First- a few Sunday pics-
On Tuesday night Marc had a football game. Tucker and big Marc went to Troops so Charlie didn't have his buddy to follow around. He would go and sit apart in a thoughtful manner. :)
Wednesday evening after horseback riding we headed off on our trip to Virginia to see Memaw and Pawpaw. Charlie kept "helping me pack" by jumping in our suitcase.
We stopped at an Embassy Suites in Knoxville that was much nicer than most.
And yes, Mommy drives so Daddy can work. He even takes conference calls on the way.
We made our way to Natural Bridge, Va, which was first owned by Thomas Jefferson. I have been wanting to take the children here for years. Herman Melville alluded to the bridge in describing Moby-Dick: “But soon the fore part of him slowly rose from the water; for an instant his whole marbleized body formed a high arch, like Virginia’s Natural Bridge…”
There is a beautiful walk down to the bridge-
The pictures do not do the bridge justice. It is magnificent. A highway runs across the top of it.
There are beautiful walking trails when you pass through the bridge. It takes you to a replicated Indian village.
There were guides to tell us what everything was and how it was used.
We also went to the old saltpeter mine used during the War of 1812 and the Civil War for collecting raw materials for gunpowder production,
We were so happy to stay at the historic Natural Bridge hotel.
It had a beautiful view of the mountains and the Natural Bridge Visitor's Center-
We had dinner at The Red Fox at the hotel. It was delicious and a beautiful restaurant.
After dinner we went back to the bridge to see the evening light show- The Drama of Creation and Bridge Illumination. The show has been here since 1927- my grandparents came to see it when they were seniors in high school. :) It was very beautiful to hear the story of creation and the classical music while watching the lights.
Poor little Sharshee feel fast asleep on day 2 of creation. :)
The next day we had the most beautiful drive to Poplar Forest- the vacation home of Thomas Jefferson. I said that we should always come up here in October- fall is gorgeous in the Blue Ridge Mountains!
We arrived and did the tour of Poplar Forest, an octagonal vacation home designed by Thomas Jefferson. It is not furnished- they have stripped it down to show you how the home was built. It is built with incredible precision and thought.
We had a wonderful tour guide and learned a lot. After shopping in the gift shop we headed over to Memaw and Pawpaw's for lunch. I'm so glad we made time to see these sights.
