Spelunking Down South

After our busy day yesterday walking around towns and cemeteries, we decided to explore a little further out. While there was another cemetery and another drive down some gravel roads, it was a relatively light agenda. With a loose schedule in our minds, we got on the highway and drove further south down to Roanoke. Actually, we drove past the city and pulled into the parking lot for Dixie Caverns. That’s right, no matter where we are, there is always a cave to be explored.

With the sky looking more temperamental than usual, it was the perfect day to walk through a cave in order to stay cool and dry. While we were thrown off a bit by the cats wandering around the property (which complicates things due to my wife’s severe allergy) they kept their distance from our small tour group allowing us to walking up an into the weathered entrance. As soon as we walked through the threshold, we knew this was going to be a lot of climbing… more than any other cave we have ventured into… as the stairs and moss covered lights lined the carved path.

While most people see all caves as basically the same thing and wonder why people explore different ones wherever they go (my father is one of those people), having been through a number of different caverns I have noticed the slight differences in the landscape. In this particular instance, the ceiling…

…and the walls…

…were a little more interesting than the other caves that my wife and I have toured over the last few years. This is especially true when the tunnel began to open up…

…our eyes adjusted, and some of the interesting formations were pointed out to us like the wedding bell…

…the sharp teeth of the T-Rex…

…and, later on in the tour, the large turkey wing.

However, what I really find impressive in each space that we explore are the places where people aren’t looking.

I usually find myself turning around and looking the opposite way sometimes falling behind the group just to find a different perspective, a different cavernous veranda. That is when I am met with images like the one at the beginning of this post and this one looking down at where we were once walking.

It is all about perspective in these spaces regarding both the environment immediate surrounding you and the lens through which you view it. Just as all landscapes above ground consist of the same elements, none of them are exactly alike. Each landscape is different… some more than others… and sometimes there are little surprises when you adjust your eyes to take it all in like seeing the sky in the stillness of a lake or, as was the case today, seeing the colors, shapes, and patterns of the cave reflected in a pond. These are the images that make us want to explore underground just as we explore above ground.

Preparing For The Drive…

While we have no idea where the time has gone, we are now finding ourselves scrambling to get everything together for our family vacation. The last time that we took such a long vacation was nearly three years ago so there are a lot of things that have changed since then. Things are completely different now that we have our son as in the past packing for vacation was never a real issue. Looking at the piles of stuff that needs to be packed, it is amazing to think that we will be able to fit it all in the car. I don’t think we have packed this much stuff since we left for Israel.

For the first time since I started with my current company, I am taking an extended period of time off away from work. Even when our son was born, I was out of the office but still working remotely. With the exception of a few phone calls and emails that I am most certainly going to have to take, I am staying far away from the world of work. It’s not like I am going to have the time to take care of things as our schedule is pretty full. Here are just a few of the things that we are going to be doing and places we are going to visit while in Virginia:

• Family Reunion
• Natural Bridge
• Caverns at Natural Bridge
• Eagle Rock
• Fincastle
• Various Family Cemeteries
• Roanoke
• Dixie Caverns
• Bear Mountain
• Monacan Museum
• Lynchburg
• Lexington
• Colonial Williamsburg
• Richmond

This is a trip that I have been looking forward to for years. This is the first reunion that I have been able to attend since 1987 and I have learned a lot about the family since that time. It is a trip 28 and 250 years in the making and I am excited to see everything again with new eyes and also to introduce my wife and my son to where our family comes from.

Obviously, this is just the short list but not a bad schedule for the week. This is what we plan on doing and seeing… that could easily change and we may see more or less depending on how the week progresses. And, as you have come to expect, I will be taking plenty of pictures and writing about our adventures in the southern commonwealth.  

I am open to suggestions of places that I may have overlooked so, if you know of any in the western part of Virginia (especially along Skyline Drive) I welcome them. While we may have a good schedule for the extended vacation, I really don’t want to stick to a hard schedule. This is a time for us to relax and spend time with family.

