Although housework and laundry loudly beckoned, we treated ourselves to a wonderful family trip to Shenandoah Caverns to see all of the four attractions that it offered for one price.
These Caverns were found by two boys who used a rope to scale down over two hundred feet through a dark hole they found on their father's farm! Many improvements have been made since then. The elevator that we took down to the cavern has been in continuous use for over eighty years!
We all had a great time on the guided tour and became fast friends with another family on the tour with us. We traversed a great distance, over a mile, and saw many interesting sights. The temperature is a steady 55 degrees inside. At one point our guide turned off all the lights and we were able to experience "Cave Darkness" where one cannot see one's hand placed directly in front of one's face!
This formation is a stalagmite and a stalactite growing toward each other. They are just one water drop apart from each other.
The next exhibit, Main Street of Yesteryear, was comprised of old storefront window displays of whimsical animated figures that still move!
This is a fantasy land of fairy tales like Cinderella having the shoe put on her foot above.
Hansel and Gretel at the Gingerbread House.
Next we enjoyed the farm animals outside. This fancy chicken is the occupant of a very beautiful coop!
The Yellow Barn is the third exhibition at this family attraction. This gorgeous space is part museum and part country store. Many different types of old wheeled carriages having been lovingly restored are on display here. They are well painted and outfitted with props from the time period. The Ideal Bread cart delivered bakery goods to homes and was pulled through the streets by a pony when it was originally in use.
This giant woodland creature decoration was at least two stories high. This finished and gorgeously decorated warehouse-sized space is rented out for concerts and wedding receptions.
The most exciting part of our trip, was having Sam get STUCK in a children's hippopotamus. He crawled in backwards and wound up getting his hips and knees held tight because of the angles. He was in pain briefly because of the pinching and became claustrophobic and justifiably concerned! He was beginning to freak out as we all tried to figure out how to get him out of there! I was praying aloud while Larry wondered if we were going to have to buy the Hippo! Jon decided to get the cameras rolling because this problem took some time to solve! Sam was able to calm himself and realized that his phone in his pocket was hanging things up.
We were all trying not to laugh because it was so funny but also sooo scary! After he threw his phone out in front of him (which Patience grabbed in a heartbeat!), he changed some angles and was finally able to wiggle free! Whew, that was a close one!!! I really thought that we would need to cut the hippo up to get him out. Thank you, Lord!
We continued to laugh about this part of our adventure for hours!
The wooden beams over top in the building supported working trains that traveled around. You can see the train on the second beam back.
This old fashioned Barber Shop display caught my eye.
The fourth exhibit that came with our admission was "America on Parade". In this additional fully finished warehouse, massive parade floats previously used in The Rose Bowl and Inaugural Parades are on display.
I was overwhelmed with admiration for the father and son team, Earl Hargrove Jr and Sr, who are responsible for collecting and restoring all of these fascinating pieces of Americana. I am amazed at their talent and the generosity, passion and commitment to excellence evident in assembling and maintaining this spectacular display. What a hobby!!! The entire Shenandoah Caverns is their own work and it is filled with their exquisitely restored collections which they share with the public. What a great use of time, talent and treasure!
This display was of definite interest to me because of the great honor our extended family member has received in being invited to be present when the 68th anniversary of Iowa Jima is celebrated next month in Japan. Imagine my astonishment when I got home from seeing this that evening to read in the paper that it was on this exact day that the flag was raised by five Marines and a Navy corpsman on the island of Iowa Jima. This image is an icon of World War Two. In 1945, it took more than a month to secure the island in a brutal fight to the death. The United States did win through the valiant efforts of our heroic forces, 27 of whom received the Medal of Honor for their bravery there.
This was a most wonderful day filled with interesting, beautiful and inspirational sights. I would recommend this destination to any family or couple looking to spend the day together. It was worth every penny paid!
We were able to top our day off with a fabulous meal of homemade bacon cheeseburgers and terrific fries at a family owned Diner located 5 miles down the road.
Thank you, Lord ,for a safe trip and a lovely day to remember!
