Author Archive

Natural Bridge Wax Museum

23 Oct 2013 By

Next to the Natural Bridge is a Wax Museum and Factory Tour. The Museum offers a three dimensional trip through Shenandoah Valley history, featuring legends of the Revolution and the historical generals of the Confederacy. The Museum displays wax figurines of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, confederate soldiers, General Lee, Daniel Boone and 170 other life-like figures in narrated historical scenes.

A theatrical presentation of Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece, “The Last Supper” is offered at the end of the tour. The tour also includes a trip through the wax museum factory to see how these figures are made. The Natural Bridge Wax Museum in VA is the only museum that ships its figurines and statues worldwide to other museums and collections. Here is one of the scenes in the museum.

IMG_7684

Read More

Category: Travel, Virginia  Tags: ,  Comments off

Cedar Creek Nature Trail

22 Oct 2013 By

Cedar Creek Trail is a nice pathway leading under the natural bridge and up the creek to other attractions. This Trail begins with the walk down Cascade Creek and ends about a mile later at Lace Falls. The Natural Bridge and Monacan Village are on the front part of the trail. Along the path guests can stop by the Monacan Indian Village, stroll to Saltpeter Cave and Lost River, watch Lace Waterfalls, where Cedar Creek tumbles down 50 feet. The trail is fairly flat, but does start to get a little uneven past the Monacan Village with slight hills. Cedar Creek Nature Trail is open daily from 9 a.m. until dark. The length of the trail is just under a mile.

IMG_7501

Read More

Category: Travel, Virginia  Tags: ,  Comments off

Butterflies at the Bridge

21 Oct 2013 By

Surprisingly, there are many attractions at The Natural Bridge. Dave and I visited the Butterflies at the Bridge attraction while we were walking down to The Natural Bridge. This is fairly small, but very cute indoor garden of beautiful butterflies from around the world and our own backyard.

Visitors have an opportunity to see hundreds of these amazing creatures in flight, as well as in multiple developmental stages, all set among tropical plants in this unique indoor garden. There is no comparison with the Butterfly Pavilion at Xcaret here, but this is a neat place to visit.

IMG_7702

Read More

Category: Entertainment, Travel  Tags: ,  Comments off

The Natural Bridge

20 Oct 2013 By

The Natural Bridge of Virginia is one of the oldest tourist destinations in the United States. It’s located in the city of Natural Bridge,  in Rockbridge County. The Natural Bridge is a towering 215-foot limestone archway, that’s  55 feet higher than Niagra falls, and U.S. National Historic Landmark.

Discovered by the Monacan Indians; treasured by Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States,  who purchased it from King George III of England; surveyed by a young George Washington; traversed by Civil War soldiers – this great stone monument is a looking-glass of history. In Colonial and Early America, The Natural Bridge became one of the most notable natural wonders on the continent.

IMG_7799

Read More

Category: Travel, Virginia  Tags: ,  Comments off

Foamhenge vs Stonehenge

19 Oct 2013 By

Dave and I had some unplanned time off, so we decided to visit The Virginia Safari park. The park is near Natural Bridge, VA and it is only a 3-hour drive from our home. While driving around looking for local attractions, we noticed the sign “Foamhenge” on the side of the road. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to look it up via smartphone. How would we survive without all this technology? 🙂 Smartphone displayed the following information.

Stonehenge has inspired awe and mystery from visitors for over 5000 years. These megalithic ruins have withstood the tests of time and captivated our imagination. Artist and native Virginian, Mark Cline of Enchanted Castle Studios, has unveiled a full size replica of Stonehenge on the property of the Natural Bridge of Virginia made entirely of foam. “Foamhenge at Natural Bridge” is painted to resemble the real Stonehenge. Located on the west side of Rt. 11 near the Natural Bridge Zoo, 1 mile north of Natural Bridge.

We decided to stop and take a look at Foamhenge, especially since we visited Stonehenge in 2010. Here are 2 pictures for comparison: Foamhenge is depicted in the top picture and Stonehenge is in the 2nd picture.

Foamhenge.

IMG_9996

Stonehenge.

DSCF0605

Read More

Category: Entertainment, Travel  Tags:  Comments off

Flying over Chesapeake Bay

07 Oct 2013 By

Dave and I finally got to take our introductory flying lessons at the Freeway Airport near Bowie, MD. We had a good deal on the flight lesson tickets, which we bought in April, but decided to use them just now, in September. Our flight route was over the Chesapeake Bay and downtown Annapolis with FAA-certified flight instructors from Freeway Aviation.

IMG_7222

More Pictures

Category: Adventure, DC Surroundings  Tags: ,  Comments off

Weekend on Chincoteague Island

04 Oct 2013 By

The second weekend of September Dave and I spent on Chincoteague Island – Virginia’s only resort Island. Located on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Chincoteague is the gateway to the Virginia portion of Assateague Island, home of the famous Chincoteague Wild Ponies. We enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere and the beauty of the unspoiled nature of the island, chilling on the beach and viewing a spectacular sunset over the Chincoteague Bay.

IMG_6847

Read More

Category: Travel  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Odessa Walks – Day 3

28 Sep 2013 By

One of the fun evenings spent with our friends was at Arcadia Beach. The famous Arcadia is the most popular resort district of Odessa, with a beach and park of the same name. Situated about a 15 minute drive from Odessa city center, Arcadia offers relaxing beaches, fine dining, entertainment and more.

20130831_122415

More Pictures

Category: Entertainment, Odessa, Travel  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Odessa Walks – Day 2

16 Sep 2013 By

While walking to the Langerone beach through the Shevchenko park during the day, we thought that it would be nice to visit the park at night.  The park is pretty during the day, but it is beautiful at night.

T.G.Shevchenko central culture and recreation park was originally called Alexander’s park in honor of emperor Alexander II. Famous writers such as Zhukovskiy, Gogol, Ostrovskiy, Dostoyevskiy, Chekhov, Akhmatova strolled around this park in their day.

The park is not far from the city center and it is adjacent to the Odessa Port Terminal. It is a good place to relax, to take a nice walk, or to watch the ships crossing the Black Sea at the Port Terminal. Here is the park entrance at night.

IMG_5808

Read More

Category: Entertainment, Odessa, Travel  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Odessa Walks – Day 1

10 Sep 2013 By

It was nice to visit Odessa again after many years. Dave and I had a great time strolling through Odessa with friends. Odessa is one of the few regions in Ukraine that are inseparable from the Black Sea. We could feel the comfort and warmth of narrow streets, and marvel at the architectural creations of the old masters. Today Odessa is one of the most important economic centers of Ukraine, the third largest city after Kiev and Kharkov with a population of over 1 million people.

Each city has its own architectural treasure or quarter that has become its symbol. Odessa is proud to have several such symbols. The Potemkin Steps and the Monument to Duke de Richelieu are among them.

The Potemkin Steps descend from the Duke monument down to the Marine Passenger Terminal (Morskoy Voksal) and they are the front entrance to Odessa, Ukraine. The legendary 192 steps were a gift from Earl Vorontsov to his wife Elizaveta. They got their contemporary name after the success of the Soviet movie Battleship Potemkin.

IMG_5376

Read More

Category: Odessa, Travel  Tags: ,  Comments off
« Previous Entries
Next Entries »