One of the first things my family did was drive on Skyline Drive, a road that literally runs along the mountain tops in the Shenandoah National Park. The sights from 3000+ mountaintops were incredible; I hope to have my pictures online soon, but they don't really do it justice.

 We came down the mountains into a town called Luray. Luray is the home of the largest cave in the eastern United States. They were so large that the tour I went on was around 1.5 miles long. Again, I will get some pictures soon, but they can't begin to get at the size of this cave. The coolest part of the cave was hearing the "stalacpipe organ," a real, working organ that uses rubber mallets to strike stalactites that vibrate at varying notes. The instrument utilizes cave formations from over an acre of land, making it the world's largest working musical instrument.

 On another day, we visited two historic sites near Charlottesville: Michie Tavern and Monticello. Michie Tavern is a 200+ year old tavern that early Americans ate, drank, and slept at. The tour was fascinating, but my favorite part was the tea. The gift shop sold reproduction tea from the colonial days. The curious bit about this tea is that it comes in the form of a solid black brick. This is the way the colonists bought it, this is the type of tea that was dumped in the harbor at the Boston Tea Party. I bought a brick for myself, and it is the best-smelling brick I've ever owned.

 After visiting the tavern, we made our way to Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson and building featured on the nickel. The house and estate was gorgeous. Jefferson had fields and fields of vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. He engineered simple mechanical marvels in his house, including a set of doors connected by a hidden chain so that when you open or close one, the other moves with it.

 Perhaps the last great treat of my vacation was beating both of my parents in miniature golf twice. Yes, this vacation marked that point in a father's life when his child surpasses him. My dad is devastated.

 Finally, I was disappointed that I was not able to visit the tourist attraction I was most excited about: Foamhenge. Foamhenge is a full-scale reproduction of Stonehenge made entirely of foam. The site of this 8th Wonder of the World was 70 miles south of our resort. Unfortunately, my family was not willing to make the 140 mile round trip to see the testament to man's creative and imitative powers. And so, with a mixture of happy memories and a little regret, I leave Virginia.