They say Virginia is for lovers, so we spent our New Years’ Eve weekend exploring its offerings. Luray Caverns and Monticello were highlights for day one. Read our next post about day two in Richmond, which impressed us more than we expected!
Virginia Weekend Highlights over New Years’ Eve Weekend 2017
- Luray Caverns (near Shenandoah National Park)
- Staunton (5 Historic Districts, Reunion Bakery & Espresso)
- Charlottesville (Monticello, The Pie Chest, Pedestrian Mall)
- Richmond (GardenFest Illumination at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden)
We left our place early on Saturday (December 30, 2017) in the morning to drive out toward Shenandoah National Park. We had our National Park pass ready, so we thought after seeing Luray Caverns, it would be nice to enjoy the drive south along Skyline Drive.
Unfortunately, due to snow, we learned that many parts of Shenandoah were closed. We went ahead and drove directly to Luray Caverns and bought our ticket for the next tour. At this point in time, we had been to a few other caves (Cave of the Winds in Colorado, Wind Cave in South Dakota and Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota) and had enjoyed each experience as every cave seems to have something unique about them.
Make sure to read the rules online about your boots before heading out to a cave (hint: it has to do with bats and the spread of white-nose syndrome). Luray Cavern has many “must sees” including the reflecting pond, the stalacpipe organ and fried eggs. My biggest piece of advice is to make sure you know how to use your phone camera or regular camera in lower light settings.
Your ticket also gets you admission into a few of the nearby buildings, so if you’re into old cars it’s worth taking a walk through the Car and Carriage Caravan Museum or if you’re into old toys you may want to pop through Toy Town Junction which are both in the same parking lot.
We headed south from Luray to a small historic town called Staunton. Staunton is made up of five historic districts (Newtown; Wharf Area; Beverley; Gospel Hill; Stuart Addition). Staunton is home to Mary Baldwin University, the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and the American Shakespeare Center. We parked near both between the Beverly District and Gospel Hill and enjoyed a walk downtown along S New St. This street has a historic store front called Cranberry’s Grocery and Eatery and a nice coffee shop called Reunion Bakery & Espresso. 
It’s also a short walk to the train tracks and the Wharf District, which has a cool bridge and the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church is worth a peek. Staunton also hosts a Harry Potter-esque world of wizardry weekend every September.
For 2018, it’s called “Queen City Mischief and Magic”. While we haven’t been, I have read the city is transformed for this particular weekend. Plus, you’d be close enough to Shenandoah to potentially see the leaves change color! If you love Instagram like me (I hope you’ll follow me @TeamTravelsBlog), tag your Staunton pics with #LOVEStaunton #QueenCity and @visitstaunton .
From here, we continued eastward about 40 minutes to Charlottesville and specifically to Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. We made it in time for the last regular tour of the day. This home should not be missed. We took the free shuttle to the house, then walked by the grave site and took a trail back to where the museums, gift shop and ticket counter were located. The tour guides are passionate about his life and sharing information about the house. The views also happen to be incredible!
From here, we went to downtown Charlottesville, where the University of Virginia is located. There’s a “pedestrian mall” which is essentially a car free street with a variety of stores, restaurants and bars. Similar concept to the 16th Street Mall you’d find in Denver, Colorado, just on a smaller scale. On one of the side streets, I saw a pie place called “The Pie Chest”.
O.m.g. this place is amazing!! I could literally make a trip here just for the pie.
As if we hadn’t fit enough into our day, we drove about another hour to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden outside of Richmond. We wanted to see the beautiful winter lights display here called GardenFest Illumination. For many years we’ve gone to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. to take in the free display of holiday lights, which are definitely a must see. But as we were looking for something different to do, this was great! There were a variety of indoor and outdoor displays, animals, storybook characters in lights (see the Giving Tree below), moving lights and changing colors.
Yep, we were exhausted by this point. I found a cheap, last minute deal using Booking.com (use my code and we each get $20) for a place under $60. We crashed and knew we’d have a chance to sleep in and then explore Richmond in the morning. If we took a similar trip, any must-see places you would recommend? Read all about our day in Richmond here!
Other nearby ideas if you’re planning a similar trip:
- Shenandoah National Park
- Staunton (Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, American Shakespeare Center)
- Charlottesville (Ash-Highland Estate)
- Orange (Montpellier)
Renting bikes probably would have been a great idea, but we chose to walk the path up to and around Navy Pier before continuing to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Another notable animal included the pygmy hippo, which you can see a video of its snack time on my 
Michigan Avenue was fun to walk along, full of people, especially marathon runners sporting their completion medals. It was pretty exciting to learn that an American won the men’s marathon earlier in the day. One thing to note about Michigan Avenue is the stores close around 7 pm on Sunday nights.
