I have to start by saying how beautiful the Natural Bridge Historic Hotel is. This is not a new, modern hotel but it's so charming and it's been well loved and maintained over the years. The room was extremely comfortable and our favorite thing was the large balcony we had overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. We were lucky and the weather was fall-perfect and I absolutely loved sitting on the balcony with a cup of tea and a book. I actually got to relax for a bit! {Relaxing with a book isn't something I get to do very often when the kids are around.}
Knowing we were going to spend Sunday exploring Natural Bridge itself, on Saturday my husband and I headed a short distance up the road to Lexington. Lexington has the cutest downtown area with lots of little shops and restaurants. It was fun to shop without the kids so we actually got to enjoy looking at things that interested us for a change. We also picked places to eat that we would enjoy, meaning I didn't once have to look at a kids menu. And our last stop on our Saturday outing was to Devil's Backbone Brewing Company for a tour {and a little beer tasting, too.}
I do want to say that while we did not have our boys with us, Lexington and even Devil's Backbone Brewing Co are very kid friendly and, because we are parents, we did talk about how we thought the kids would enjoy Lexington and seeing the VMI cadets. {Sigh, you can never get away from those conversatios when you're a parent, can you?}
We woke up Sunday refreshed, relaxed...and missing the kids. And as soon as Grandma brought them back to us, we headed down to see Natural Bridge. Finally! The bridge itself is crazy impressive. You can read all about the bridge history here and to sum it up, it's really really really old, amazing, and it's been said that George Washington surveyed it in 1750 and his initials are carved into the side. Wow!
Of course there is a lot more to see and do than just the bridge itself. You can follow the Cedar Creek Trail a bit further to a Monacan Indian Village and then onto a saltpeter mine and the mile long trail ends at a gorgeous waterfall. Our kids really enjoyed the mile hike to the waterfall. There's not much better than spending an afternoon walking in the woods, is there?
Natural Bridge Park and Historic Hotel has things going on all year long so make a plan to visit soon. I know we'll be back!
We were given 2 nights hotel accomodations and admission to Natural Bridge in exchange for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
