Brittany, Mike and I took advantage of a long weekend for Brittany and headed north to the Luray Caverns in Northern Virginia. We took route 77 out of Charlotte and somewhere about 60 miles out headed right into snow somewhere in the area of the Smokey Mtns or the Blue Ridge Mountains. Wasn't really sure how far along I was without looking at the map. We eventually drove out of the snow as we came down into Roanoke where we stopped at a Cracker Barrell for lunch and a break from the driving. We headed up to Luray and spent the night at the Brookside Cabins - log cabins and ours had two bedrooms and two baths with a small sitting room and was beside a small brook. On a very frozen Sunday morning after breakfast (and the front of my car looking like an ice cycle) we headed for the warmth of the Caverns which are a steady 51 degrees. Brittany actually said half way through that she was glad she'd given up the Internet for the weekend to experience the Caves in all their glory. Below are only a smattering of the 300+ pictures we both took (hers will be on her web site: http://www.brittany.trest.com). Brittany also collected a short movie of the caverns with the famed Stalacpipe Organ playing in the background.

For more than 125 years, Luray Caverns has been renowned as one of the world's most spectacular natural wonders. A world of magic and majesty, still as marvelously beautiful as described in the newspaper headlines over a century ago.

Since discovery in 1878 by a tinsmith and a local photographer, visitors by the millions have made Luray Caverns the most popular cave in Eastern America and an internationally acclaimed destination. From well-lighted, paved walkways explore cathedral sized rooms with ceilings 10 stories high filled with towering stone columns and crystal-clear pools. Also, hear the haunting sounds of the world's only Stalacpipe Organ. Located in the Cathedral is the Great Stalacpipe Organ, the world's largest musical instrument. Stalactites covering 3 ½ acres of the surrounding caverns produce tones of symphonic quality when electronically tapped by rubber-tipped mallets. This most unique, one-of-a-kind instrument was invented in 1954 by Mr. Leland W. Sprinkle of Springfield, Virginia, a mathematician and electronic scientist at the Pentagon. He began his monumental three year project by searching the vast chambers of the caverns selecting stalactites to precisely match a musical scale.

Russell Gurnee, noted author and former president of the Explorers Club, summarized in his book Discovery of Luray Caverns, Virginia, "Luray Caverns remains a tribute to the courage and vision of explorers who will persevere to seek out secrets of our world. In an imperfect human world it is reassuring that the discovery of these men of vision has been preserved for the enjoyment of this and succeeding generations."

TITANIAS VEIL: This shimmering white formation is pure calcite and the result of wide-spreading crystalline deposits. These deposits, or flowstone, spread laterally coating walls or ceilings as opposed to dripstone resulting from dripping-water deposits.

PLUTO'S CHASM: This underground rift spans the length of nearly two footballs fields and rises to a height of almost ten stories. This expansive opening is left from the main horizontal channel of water that created Luray Caverns. At its heart you’ll find the ominous figure of Pluto’s Ghost, a column appropriately named after the Roman god of the underworld.

After our tour of the caverns, Mike decided we were only a short hope from DC so up we went.. It was cold (20) and WINDY and so Brittany and I dashed from a warm car, snapped pictures and dashed back. Sunday was a "light" day for DC but finding a parking space still a major problem. We finally parked at Union Station and grabbed a bite of lunch before heading back down toward Charlotte. We reached the VA/NC border and decided we had enough about 8pm and stopped at (what else) a Cracker Barrell and then a Comfort Inn for the night. We awoke the next morning to snow on the car but clear roadways and were home by 1pm on Monday.

And our impromptu mini-vacation was over and we'll be on tap for another one sometime soon.