Shenandoah Caverns

"Bacon" formation in the caverns!

Mark and the kids in the enormous train float

We had expected to have guests staying with us this weekend, but they canceled at the last minute, so we decided to play tourist in our own town. We went to Mt. Jackson to visit Route 11 Potato Chips and the Shenandoah Caverns. The chip factory was selling, but not cooking, so we bought some chips to eat with our picnic lunch and we went to the caverns. We took the kids to Grand Caverns a few months ago and Peyton was awestruck. She really loves being underground and seeing all of the cave formations. She follows the guide pretty close and tries to answer the questions they ask. The tour was about an hour and I think our favorite formations were the ones that looked like bacon!

After the tour we ate lunch and then visited the other attractions. They have old department store displays that have been renovated and installed and the kids really liked seeing Cinderella at the ball, marching toy soldiers, and a circus. Peyton's favorite was a presidential inaugural parade in miniature!

We also walked down the hill from the caverns and saw American Celebration on Parade, a huge warehouse full of Rose Parade and inaugural floats. The floats are incredible. They are huge and some had buttons to push that made them move/ sing/ talk. The kids were pretty excited about pushing the buttons. I was in awe of how huge they were! I marched in the 1993 Tournament of Roses parade, but really didn't see the floats up close and personal. It's amazing to think that these huge things move down the street so smoothly.

It really was an awesome day. I am excited that our children are experiencing great attractions so close to home. We have 5 caverns in our area that we'd eventually like to see. 2 down, 3 to go!