

 You can click on the pictures to see a close up of the pages.

Thanks for stopping by....................

Big Hole in the Ground

Today we went to visit a local Virginia attraction, Luray Caverns  At first I thought it might be just a tourist trap.  It was truly an amazing site to see.

It was dicovered back in 1878, by farmers.  They found a hole in the ground and found the caverns below.

This is a lake only 20 inches deep.  You are looking at a reflection of the ceiling.  Pretty cool, right?

They illuminated the pathway with candles.

I found this sign funny:)

This pond of water is called the Wishing Well.  People throw in coins and make a wish.  Then once a year the area is drained and the money collected.  It is given to local charities.

Named Fried Eggs

Well it turned out to be a HUGE hole in the ground.  I highly recommend checking this place out if you are in the area.  Thanks for stopping by.