Out and About in Luray with Eric and Ginnie

 Thursday and Friday - 5/27 and 5/28

Hi Blog!

During our stay in Luray, Virginia we were able to meet up with our full-time RVing friends, Ginny and Eric. They are our longest-term RV friends; we've known them since early 2012.  

On Thursday, we started our day with a tour of Luray Caverns.

Luray Caverns, originally called Luray Cave, is just west of Luray, which has drawn many tourists since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. Ginny was able to get some interesting photos with her camera. If you are interested, here is a link to their blog.

Here is one of our photos of the fish rocks.

This photo of Pluto's Ghost shows how different the rock formations can appear.

We had a great time strolling through the caverns and letting our imaginations run wild. After our cavern tour, we returned to the campground to get some chores done. Later that day, Ginny and Eric hosted us at their RV for a delicious southwest style chicken stew. We spent the night catching up on each others' travels.

On Friday, Eric was feeling under-the-weather, so Ginny joined us on a voyage of exploration. We started with a traditional country breakfast at the Hawksbill Diner:

What can you say about a family dinner with fluffy biscuits, rich sausage gravy, homemade country sausage and farm fresh eggs -- other than, "Yum!"?

After a hearty breakfast, it was time to burn a few calories. We stopped at one end of the Hawksbill Greenway Trail, for a two mile stroll through Luray to the other end of the trail.

This multi-use trail follows Hawksbill Creek as it meanders its way through Luray. Whimsical totems greet us as we start our hike.

More than 200 species of birds are known to use the nearby Shenandoah National Park, and many of them can be found along the Hawksbill Greenway, which is part of the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail. We saw a number of these black crowned night herons.

We caught this heron mid-flight.

Hawksbill Creek is a tributary of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. The Creek and the South Fork merge approximately six miles to the north of Luray. The headwaters of Hawksbill Creek begin on the steep, wooded slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Downtown Luray has established several historic mural art trails with a walking path that acquaints residents and visitors with the work of local artists who have painted over 30 murals.  Jennifer Bradt's Inspiration for the Willow Grove Mill Mural was simply a love of the subject and having the right location for it. The water wheel on the side of the mill had fascinated her for years; the grounds around the mill photographed very well. The Civil War camp in the far background of the Mural is there because the historic plaque at the mill has a story about a local Civil War battle. The beagles are a guilty pleasure. A lot of people walk their dogs on the Greenway and she wanted to add life-size dogs to her Mural. 

After two miles, we reached the other end of the Greenway Trail. On our return trip, we decided to venture over to the Visitor's Center.

The Luray-Page County Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center offices reside in the restored historic train depot. We had fun chatting with the staff, collecting brochures and recommendations. We also took time to tour of the Railroad Museum located in our building. We were in luck, as a member of the Rail Historical Society was there and he gave us a personal tour of the museum. 

Before returning to the trailhead, we stopped for one more photo op!

After logging over four miles, we were happy to sit in the Jeep and drive over to Front Royal. We had learned about a local Nepalese restaurant, and Ginny was game to check it out with us. Royal Spice is located on Main Street in Front Royal. They boast several Indian curries and Nepalese dishes. 

We were interested in trying a traditional Thali meal. Thali literally translates to a large ‘plate’ in Hindi. The vegetarian one, pictured below, consists of rice, roti (crisp bread), dal (lentils), saag (spinach), veggie curries (green bean/carrots and potato/cauliflower), chutney (smokey roasted tomatoes and chilies), fresh cucumber and carrot sticks and all topped with a fried egg. For the meat version, we ordered goat curry as one of the curries. Both were incredibly delicious. We were each able to take home leftovers!

With full bellies, we stuffed ourselves back in the Jeep and followed Skyline Drive all the way back to Luray. We did managed to stop at a couple scenic views before the weather came in.

When we returned to camp, it was our turn to host Ginny and Eric for dinner. In keeping with our voyage of exploration, we dined on Moroccan Root Vegetable Curry with couscous. 

It's always fun to catch up with our fellow travelers, but these convergences end all too soon.  Safe travels, Ginny and Eric. See ya' down the road!