Justin and Kim celebrated our 5th anniversary with some time away at Natural Bridge and the charming Natural Bridge Hotel. We were a bit delayed getting out of town (OK, our anniversary really was on July 30), but we enjoyed our little respite right up I-81. The hotel is a classic with a nice dining room and reasonable room rates, particularly for a non-chain. Its character is historic, and if you go, don't miss the display of old Natural Bridge souvenirs off the lobby.
We slid down to the Bridge itself for one of the area's attractions we've never seen: the nightly Drama of Creation show. Using Genesis 1 as narrative and varied pieces of hymns and classical music as accompaniment, the show is a relaxing way to end the day and a throwback to days of simpler entertainment. During our visit, it was quite well-attended.
The Bridge museums are quite varied--and we'd recommend them all in their quirkiness. For this trip, we selected the Toy Museum is a nifty low-budget museum where visitors are guaranteed to want to touch each exhibit. Its layout has been recently revised with less emphasis on history and more emphasis on toy type.
We ate at the Pink Cadillac, an impressively-retro, very casual local diner a short drive from the hotel. Also good for dinner? The Natural Bridge Hotel Buffet--but make reservations, especially on weekends and holidays. On this trip, we ate breakfast at the hotel (less crowded and still good). We also ran up 81 antiquing, heading to the Lexington Antique Mall (great for furniture and recent-tiques), buying lots at the Factory in Verona (always enjoyable), and discovering Shenandoah's Alpha and Omega had closed (too bad). Kim spent a small fortune on postcards that helped her plan some upcoming Halterman weekends, planting the seed for a trip to Lancaster, PA, to see the life-size Tabernacle.
Related Links:
Natural Bridge Hotel and Family of Attractions
Pink Cadillac Diner
Factory Antique Mall
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