Vacation on a Budget — Part I

Here are some more details from our week long vacation in Montebello, VA. It is beautiful there! We stayed in this cute cottage at the Montebello Camping and Fishing Resort. The rates are very reasonable, and the cabin included a full kitchen, two bedrooms, a pull out sofa in the living room, and a full bathroom. You can see more photos of the cabin we stayed in (as well as make reservations for your own camping trip) here.

Mark and I developed an interesting language while we were there. We felt we weren’t really camping. Camping involves a tent, and we were hardly “roughing it”. So we called it campin’. And if we were doing something, but not really doing it we would leave off the “g”. (i.e., shoppin’, fishin’, hikin’).
We cooked all our meals during our stay, and this saved us a lot of money. For Mark, in particular, this trip offered a chance to unplug from everything — no phone, no internet, no TV, and most importantly no cell phone access.
There is plenty of hiking or hikin’ (whichever you prefer) in Montebello, and lots of places to picnic. We went out for picnic lunches almost every day during our stay.
If you are in the area, a must-see attraction is Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA. I have never seen or heard of anything else quite like it. You drive through the zoo and feed the animals right from your car! The zoo can be expensive, but this was a real highlight from our trip.

We also enjoyed swimmin’ in the lake, a free activity, and I think the girls enjoyed this the most.

And lots of beautiful overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Here’s Emily at Big Spy Mountain overlook. Gorgeous and free!

Another free attraction, while in Natural Bridge, VA we came across this very interesting sculpture. It is a full-sized replica of Stonehenge, only this is made from foam — not stone. It is called Foamhenge, and Mark thought it was pure genius.

More photos, free attractions, and tips to save money while on vacation coming soon….