A Blue Ridge Mountain escape has so much to offer. Beautiful scenery. Fresh air. Abundant wildlife. Time to reflect. Whether you’re into observing nature, hiking, biking, camping or canoeing , these mountains have something for everyone. And if a weekend getaway is just not in the cards, you could easily plan a week long family vacation. There is plenty to do, you won’t be disappointed, I promise!

This year we decided to spend the first weekend of October in the mountains to see the fall foliage. Brilliant orange, red, brown, yellow and green leaves. The scenery was amazing. We have been going to the mountains for years, even taken our annual family vacation here. But we have never timed it right to see the fall leaves change colors. Spectacular. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold. No pesky bugs. If you are looking to take a mountain getaway, I highly recommend Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains in early October.

Our Home Away From Home for the Weekend

My wife heard about this cabin from my sister. She and her husbands family rent several cabins every year and take all the kids to spend some quality time together. This was our first time renting one of these cabins and we were not disappointed. We chose a warm and cozy, 3 bedroom, complete with an old fashioned loft, reachable only by wooden ladder. The kids loved it! From the moment we opened the front door, we fell in love with our retreat. We were met with the light scent of freshly burned firewood. The cabin was rustic, neat and very clean. Nothing fancy, but very charming. We immediately lit a fire in the fireplace. We sat around the fire, talking and playing board games for hours.

The cabins come completely ready for you to relax. Everything is included. Dishes, linens, TP, trash bags, even coffee! I mean everything! We were pleasantly surprised. There was a huge wrap around deck, complete with a swing, picnic table, chairs and a gas grill. It also had a large screened in porch, complete with furniture. And best of all, they are pet friendly. So Missy got to come along and enjoy the fun! Almost paradise!

Cabin Creekwood is family owned and operated. Very nice people. They made us feel welcome and they are extremely customer service oriented. We will be returning for many years to come!

Our Adventure Begins

Saturday morning, I awoke early and cooked a huge spread. We got an early start to go sightseeing. We started out on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We meandered slowly through the natural beauty, stopping at the many scenic overlooks. (see pictures below) We hiked several warm up trails, took pictures and admired the surrounding views. Before we knew it, lunchtime had arrived. We stopped at one of the many picnic areas and cooked hot dogs on the grill. After lunch, the kids hiked stint of the Appalachian Trail, which runs alongside the picnic area.

Our Visual Experience Continues

From there, we ventured onto Skyline Drive. Again taking in the incredible scenery. I had purchased a book called Waterfalls of the Blue Ridge and picked a 4 mile round trip hike down to the basin of a majestic waterfall. So off we go. It was a moderate hike, downhill, with many rocks and even boulders to work around. We passed several tired hikers returning from the falls who assured us it was well worth the effort. We arrived at the falls in about 2 hours, after making several excursions to check out things along the way. The wall of the falls formed a sort of amphitheater. Huge flat rocks, placed perfectly in front of the falls, provided great resting spots and picture taking opportunities. We were just about done admiring natures work, when it happened.

The B-Family Adventure Takes a Slight Detour

The kids called out to me that they had found a fresh water crayfish and had summons me to investigate. I had navigated my way over several huge rocks and worked myself just under the cascading water. Hearing the kids, I turned around and before I knew what happened, my feet went out from under me. I had slipped on the wet rocks. I hit the ground fast and hard. I rolled over and tried to get up, when I noticed my right hand bent at a 90 degree angle, 2 inches above my wrist. I had broken my arm. It looked like a golf club. My wife moved quickly towards me. I held up my right hand and yelled, “I broke my arm!!!” Seeing this, she screamed.

Adrenaline Kicks In

Before I had time to think about it, I grabbed my right hand with my left, pulled it into my stomach and popped it back in place. I didn’t feel a thing. I was in shock. We quickly gathered everything and moved towards the trail. We had a 2 mile, up hill hike to get back to our truck. We had no cell service and we had run out of water. My son, thinking on his feet, took his t-shirt and made an arm sling. I placed my right arm in the sling, against my chest and held it with my left. My son, who is in very good shape, jogged ahead and retrieved fresh water from the truck and then met us back on the trail. We made it to the top in 1 hour 45 minutes. To make a long story short, we went to the local emergency room, I was treated and released in under 2 hours. By 8:45 PM, just 5 hours after the ordeal began, I was heavily medicated and cooking steaks on the grill. I was completely determined to not let my accident ruin our weekend. After dinner and a big bowl of caramel and nut covered ice cream, we played Sorry and talked about our big day.

