Touring Caves and Caverns

Luray Caverns, with Lora, is known for its profuse variety of formations and unsurpassed natural color.
Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is a commercial cave just west of Luray, Virginia, United States, which has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The underground cavern system is generously adorned with speleothems, including columns, mudflows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools.
Visited Luray Caverns on 12/19/2012. 

Forbidden Caverns Sevier
One of the most popular attractions in Sevier County is the Forbidden Caverns, which are an underground cave that stretches a half-mile.
Visited Forbidden Caverns 9/29/2014

Forbidden Caverns, Sevier County, Tennessee 

Cathedral Caverns, Grant, Alabama
8/13/2014 

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO 
8/13/12012

Fantastic Caverns, Springfield, MO
Fantastic Caverns is a show cave located in Springfield, Missouri. Fantastic Caverns is the only cave in North America to offer a complete ride-through tour lasting 55 minutes, conducted on a Jeep-drawn tram. The trams drive along the path left behind by an ancient underground river. Tram occupants are encouraged to touch a particular section of low-ceiling dead stalactites.

Cathedral Caverns Grant, Alabama 
Cathedral Caverns State Park is a publicly owned recreation area and natural history preserve located in Kennamer Cove, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Grant and 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Woodville in Marshall County, Alabama. The state park's main feature, first known as Bat Cave, was developed as a tourist attraction in the 1950s. Cathedral Caverns was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1972 and opened as a state park in 2000

Desoto Caverns
4/19/2009

Desoto Caverns 

Desoto Caverns
DeSoto Caverns is a series of caves and a tourist attraction located in Childersburg, Talladega County, Alabama. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is touted as "Alabama's Big Cave". 

Mammoth Cave Bowling Green, KY
7/23/2007
Mammoth Cave National Park is a U.S. National Park in central Kentucky, encompassing portions of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave system in the world. Since the 1972 unification of Mammoth Cave with the even longer system under Flint Ridge to the north, the system has been known as the Mammoth-Flint Ridge Cave System. The park was established as a national park on July 1, 1941.

Lost Sea Entrance 
8/29/2006

Lost Sea Cave, Sweetwater, Tennessee 
Your Lost Sea adventure begins with a guided tour of the caverns. This involves a ¾-mile round-trip walk on wide, sloping pathways. While touring the caverns and underground lake, our guides will tell of the cavern's exciting and colorful history. They will also explain the fascinating geological development of the immense cavern rooms and rare formations. At the bottom of the cave, you will board a glass-bottom boat for an exciting trip on the Lost Sea, America's Largest underground lake.

Marvel Cave
Marvel Cave is a National Natural Landmark located just west of Branson, Missouri, on top of Roark Mountain in Stone County. The cave was known by the Osage Indians in the early 16th century after a tribe member fell through the cave's main entrance, a sinkhole. There is evidence that the Spanish explored the cave in 1541, but the first recorded expedition was in 1869, led by Henry T. Blow. The unofficial Stone County chapter of the Bald Knobbers, a local vigilante group, was rumored to have taken people to the top of Roark Mountain and thrown them into the sinkhole.

Marvel Cave at Silver Dollar City
11/11/2001

Ruby Falls 
8/9/2009

Ruby Falls
Ruby Falls is a 145-foot-high underground waterfall located within Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee.

🚗2012 ~December 18-19, Eighteen hour drive home from Hartford, Connecticut

Day 1: Tuesday, December 18, 2012

We left the house at 3:15 A.M. and headed to Nashville, TN. I arrived at 5:15. The flight, which left at 6:15 A.M., was flight 2315. I sat next to the window, and a young black man sat in the middle seat. We talked, and he said he lived in Nashville but was looking to move to Virginia. He had a couple of small children, and his mother was a schoolteacher for special needs children.

The morning sunrise in Maryland

We landed in MD, and the young black man got off the plane.
I moved a couple of seats up, and an older couple sat down beside me. The man sat in the middle, and his wife sat at the end (I think she was the boss of the tw;o); he talked my head off. He said he sold hospital equipment, and he was having a Christmas party when he arrived home. He asked me if I wanted to go to his party. I said that we were leaving Hartford as soon as we landed and that my daughter and I were going to New York. The plane landed, and I said goodbye to the couple. I then walked to the baggage claim to collect my luggage. My daughter was late as usual picking me up. 

We filled up with gas at BP, 3500 Conner St, Bro,nx, NY 10475 (I remember this station because the last time we went to NY, my daughter used the restroom here).

My flight arrived in Hartford at 10:40 A.M., and my daughter and I left Hartford, CT, driving to Staten Island, NY. 

Traveling through New York 

Traveling through New York 

We took I-95 south through Meridian, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford, CT, and crossed into New Jersey at Fort Lee. We then crossed the New Jersey Turnpike on I-95, crossing back into NY. We were going to stay at 310 Wild Wood Ave, Staten Island, but the rate was $150 a night, and there was no shuttle on Tuesdays to the Staten Island Ferry. 

We asked at the desk of  Wild Wood AV Staten Island Inn where we could find a good local place to eat that is nearby. They suggested West Shore Inn Steakhouse, but it was closed for a Christmas Party. The other place they suggested was Mike's Unicorn Diner, 2944 Victory Blvd, NY.

