On the trail of the Lonesome Pine….!
Onwards into Virginia and after an overnight stay in Winchester we joined the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park. Our first walk was along a short trail out to an overlook with magnificent views. Further along the Skydrive we stopped at Dark Hollow Falls and walked down the rocky path to a series of frothy cascading waterfalls.
Late afternoon and we arrived at Cabin Creekwood, originally a hunting cabin, located next to a wonderful creek in the peaceful surroundings of the Blue Ridge Mountains and close to Sherando Lake. Enjoying BBQ’s each evening and cooking marshmallows on an open fire we enjoyed getting away from it all but were able to make use of the shared heated outdoor pool just a short bike ride away from our Cabin.
After 3 nights of peace and quiet we packed up and drove through some truly awesome scenery along the Blue Ridge Parkway to Fries from where we cycled the ‘New River Trail’, a very scenic ride along an abandoned rail road bed.
After a night in Wytheville, we headed for the small town of Damascus for our pre-arranged bike uplift to Whitetop to begin the 17 mile down hill rail-trail ‘Virginia Creeper Trail’. Passing stunning scenery, following the river through gorges and over wooden bridges & trestles this is possibly one of the prettiest rides we have ever done as a family.
Crossing the border into North Carolina (after a very short visit to Bristol, Tennessee en-route) we arrived in Asheville for a 2 night stay: historic, hip and artsy with sidewalk cafes, cool squares and historic streets, it is a city of neighbourhoods begging to be explored on foot….if only we'd had the time to explore all of them. We did spend a morning wandering around the downtown area through various squares (with street performers), book shops and quirky stores before taking coffee and cake on Pack Square. A short drive out of the City to Marshall and we were at ‘Blue Heron Rafting getting togged up for our first family white water rafting experience. The children were a little apprehensive to start with but were soon begging the guide to go down the fastest parts of the river and wanting to float in the river to cool off. It was a highlight of our trip and left us wanting more!
It was a long drive North East to Williamsburg, however we arrived mid afternoon and had time to drive around Jamestown before cycling through Historic Williamsburg. Staying in Newport News, there is no better place than the historic triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown & York Town) for experiencing pre-revolutionary war, nautical and military history.
And there is no better place than Water Country USA to spend a fun filled day getting totally soaked! We ended our amazing holiday with a 'bang' at Busch Gardens as they celebrated 4th July with their Illuminights parade and fireworks.
We headed home via the immense Chesapeake Bay bridge tunnel from Norfolk to Delaware and then the Cape May ferry back into New Jersey with some amazing memories.