Hind Sight is 20/20

The fall was completely my fault. I know better. We have been hiking hundreds of times. I made a really bad decision. You see, when I got up that morning, I threw on an old, worn-out pair of Vans, thinking I would change into my hiking shoes later. I even thought about it when I was backing out of the driveway. I never changed into my hiking shoes. Turned out to be a big mistake! Note to self: Always wear appropriate attire!

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

So, I have been lying on my back, arm elevated above the heart, cast up to my shoulder, zoning on some morphine derivatives for a week. I go back to the Orthopedist Friday to get a new cast. My family has been terrific. Everyone has pitched in to help. You don’t realize what you can’t do with only one arm, until you only have one arm! My company has been great as well. I’ve been working from home with the assistance of my Blackberry and Laptop. I will return to the office on Tuesday. It’s tough, but I’m taking it one day at a time. Only 7 more weeks to go! Yeah!

Happy Ending

Despite my unfortunate accident, we really did have a great time. Breaking my arm in many ways probably pulled us all closer together. It forced us to slow down, have great conversations and enjoy each others company. No regrets!

So, if you are interested in planning a vacation to the Blue Ridge Mountains, I have included some links to area attractions. There is so much to see and do. As you will find out, you could easily spend a week here.

Some Planning Resources

Check out my tips for planning a family vacation

Check out my tips for a great camping trip

Our family highly recommends Cabin Creekwood

General Information:

• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Skyline Drive

If hiking the Appalachian Trail does not suit your fancy you could try one of the following:

Area Attractions **

• Monticello
• The Frontier Culture Museum
• The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum
• Luray Caverns
• Endless Caverns
• Natural Bridge
• Natural Chimneys
• Virginia Safari Park

** Our family has visited all of the above attractions over the years and I am recommending all of them.

Okay, you want to be pampered…

Resorts

• Massanutten Resort
• Winter Green Resort
• Snow Shoe Mountain Resort

Emergency
Augusta Medical Center - Great, modern facility, awesome, fast service.

Some pictures from our trip

BTW, these pictures have been re-sized and optimized for the web. They do not begin to show how beautiful the scenery really is in person. You’ll have to find out for yourself.

The cabin loft	Playing board games
View from Blue Ridge Parkway	View from Skyline Drive
Hiking	Abandoned cabin in woods
Fall foliage	Scenic view
2 mile hike to waterfall	Beautiful waterfall
Returning from hospital	Cooking on the grill

It’ summertime! My favorite time of year. Why? Because the weather is wonderful. The kids are out of school. And we take our family vacation. I know this year is tough due to the insane gas prices, but if at all possible you should try and get away! It is good for the mind and soul. And if you have kids, you will create long lasting memories. So let the good times roll!

PICK A PLACE

For years I have been choosing the vacation spots. I usually decide on where we are going based on the following:

• What we can afford this year.
• Where the kids have talked about going.
• Places I have heard about or seen in magazines, TV, etc.

PLANNING

I put alot into the planning stage. It makes things go so much smoother and avoids a lot of stress. Here are some of the things I do to prepare for the trip:

Use the Internet:

• I use search engines to find things to do, places to go and local restaurants.
• I use google maps to plan how long it takes to get from point A to point B.
• I always book my own travel plans on Travelocity.com
• I visit AAA: Here you will find free road maps, Travel Guides and advice. I usually do this several months in advance. The Travel Guides are an excellent source of information on hotels,restaurants and attractions.
• I visit a bookstore: I usually buy a book on wherever we have chosen to go. I read up on it.
• I try to catch specials on the Travel Channel and the like.

MAKING IT FUN

Our family has a long standing tradition of making a game of guessing where we are going. I know, I sound like a goofball, but we always had a blast. The kids would both ask a question about where we are going each night at dinner. I would answer yes or no. Are we driving? Are we flying? Is it hot? Is it cold? We would do this each night until they narrowed down where we are going. If no one got it after several days, they would barrage me with questions until someone guessed it.