Diners, Spelunking, And More Chocolate

Following a great first day away from home and a surprisingly uneventful night of sleep, we woke up early on Mother’s Day knowing that there were a few things that we wanted to see before we headed home. In addition to our room including tickets to Hershey Gardens, we were also given tickets to the Milton Hershey Story Museum which is where we ventured off to after we checked out and packed the car. Only about 5 minutes from the lodge, the museum was in downtown Hershey were we were able to park for free just behind the building. Having not eaten yet, we pushed back our exploration of the exhibits and instead grabbed a small breakfast at the café attached to the lobby (nothing special about the food here).

The museum itself was an interesting timeline of the Hershey story which covered the entire life of the entrepreneur and the legacy that still thrives today. For those of us that enjoy reading all the information posted with the artifacts, it is a nice place to stop while in the area. Of course, being surrounded by cocoa, our son decided to make some chocolate of his own and he wasn’t too happy about the results. Needless to say, the second half of the museum went by much further than the first half. However, we were still able to find our son a job on the first floor so at least we have already started planning for the future.

With our son now a little fresher than before, we picked up a few little items at the gift shop and ventured back out into the lobby where we had our son’s picture taken and we discussed the rest of the day. We were already planning on heading over to Indian Echo Caverns but we decided to stop by a diner for some lunch before our little spelunking adventure. While it fell short of the food from the night before, the lunch we had at the Soda Jerk Diner was pretty darn good (and it was a heck of a lot cheaper). The home made Moussaka is something that shouldn’t be passed up if you happen to stop in (save room for salad before and ice cream after which are included in the price).

From the diner we drove over to the caves just around the corner. While the wait was a little misleading (you can only say 10 more minutes so many times before people get annoyed), the tour was one that I am glad we were finally able to see (this stop has been nearly two years in the making). While there is an interesting story behind all the rooms and tunnels, it is probably best if I just include a variety of picture below that give you a pretty good sense of the spaces and tunnels which we explored during the 45 minute tour.

By the time the tour came to an end, our son was not happy. With all the traveling we had gotten him off of his schedule a bit and he was having nothing of it. Before the rest of the group could block our escape, we scurried up the 71 stairs and walked straight over to the car where we could change him and feed him. It was also a good time for us to rest. Once our son was satiated we got back on the road and began the slow trek back to the house.

Not wanting to make too much progress, too quickly we took the back roads across much of Lancaster County including slow coasting through Ephrata and Lititz. I am sure that my wife would have taken some picture but she was asleep for most of the time. It had been a long day and I would have done the same thing had I been a passenger. As we slowly made our way back east we made one final stop for a slightly early dinner at the Windmill Diner and Family Restaurant. Some place familiar and not too far from home… it was a nice way to end our weekend getaway and our son’s first, albeit short, family trip.

Summer Travel Planning

With spring in full swing I have been giving some thought to where my wife and I should go this summer. We enjoyed getting away last year on the weekends and it would be nice to continue that and really spend some more time together. We both really enjoy the time away from the apartment, getting out, and taking plenty of pictures as well.

We had quite the list last year and managed to check off a lot of places on the list so this year it is a little harder to think of towns and destinations that we haven’t been to. Of course, we are happy to return to some of the places we visited previously but new places will definitely take precedence. We might even venture beyond the Pennsylvania boarder although we are still averse to venturing into the states that begin with New.

So far, there are a few places already on the list but, again, it is much more difficult to come up with places and this would be in addition to any work and lodge travel that I have coming up. Here is my list as it stands today (still have to discuss everything with my wife and get her input):

• Jim Thorpe – This would be our third time visiting the small mountain town and we look forward to seeing a few things that we missed previously including the Butterfly Sanctuary.
• Scranton – I have to be up there in June for a Masonic function which is when I will look for different things to do and places to see.
• Hershey – Smells like chocolate! Haven’t really been there in a while so it might be time to finally get back over there and visit… maybe a trip to the park is in order too.
• Lititz – The small Lancaster County town was on our list last year but was cut when we began slowing down toward the end of the summer.
• Yuengling Brewery (Pottsville) – We tried doing the tour last year but arrived too late. We will be planning ahead this time.
• Bushkill Falls - We passed this up last year as we didn’t want to pay the admission price and we had already walked around Raymondskill Falls. Hopefully we go there on a day when it is not mobbed by those venturing across the river.
• Indian Echo Caverns (Hummelstown) – The spelunking was a big hit last year so it is time to explore another cave. We will be sure to save this trip for the peak of the heat during the summer.
• Winterthur (Delaware) – Another hot day destination. I have always wanted to visit this DuPont estate but something would always come up and prevent it. Maybe this time I can actually check it off my list.  

