Roanoke to Manassas

Today we left Roanoke at 9 am to continue our journey. I scored 12 out of 67 for the biographies (and I think I was the only Aussie who entered the competition) - the Kiwis did much better. But it was fun trying to match up names.

We got to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate, around 11 am. There's a visitor complex with cafe, theatre, museum and shop. From there we took a shuttle bus up the hill to the house. We had a lovely guide, Allan, who showed us around. The house is beautifully preserved and it was fascinating to see how Jefferson had designed it based on architectural principles he'd picked up while being Ambassador to the French Court. He lived on the first floor (what we'd call the ground floor) and didn't need to go upstairs, so the stairs that the rest of the family and the servants used were narrow and inconvenient. His bed was set in the wall between two rooms so he could get out one side and be in his study, or the other side and be in his bedroom. The stables, kitchen, wine cellar, storage and laundry are all on the basement level, out of sight underneath the terraces. We didn't have time to explore the gardens and grounds, and could easily have spent the whole day there.

Back on the buses, we went down the road a short way for lunch (choice of burgers or Mexican). Then another couple of hours on the road, and we arrived at Luray Caves. This is one of the biggest cave complexes in the US, we're told. It's certainly very impressive. They've done a lot of work with paths and concealed lighting to give visitors good access, and there's a self-guided audio tour. It takes about an hour and a half to go all the way through. It's bigger than Jenolan Caves or Yarrangobilly in NSW. Some of the Kiwi's sing in the Cathedral cave and they sound wonderful.

Back on the bus, and we get to our hotel in Manassas around 8 pm and head out (to Crackerjack, again) for dinner. All the Crackerjack restaurants we've been in have been identical in layout, even down to where the goods are displayed in the shop that we have to go through to get to the restaurant.

Back to the hotel - no happy hour tonight, as it's so late. There's one washing machine, one dryer, and a queue of people wanting to do laundry, so I'm planning to get up early and do it in the morning.