Hands-on carving an axe handle. There’s no such thing as a non-busy day on our adventures. We started Wednesday with a trip to the Frontier Culture Museum in nearby Staunton, Virginia. But before we left I must report that the sales manager of our hotel came out to say that we’ve been the best youth group they’ve ever had. Of course that’s music to my ears and was a cause for celebration. The kids have been great, but that’s not to mean they don’t have their moments of complete bedlam, like tonight at dinner. But that’s another story.
We spent nearly four hours at the Frontier Culture Museum, about two hours more than we had planned. Some boys wanted to stay longer but lunch was calling. This is a living history center with costumed interpreters telling us how Virginia and other parts of the US came to be settled.
We visited authentic restored houses of an English family and a German family and learned about life in those countries before the families came to the United States. The German interpreter was actually a transplanted Austrian and he enjoyed a few brief moments speaking German to our two German boys, Henri and Samuel. Then we learned about the Native Americans and their lives as part of this wilderness of the Shenandoah Mountains. The boys got to play a Native American game, which they enjoyed a lot.
We spent nearly four hours at the Frontier Culture Museum, about two hours more than we had planned. Some boys wanted to stay longer but lunch was calling. This is a living history center with costumed interpreters telling us how Virginia and other parts of the US came to be settled.
We visited authentic restored houses of an English family and a German family and learned about life in those countries before the families came to the United States. The German interpreter was actually a transplanted Austrian and he enjoyed a few brief moments speaking German to our two German boys, Henri and Samuel. Then we learned about the Native Americans and their lives as part of this wilderness of the Shenandoah Mountains. The boys got to play a Native American game, which they enjoyed a lot.
Cheese made at the Frontier Culture Museum. Next came a couple of 1800’s farmsteads and the boys learned about life in the early settlements in the United States. They got to help carve wooden handles for use in axes, etc. and we finished with a visit to another 1800’s farm where they learned about life in these colonies and states. The boys also got to learn about old home remedies in a little play-acting routine.
We visited the gift shop (of course) after our guided tour and had lunch in Staunton. After lunch we decided we needed an hour of chill time, which included a few minutes for swimming.
Our late afternoon was bowling and we had a blast. We ended up throwing in some real “dough” as a little extra incentive.
We visited the gift shop (of course) after our guided tour and had lunch in Staunton. After lunch we decided we needed an hour of chill time, which included a few minutes for swimming.
Our late afternoon was bowling and we had a blast. We ended up throwing in some real “dough” as a little extra incentive.
We ended our evening with a couple of team-building games to help settle the boys down after a rather rambunctious dinner at Golden Corral which included an all-you-can-eat buffet. I think things would have been fine except this all-you-can-eat deal included desserts and that was a bit too much.
We wind down our Waynesboro portion of the trip tomorrow morning as we head down to Abingdon for the last bit of fun….and do we ever have a lot planned!
At left, bringing home the bacon.
We wind down our Waynesboro portion of the trip tomorrow morning as we head down to Abingdon for the last bit of fun….and do we ever have a lot planned!
At left, bringing home the bacon.
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