As I said before, the list isn’t very far along but it’s a start. I’m sure that we will fill this in as the summer approaches. Any suggestions of where to go? Any great deals that you know of floating around out there? What to meet up or serve as our tour guide? Let me know in the comments or by emailing me at timetokeepitsimple@gmail.com.

 

When Was The Last Time You Went Spelunking?

 

The last time I went spelunking at Crystal Cave in Kutztown, Pennsylvania was when I was in elementary school about 20 years ago. I don’t remember much about the fieldtrip but it didn’t take much to have the memories come back to me once we stepped foot into the screening room near the entrance of the cave. While the clacking of the projector was now absent, the movie remained the same which allowed my childhood to come back to me.

With the heat index nearing 100 degrees, the 55 degree coolness of the cave was a welcomed change from the sweltering summer soup. It took some time for our eyes to adjust and the rock that surrounded us had little detail at the beginning.

Soon some details began to emerge and we were able to take a closer look at a few of the columns that surrounded us.

Fortunately, we are not in an earthquake area as the fault line ran right through the middle of the cave.

With our pupils fully dilated, the beauty of this other world began to show through with what, at first glance, looks like a garden of hanging carrots in the corner of the first room.

Our bearings established, we made our way deeper into the subterranean world.

Like many city streets that surround our neighborhood, even caves have pot holes. However, I have never seen a gap in the asphalt that looked like this one.

This second room is where the colors of the cave displayed the natural mosaic that provides warmth that is difficult to explain in words or pictures.

The growth of formations can also be witnessed by way of the variety of stalactites throughout the network of tunnels. From infants…

… to pubescent mineral deposits.

When viewing this progression of forming formations we are reminded here and there that they can easily be gone in an instant.

Walking over the stunted stalagmites we also took note of the immense lake that sits just beside one of the upper platforms. This body of water is also known as Lake Inferior.  

The flow of water in the cave is not limited to the slow drips from the ceilings and the pools scattered about the ledges, it also forms waterfalls frozen in time…

…and surrounded by small patches of moss from the artificial daylight.

Something to keep in mind when spelunking, especially when frequently looking through a viewfinder, is that a slight tilt of the head can make you a little dizzy…

…and make you feel like the roof is coming down on you.

So take your time and enjoy the colors that surround you…

… and don’t be afraid if it feels like someone is looking over you.

By taking your time and looking around at the different textures, colors, and formations you experience such an amazing variety of feelings.

There are different points throughout the tour where I would look up and see a clear autumn night full of stars.

But what took my breath away was when I looked off to the far end of the room and saw what looked like scaffolding climbing up the rocks.

It looked much like what I would imagine the structure that Michelangelo would lay on to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. When I looked up I saw not a depiction of G-d but the work of G-d’s own hand.

Thankfully I had captured all the images that I wanted to before that discovery because there was no way that I was going to be able to follow that photo. So we headed toward the light and into the seasonal stranglehold. Crystal Cave was a completely different experience as an adult and I would encourage a visit for those that may have seen it as a child (the same can be said for most local caves). It was an interesting way to relive a small part of my childhood and see things from a completely different perspective.

To concluded our day trip this weekend we grabbed a quick bite, enjoyed a swift game of miniature golf, and spent a few minutes and a couple dollars browsing in the air conditioned souvenir shops (you can read about my discover at one of the shops in my previous post). With all buildings explored and the heat beginning to diminish our energy, we headed back to the car and made our way home. Now it’s time to rest up for next weekend.