We took a few more Bean (aka Cloud Gate) pictures and then started our walk along the Chicago River from the Michigan Avenue entrance. 
The skyscraper reflections, public art and river pathway make this a great stroll. We loved stumbling across the oversized deer statue.
We walked along Langdon Street to see a lot of Greek houses before making our way toward Capitol Square. I spotted Michelangelo’s, an artsy, large coffee shop which has two entrances. 
The specialty menu is really unique as it’s made up of drinks created by current and former employees. I tried the “espresso miel” which was a latte of honey and cinnamon that I enjoyed!
I recommend timing your walk close to sunset so you can enjoy the colorful sky and reflections on the water. We were particularly lucky because a little boy called out a rainbow that appeared near the duck family statues.
We had a blast stopping in the pull offs and on the side of the road to capture photos and video of the adult and young elk. We got some great ones of elk crossing the street and grazing on the side of the road.
This walk along the canyon rim is relaxing and takes you past birch trees, campgrounds and eventually crosses the street for Bridle Path. From here you will find the North Kaibab Trailhead. The downhill walk into the canyon is much easier than the steep return walk out of the canyon. It’s super important to bring lots of water, a hat and start early because it gets hotter the closer to the center of the earth you get. Our first stop in the canyon was Coconino Overlook. Binoculars or a good camera come in handy here. There’s also some shade if you bring a picnic lunch to eat here.
We talked to nice volunteer who recommended that we stop at the tunnel instead of continuing to the Redwall Bridge because it was already 95 degrees at the Supai Tunnel. We heeded his advice and stopped at the tunnel. The walk through the tunnel is really cool and from the other side you can see the bridge, which is the next point of interest. 
Dehydration here is a REAL thing, so bring water, Gatorade or 
We continued by following the Bright Angel Point signs. This is not for the faint of heart as there are some very narrow parts, it can be windy and you’re high on the canyon rim. This was quite a popular spot.
Next, we got into the car and drove to Cape Royal. This is an approximately 22 mile drive that’s one lane in each direction with minimal room for error. Soon after passing the Cape Royal sign, we were stopped mid-drive for deer and turkey playing in the street. We enjoyed this unexpected moment before continuing to the parking lot at the end. There is a lot to explore up here and if you time it close to sunset, you will not regret it. On one side we got to see the sun start to set, changing the colors on the rocks while on the other side, we saw a rainbow from the clouds over the canyon. 
This was an absolute highlight of the trip, so be sure to enjoy Point Imperial! The only downside was driving back 22 miles on the road, in the dark, with deer and other animals lurking. It was shocking how fast some people wanted to drive the road.
From here we took the shuttle from Canyon Junction (#3) to Zion Lodge (#5). We went to the road and followed the signs to the Emerald Pools. The walk is quite steep and the lower and upper falls were our favorite. When you leave the middle level emerald pool, take the Kayenta Trail. This will take you to the Grotto (#6) and gives you fabulous views of the Virgin River. 
Keep your eyes peeled – we looked down at the river and spotted a deer standing in the water taking a drink. We saw tons of wild turkey at the Grotto. There’s also a place to fill up your water bottles and use the facilities here. If you’re up for the challenge, you can complete the strenuous hike up Angel’s Landing.
Considering it was the heat of the day when we hiked, we didn’t see many others on this trail, but we got lucky at the end and saw a grey fox!
Before making a stop, the park doesn’t appear to be that impressive. It’s probably because you don’t realize you’re driving along a canyon until you actually pull into a parking lot and look over the edge. As we continued toward the end of the road to see Rainbow Point, we pulled into the lots at Aqua Point and Ponderosa Point to take in these views. If you have the better part of a day and don’t plan on doing extensive hiking, you’ll have time to stop at each point of interest.
Make sure to take some time to hike here. An easy, short trail is the Bristlecone Loop which is about 1 mile. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a Peregrine Falcon diving into the canyon (we were not). We did, however, see some of the largest ravens we’ve ever seen searching the picnic grounds for scraps.
