Massanutten is a resort area in Virginia, near Harrisonburg. It's where we spent last week's vacation. We had an easy drive down on a Sunday afternoon, and shortly after arriving, were greeted by some of the residents.
The deer are plentiful and very tame. We were told they would likely be willing to eat out of our hands. For the first while, we happened to be driving every time we saw them, so we didn't get to test that assertion until later in the week. I'll get to that...
The condo we stayed in was a lovely home away from home.
Although the view wasn't that great from the balconies, because of the trees.
From that vantage point we did get familiar with the local groundhog and deer though.
We spent Monday at the nearby water park, as it was the last day of the season. On Tuesday, we made the fateful decision to go on a hike. We chose the trail described as "moderate" in the activities guide.
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| View from the trailhead |
The day was warm and muggy, so I guess it wasn't unusual that the kids were less than enthused.
LOL We left them like this for awhile, while the hubster and I went a little further up the trail.
And saw this view.
Remember how I said it was a "fateful decision"? At one point, we encountered this sign which told us that the Kaylors Knob trail described everywhere else as "moderate" was now rated "extreme difficult" - what?? And the other trail was clearly not an option because it was "most difficult". Not that I'm clear on what the difference would be.
We didn't notice that it was much different past that sign than what we'd encountered up until that point. But near the end of the out-and-back trail, my innate clumsiness kicked in and I managed to twist my ankle. On a nice level stretch of path too, which only goes to prove that it can't be blamed on the difficulty of the trail, but on user error. I really didn't think it was that serious an injury, and I walked all the way back without much pain or trouble, but I was especially careful of my footing, not wanting to misstep again. But later in the day, after we'd been back at the condo for awhile, I realized that my foot was very swollen, and it had certainly begun to hurt by then as well!
But before that, we did get to enjoy the trailhead view again - including a storm blowing in.
We got to enjoy dinners at some local restaurants, including a couple of barbecue places. We also liked this vintage-styled diner.
One day we made sure to visit one of our favorite chain restaurants - Quaker Steak & Lube.
During our stay, we were able to enjoy the recreation centers at the resort, including two pools. This is the outdoor one.
Both the cool water pools and the hot whirlpool felt good on that sore, swollen ankle of mine. As if my feet weren't unattractive enough to begin with. Ha!
At last we got a chance to see if the deer really were friendly enough to eat out of our hands. We had some carrots to offer this one that stopped by the front entrance to our condo.
LOL Looks like I caught them both by surprise!
She not only ate calmly out of our hands, she allowed us to pet her.
Contrary to what Disney has been telling us though, the deer do not come in and help with the housework, no matter how friendly they are. Neither do the squirrels and groundhogs. My entire view of woodland creatures has been a lie.
We - well, mostly the hubster and kids - took advantage of some of the recreational activities at the resort too. Both kids enjoy mini-golf, and Landon got to go disc golfing and go-karting as well.
By the end of the week, my foot had healed sufficiently for us to go on one more walk in the woods - definitely an "easy" rated path though!
Never too old to enjoy a swing set!
Time for the drive home.
We encountered this charming village center on one of the backroads we chose on the way home.
I will share pictures from our trip to Shenandoah Caverns in a separate post - stay tuned!
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2 comments:
Fun post! A fellow Marylander here, I always watch for your posts.
How come I see your hubby and your kids, but of you I only get to see your feet? ;-) I guess I know who held the camera!
I know - I'm never in pictures!! In a way, I'm glad, because I usually don't like the way I look in photos. But it's kind of unfair too, that there won't be much of a photo record of me WITH my husband and kids!
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