FIND SOME GREAT LOCAL RESTAURANTS

We always try to find some hidden hot spots when traveling. We try to avoid chains. I figure I can eat at Applebees anytime. I do this three ways:

• I find some highly rated restaurants in the AAA guides
• I use Where the Locals Eat: A Guide to the Best Restaurants in America
• I ask locals something like “I’m from out of town, where would you recommend eating dinner tonight”, “Where would you eat and I don’t mean Don Pueblos.” Seriously, I have found some of the best restaurants in America that way! One time we were in Sault Sainte Marie, MI and I asked a woman on a open topped tour bus where she was going to eat tonight. She told me “Antlers” and it was one of the most unique and awesome places we have ever been. And guess what, four years later, we ate there again.

WHAT TO DO

I always plan a mixed bag of places to visit. Here are some examples:

• Zoo’s
• National Parks - Zion, Death Valley, Bryce Canyon
• Natural Wonders - Grand Canyon, Natural Bridge, Niagara Falls
• Amusement Parks - Disney, Busch Gardens, Sea World
• Historical Sites - Including forts, historic homes, re-enactment sites
• Other parks
• Beaches

IDEAS ON WHERE TO GO

Well this depends on many factors including your kids ages, finances and geography. Here are some of our favorite trips we have enjoyed with kids 7 to 18:

• Anywhere in Arizona, including Tuscon, South Rim Grand Canyon, Hoover Damn
• Anywhere in Utah, including Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Badlands
• Las Vegas: We have done day trips including Death Valley, West Rim Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire & Red Rock Canyon
• Massachusetts: Boston, Plymouth, Salem & Cape Code
• Pennsylvania: Lancaster (Amish Country), Hersey World, Philadelphia
• New York: Niagara Falls, NY City
• Michigan: Mackinac Island, Frankenmuth, Upper Peninsula
• Virginia: Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Virginia Beach, Blue Ridge Mountains
• Tennessee: Great Smokey Mountains
• South Carolina: Charleston
• Georgia: Atlanta, Coca Cola World, Aquarium, Zoo
• Florida: Orlando, Disney World
• A great trip, Washington DC - If it is feasible for you to take a trip to DC, I would highly recommend it. Most of the attractions are free. The National Zoo, which is up there with the San Diego Zoo is FREE. All of the monuments, Washington, Jefferson & Lincoln, all free. And so are all of the museums. You will easily be busy for an entire week. Fun, educational and free, can’t beat that!

I know there are many other wonderful places to visit, I just wanted to get things going with a short list of places I could recommend. I hope this has given you some ideas. I plan on elaborating in future posts about some of these destinations. Family vacations are a great way to spend some quality time together and you will be sure to create some fond memories.

Pictured above: The West Rim of the Grand Canyon

SOME VACATION PHOTOS:

The River House, Nuese River, North Carolina

Tahquamenon Falls, Michigan

Death Valley, California

Red Rock Canyon, Nevada

When was the last time you had a family gathering? In addition to the major holidays, our family gets together several times a year. We have a blast! Whether its hanging out with my parents and sisters for a night of poker or going camping on Memorial Day Weekend, it’ time well spent.

We have had Halloween parties at my parents house and St Patrick’s Day parties at my sisters home. In the summer, we have cookouts, pool parties and go camping together.

In the past, we managed to get everyone together for a yard cleanup day at my grandparents house, not once, but twice! We worked all day and then cooked out on the grill. Everyone had fun working together and we accomplished an unbelievable amount of work!

For the really adventurous, you could rent a vacation home together! Several years ago, we rented a beach house in Duck, NC. We had four generations living under one roof for a week! For the less daring, you could start off small with a Saturday night card game. It doesn’t matter what you do, it’s the quality time spent together interacting and bonding that counts.

Here is a short list to get your ideas flowing:

• Have a cookout
• Go out to dinner
• Throw a pool party
• Plan a camping trip
• Rent a vacation house
• Plan a surprise party
• Have a game night
• Arrange a cleanup party
• Plan a family vacation

I hope this has been helpful and will inspire you!