Hello friends, I have been gone most of the week to Luray Virginia for a work trip. This was the first trip I have been on in a year and a half.

The Attraction that I work for belongs to a tourism association and we meet a few times a year. However this was our first in person meeting in over a year. We had conducted all of our previous meeting via Zoom.

I had to leave out on Sunday. I don’t know if you are like I am but I just have to leave my house clean and the laundry done. So on Saturday that is what I spent the day doing.

I was awakened on Saturday morning by the smoke detector in the hallway just outside my bedroom. At approximately 3:30 AM I started hearing that repeated chirp that just makes you want to tear it out of the ceiling and stomp it into a billion pieces. Scruffy’s little ears are especially sensitive. He first tried to climb on my back and then my head to get away from that piercing little chirp.

We got up and of course had no batteries to fit it so we wound up pulling it off the ceiling to stop the chirping. Since I was awake I decided to just stay up. I had a lot to do to get ready for my trip. It had been so long since I traveled I had almost forgotten how to pack. I actually did leave several things behind.

Preparing for a trip gives me anxiety. Add in the fact I have gained weight and had less clothing options really put me in a tailspin. But I was determined that I was going to make the best of it and enjoy my time with a group of wonderful people that I had not seen in a very long time. That is just what I did.

We left out on Sunday and it was about a seven hour drive. I met a couple of other people in Knoxville and we all rode together. It was a long drive and we arrived tired and weary from the road. We stayed at the beautiful Mimslyn Inn. I’ve stayed at the Mimslyn before and it is a beautiful and very old property. It is reputed to be haunted but I have never encountered anything during my stays. Although our meeting didn’t start until Monday at 1:00 PM we went on Sunday because we had such a long drive and didn’t want to take a chance on running into road work or any other issues.

Moonshadows Restaurant is fairly new and is centrally located on Main Street in Downtown Luray, Virginia. The name Moonshadows is supported throughout the restaurant by the use of color and art-every picture has a moon in it. It’s beautiful.

The grounds at Luray Caverns.

We also had the pleasure of visiting the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton Virginia. We were so fortunate to have a few of the actors on set and they did a couple of short performances for us. We were also able to visit backstage and check out the areas where all the action happens, making costumes, building scenery for the sets and the area where all the props were kept. So exciting, for just a few minutes, to feel like a part of theatre crowd.

http://www.AmericanShakespearecenter.com

If you have the luxury of visiting the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and just a few of these treasures I have mentioned, you will never forget them. With each turn and twist of the road a beautiful work of art will unfold. It is breathtaking. The people are some of the nicest people you will ever hope to meet. The hospitality is honest and true. I can’t wait to go back.

Have a wonderful rest of your week and always remember,

Love your day your way!!!