Hoodoos are the skinny and tall rock formations that you see everywhere at this park. The walk along the rim in the direction of Inspiration Point is definitely worth it. There is so much to take in at this particular stop. If you’re short on time, drive to Inspiration Point (or take the shuttle). We arrived to two deer grazing here and then headed to the rim to see the sun hitting the red rocks. If you’re up for the challenge, climb the steep hill to get the best vantage point from the top. While we did not use 
To end our time at Bryce Canyon National Park, we parked at Sunset Point. The walk between Sunset Point and Sunrise Point is incredible. If you have the right shoes and are up for the challenge, take a hike into the canyon. We enjoyed walking the rim of the canyon, spotting the pretty blue birds and watching the sun start to set and illuminate the rocks. We also spotted Thor’s Hammer, which is one of the better known and photographed hoodoos. As we awaited the sunset, fancy photographers gathered to find the best spots to capture the lighting change as the sun went down.
The way the light hits the colorful rocks is incredible. A bit farther up the road, which is windy, rocky and narrow, we made it to a small parking lot by Goosenecks Overlook and Sunset Point. The Goosenecks Overlook was our first time looking into a canyon and it is breathtaking.
We had to drive very carefully as we saw many deer along the road near the campsites. It is cool to reflect that we ended up seeing deer at six out of the seven national parks that we visited during our vacation. We drove along the Scenic Drive until we made it to the signs that read Capitol Gorge. We didn’t exactly know what we were in for either. This is an extremely narrow and scary drive.
The beginning of the hike is very easy and relatively flat along the river. Then there is quite a steep climb before reaching a point before you then start walking down again. We saw lots of playful chipmunks and a few amphibians, but no snakes thankfully! The arch is awesome once you arrive. Enjoy calling out so you can hear your voice echo back. Once you go under the arch, we found it challenging to find and stay on the path, but fortunately made it around the loop as the sign recommended (counterclockwise direction).
If you arrive before the park opens, there’s no one at the gate, however, if you plan on seeing multiple National Parks, it’s worth spending the $80 to get the 
One benefit of starting early is you’re likely to beat the tour busses that are bound to come and stop at these points of interest. Balanced Rock is perfect for taking a short stroll and stretching your legs from the car ride.
This little trailer coffee shop offered delicious iced lattes with unique flavor combinations.
On the top level, you can also peer out the window and get a good look at the “Broad Street Market” sign or do like us and stand in the middle of the street for a good selfie.
We continued along State Street to the Susquehanna River. This part of the Capital Area Greenbelt is gorgeous and I definitely want to return to bike the full 20 miles! Make sure not to miss the bronze statue of a man sitting on a bench reading his newspaper. It’s a perfect photo op! Put your arms around him, give him a peck, go crazy! Given the two hour parking limit, we arrived back to our car, set the GPS and were on our way to Chocolate Town USA!
We also really enjoyed the Reese’s Cup Xtreme Challenge and the new Hershey’s Drop Tower. One thing that was amazing is that after certain rides, they give you almost 2 ounces of free Hershey candy like Reese’s Crunchers! I tried some delicious treats this way. We stayed at the park until about 10 pm on a night where they closed at 11 pm.
The line took about 30 or so minutes, so be prepared to wait. We jogged back to the car using our phone flashlights as our guide given there are no street lights. Luckily, the area felt safe and we didn’t have any issues getting our car back at the Hershey Story. A touch before midnight we were back on the road and into our beds by 2 a.m. Can’t wait to spending another day this summer at Hersheypark to finish riding the rest of the roller coasters and further exploring the waterpark!
favorite. While driving around, we were fortunate to see a few horses at two different camp sites as well as a deer (one of the campsites is the one across from the Life of the Marsh parking lot).
We found parking to be quite a challenge, so make sure to pack your patience. Ocean City has a 
While almost everything was closed, the “Island Creamery” ice cream shop had a huge line! It was fun to window shop the antique stores, look at the home sale flyers and notice the cute coffee shops like “On What Grounds?” on the main street. After we got our steps in (yep, we counted them on the Garmin and got over 36,000; Mike got 40,214 with his run) we were ready to call it a night.
After taking in the sunrise, make sure to jump back in your car and continue along the main street. We got to the roundabout and saw four ponies and then on our way out saw at least 10 more. Again, have your camera ready! 
Having taken it all in, we decided to drive to Salisbury, Maryland to check out this small town. If you decide to roll through this small town, I highly recommend a stop in (or drive thru) to Rise Up Coffee. Their seasonal lavender latte was delicious! We drove by and saw the beautiful campus of Salisbury University while we waited for the free Salisbury Zoo to open. The zoo is very small, but if you’re zoo people like us, that won’t deter you from at least checking it out. The macaws were funny to watch flip around on their rope. Hopefully if you go, more of the cool animals like the sloth and jaguar will be out and about.
Treat Yourself to Travel 