Eating a salad at Mike Unicorn Dine, Staten Island, NY

Mike's Unicorn Din, er Staten Island, NYMike's

Kes Unicorn Diner, Staten Island, NY 

Mike's Unicorn Dine, Staten Island, NY 

At Mike's Unicorn Diner, we ordered water with lemon. We shared a plate of fried filet of sole, salad, rolls, green beans, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, cheesecake, pasta, and beets, accompanied by bread. It was more than enough to feed two people. After we finished eating, we decided not to go back to New York, so we headed toward Washington, D.C. 

We took I-278 over to I-95. It took us 3 hours and 16 minutes to get from New York to Maryland.

We stopped at 702 W 34th ST. Baltimore, Marylan,d to see the Christmas lights on Keswick Rd and Chestnut Street.

The entire block was decorated for the Christmas holiday, featuring movable, indoor, and outdoor displays.

 People were scurrying up and down the block. 

Christmas lights, Miracle of 34 S,t Hampden, Baltimore, Maryland 

Christmas lights Miracle of 34, St. Hamp,n Baltimore, Maryland 

Christmas lights, Miracle of, 4 St. H, Hampden, Baltimoreee, Maryland.  

Christmas, lights, Miracle of 34 St. Hampden, Baltimore, Maryland 

Then we drove on I-66 for another two hours from Maryland to Royal Front, VA. 

We stopped at Cool Harbor Inn,n located at 141 E 15th Avenue, Royal Front, VA. 

We checked in at about 12 P.M. ($65 for a king bed in a first-floor conference room).

We were so exhausted that we slept until 10 A.M. the next day.

Cool Harbor I,nn Royal Frontt VA 

Day 2: Wednesday, December 19, 2012

The next morning, we both took showers, packed our bags, and checked out of the hotel.

For breakfast, we had orange juice, oatmeal with apple cinnamon, a banana, and an oatmeal cookie from the tank in the back of the Inn.

We were not far from the Shenandoah Valley National Park.
From the Cool Harbor Inn, my daughter had to drive to Skyline Drive to get into the park. 

I bought a senior lifetime pass for $10.00, which allowed both of you to enter the park. 

Shenandoah Valley National Park

Shenandoah Valley National Park

It was about 11:33 A.M. when we entered Shenandoah Valley National Park, and we stayed inside the park until we reached Luray, VA, where we exited to explore the Luray Caverns.

Luray Virginia Park 

Luray Virginia Park 

Luray, Virginia, a Park Caverns

Lur, ay Virgi,nia Park Caverns

We paid $ 21.00 to visit Luray Caverns, which included admission to the Car and Carriage Museum and the Luray Valley Museum. 

The Luray Caverns offers a guided tour that lasts about an hour. After the tour, you are on your own.

The Luray Valley Museum. 

The Luray Valley Museum. 

We walked down to the Car and Carriage Museum, which features 140 cars, carriages, coaches, & costumes dating back to 1725.

Next, we visited The Luray Valley Museum, which housed artifacts from the Shenandoah Valley dating back to the 1750s to the 1920s. 

Car and Carriage Museum

Car and Carriage Museum 

Car and Carriage Museum 

We ate lunch at Gathering Grounds Patisserie Café, 55 E. Main S, Luray, VA 22835 (Patisserie is a type of French or Belgian bakery that specializes in pastries and sweets in both countries)

I ordered a cup of soup du jour and a half sandwich for $6.96, and a Coke for $1.99, totaling $8.95.

(540-743-1121) The ticket stated Table 16, 2 guests, server Melissa at 4:15 P.M., ID: 0081319.

Gathering Grounds Patisserie Café 55 E. Main St, Luray VA

Gathering Grounds Patisserie Café 55 E. Main St, Luray, VA

Town of L, Uray, VA 

We tried to return to Shenandoah Valley National Park, but by the time we arrived at the area where we could access the park, it had closed at 5:00 P.M.  

From Luray, Virginia, we took 340 down to Stanley, Virginia, then to I-81, which runs from Virginia to Knoxville, TN.

We stopped at Pilot Store 051 11190 Baileyton Rd, Greenville, Tennessee, at 22:50:35 A.M.

They had a subway and a station.n I bought two glasses of water for $2.00, one 20-oz drink for $1.35, and at Subway, I purchased one 12-inch Veggie Sub for   $5.00 and some chips for $0.99, spending a total of $6.57.

I also bought some lottery tickets.

We drove through Knoxville, TN, on I-40 N toward Nashville, TN, taking I-840 to I-65 S to 360 to 31, then to Spring Hill and Columbia, TN. We turned onto Highway 43 and followed it all the way home.

We arrived at home about 3:30 A.M. 

My husband was asleep, as he had to work the next day, so Lora slept on the sofa, and I slept in the recliner.

When my husband got up to get ready for work the next morning, both Lora and I got into bed.
The next morning, after my husband left for work, my daughter and I climbed into bed, but I couldn't sleep because I could hear it was storming outside. So, I got up and lay on the sofa.

End of another long trip.

December 18, 2012, Flew

Depart 6:15 A.M. from Nashville International Airport (BNA)

Arrive at Baltimore, Maryland, at International Airport (BWI)

Depart Baltimore, Maryland, the International Airport  |(BWI)

Arrive 10:40 A.M. Hartford International Airport (BDL)