Shenandoah Vacation - Amtrak/Montpelier

We have thought about vacationing in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia for years but the drive was beyond the tolerances of our kids and frankly us.  Thankfully now that we know about the Auto Train, we were finally able to go and I'm so glad we did.
Initially one must admit the boys were more excited about the journey than the destination.  They absolutely love the Auto Train.  For us parents it makes the journey much more relaxing and allows us to be in better shape to enjoy our vacation upon arrival.

When we arrival in Lorton, VA we had planned to visit Mt. Vernon again.  However, when we arrived and saw over 30 school buses (the boys counted) we decided to continue our way slowly to the resort instead.  Big groups of people and crowded places are just not our thing. 

We had a little under a two hour drive to the resort.  On our way I started seeing signs for Montpelier (The Historic property of President James Madison).  I got curious how far off our course it would take us and as it turned out only four miles.  I smiled coyly at Chris, he shook is head, laughed and off we went to Montpelier (I'm a sucker for history).

The property is absolutely gorgeous and still has an active Thoroughbred farm with 1/4 mile race track.  Apparently they have a big race there every year in November, that would be a hoot to attend I bet.  When we got to the house we decided not to do the inside tour.  The kids really needed to run around and I don't think they would have done well on a tour, the upside of that decision was that touring everything else (the gardens, barn, etc) was free.

It was an absolutely perfect day; blue skies, pleasant temperature, cool breeze and nearly no one else was there for us to disturb or be disturbed by.  The barn closest to the house was a rescue barn.  We spent some time learning about the horses, ,their stories, and playing with the barn dog, somehow we forgot to take pictures.

They had lots of longer hikes to take but we stuck to garden exploring this visit.  I was thrilled to see peonies.  I had not seen peonies in bloom since I was a little girl!  An interesting design of the garden was that they specifically chose foliage that deers do not like to eat.  However, that did not stop them from sleeping in the beds and crushing the plants (Ooops). 


Auntie Susie flew into the DC area and was driving in also, we missed her at Montpelier but caught up with her in the parking lot of the grocery store and the boys went wild.

Our cabin was very spacious and the kids were ready to explore the resort, or more specifically the pool with Dad and Auntie Susie for a while.  Later Lance and I finished off the day by taking a short hike before sunset together.  We both soaked in the peace and quiet, it'd been a long time since we'd been anywhere without a lot of human noises.  We sat on a long and listened instead to the Cicadas and a pair of Canadian Goose flying in and announcing their arrival to the flock.  I could feel my blood pressure drop and my boy was clearly calmed by the peace as well.