This is getting serious.

Having recovered from that minor hysteria, we were on the lookout for some fun. Liz, ever the Sarah Vowell-style civics nerd, was reading about the towns we saw signs for in the guidebook. "The Natural Bridge," she reads, "is a 215-foot tall limestone arch spanning Cedar Creek." She also informs us that US 11 runs right over it, and that Thomas Jefferson called it "the most sublime of nature's works." A quick look at the map told us that we could just jog onto 11 for a while instead of 81 and keep going the right direction, so we could stop and check it out.

Once we were off the interstate, we started to see some pretty hilarious signs: there's a wax museum? And a haunted monster museum? And -no. Yes! FOAMHENGE. "That couldn't be a..." Betsy says.
"Model of Stonehange made entirely of foam?" I suggest. "I think it is!" And lo and behold, we had a spectacular view from the car as we passed it.


There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Foamhenge.

When we arrived at the actual bridge, we were considerably less impressed. There was a big complex with a wax museum (creepy statue of a kid swinging out a window, and a dude on the porch who could've been real or fake -- I wasn't sure.) There were bathrooms -- which was cool -- but to look out and see the bridge, you had to pay. We weren't so much into that. We thought maybe we'd be able to see it as we drove over it on the way out. Whatever, we said, tossing our heads in disdain and getting back into the car.
And over the bridge we drove -- except that they had put up these huge barriers along either side of the road, so you couldn't see a damn thing unless you went in and bought a ticket and looked at their little view of it. Thanks, Virginia. You stay classy.
(I have subsequently discovered that that particular view is available for free on their website. Boo-ya.)

(I have also subsequently discovered that the AAA tour books have indicies in the back, listing all attractions by type of attraction. Such as Nature Trails, National Parks, Racetracks, whatever. And there's an entry for "Natural Bridges." Now, this is THE natural bridge. They don't, like, exist all over the place. And the entry for "Natural Bridges," which of course, contains only the one, is right above the entry for " Natural Phenomena," which has things like caverns and caves. A great moment in categorization, right there.)

Okay, Betsy/Zabby is going to write about nicknames when she gets unburried from her pile of "work." Because some people actually have classes and jobs now. The nerve.