As a celebration of our fifth wedding anniversary we headed up to the woods with the girls for a weekend of relaxing in the beauty of nature. We didn't rough it though - but rather stayed in the Skyland Lodge located at the highest point in Shenandoah National park. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we are almost sure we noticed the leaves changing even during the three days we were there. The views were breathtaking and such a peaceful place to be. Saturday during the day we headed into Luray to see the Luray Caverns. It was quite a sight to see - especially the parts that had standing water. It was so perfectly still that the reflection of the rocks literally just looked like its continuation. It was a mile long guided tour which was a little hard to do with a busy toddler who wanted to touch everything (and they ask you don't touch the rocks at all - yeah right). So we were definitely done by the end but something we were glad we saw.
We woke up Sunday to another gorgeous day and after checking out we drove to Winchester to pick some apples and taste some cider doughnuts. Anna was perfectly happy just playing on the swings and in the orchard sand pit but once we got her in the actually apple orchard she had a great time picking her own apples. We had such a wonderful weekend that we are hoping we can make a trip to Shenandoah a yearly family tradition.
We headed to Great Country Farms today to check out the cider festival and all the other things they had to offer. We had a fantastic day enjoying many different parts of the farm. There was a giant "pillow" that the children could run and jump on. Anna loved running around on that and sliding down the sides. There was also a small animal farm but unfortunately you couldn't pet the animals - although Anna sure tried. A large tunnel slide was a big hit and Anna went down multiple times with Mommy and Daddy. Lucy even got in on the fun and took a ride on Daddy's lap. The day ended with a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and the crop of peanuts they grow. It was very interesting to see how peanuts grow in the ground - many of us had no idea. Scott took some peanuts and plans to put them in the yard to see what they will do! To top off an already great day - Mommy and Anna took a ride on the cow tractors which was lots of fun. It was a gorgeous part of Virginia and one we will definitely go back to as the leaves start to change.
