It has been a long year, things have been especially stressful since April, so when we got a call letting us know that Gary had a free week stay through his hotel points, we decided to take a much needed vacation. Due to the tight money situation we haven't done anything of the sort since we went to Texas for the Camp Meeting in 2022. So we were all looking forward to a vacation. We had several choices, but the only completely free option east of the Mississippi in our time frame was at Massanutten Resort in Northern Virginia, and even that was pushing a one day drive. But, we looked into it and found that it put us close enough to visit friends and be with Old Carroll Primitive Baptist Church on Sunday, so we decided the gas money was worth it.
We left out at 3 am and made the drive to Macedonia Primitive Baptist Church in time for service. It had been just a few weeks shy of 5 years since we were last there, and it was important to us to be there with them. As last time, we really enjoyed our time with them. We picked up lunch afterward and were back on the road by 2 heading further North. Around 10:30 we made it into Massanutten, Virginia and found the resort office to check in. We immediately headed to our room and crashed as soon as we unloaded the car.
We only got a single room, and it was in the oldest area of the grounds, so the condos were very dated. However, we had a living/dining/kitchen with everything we might need to stay the week. There was a fold out couch bed in that room for Ruth and Rebecca. Then there was a bedroom with two queen beds. One for me and Gary and the second for the three youngest. Poor Britt had a pallet in the floor all week. Aside from being dated and a little worse for wear it was more than adequate, and remember it was free. We slept hard, and some of us slept way in before deciding to make a trip south to see Jefferson's home, Monticello. More on that next week.
Massanutten is a four season resort. In the summer when we were there they have a number of activities from gardening classes to bumper cars. We enjoyed playing putt-putt as a family one day. In the winter, they manufacture their own snow and do skiing, tubing and other snow sports. Year round they also have an indoor-outdoor waterpark. We spent our entire Thursday there, and the kids had SO much fun. Aside from those activities, they also have ziplining, go karts, arcades, indoor-outdoor pools, a petting zoo, and two 18 hole golf courses. There is really something for everyone. You could easily stay a week and never leave the resort.
It is also located in one of the most beautiful areas of the country along the Blue Ridge Mountains and near to the Shenandoah. As a result there are countless things in the area to do. We saw so much wildlife, and there were deer in the evenings every night we were there. It's an easy drive to four of the first five presidents' homes. There are some beautiful varied caverns and caves in the region. You can visit several National Parks - Harper's Ferry, Blue Ridge Parkway, and Skyline Drive (more on that next week as well). There are trails and overlooks all around the vicinity. The kids hoped to do at least one trail, but Gary was definitely not up to that kind of trail so we skipped them.
In particular I'll share about the waterpark since that is a huge draw for the resort. Inside there is a massive playground/splash pad with lots of little slides for younger kids. Of course Britt also did those just so he could say he had done EVERY slide in the waterpark. There was also a surf area where you could learn to surf. That was one of Kate's favorite things to do, and she wasn't too terrible at it, though Ruth totally wiped out every time she went on with Kate. There were two hot tubs, one for adults only and one for adults and kids. There was also a kiddie pool with six inches up to a foot of water. It had little slides, water fountains, and a mushroom with water pouring off it's top. It was one of Jon's favorite places to play, and it was perfect for kids between two and six. There were also three indoor waterslides, that Gary and I had way too much fun riding together. The first one we tried was pitch black inside and made for a wild ride. There was also a lazy river around the entire inside which was Will's very favorite. We all rode round and round several times. That was just everything inside.
Outside there was a huge wave pool and a pool full of different challenges like a ninja warrior course and basketball hoops. The ninja warrior course was one of Rebecca's favorite things, but Britt thought it was a little too easy. There were also some massive water shoot slides and a couple of other water slides. However, what Britt and Ruth thought was the best part was one MASSIVE slide that two rode together, it shot you up WAY up in the air before bringing you back down backward. Outdoors there was also another kid splashpad with small slides that the boys also enjoyed. And, if you aren't interested in the water park, you can spend time in their massive arcade upstairs while the rest of your group is busy outside or downstairs.
We had a great time and would definitely keep it on the list for future trips. If you have a chance to go and view the area for a free or low cost stay I'd take it. You can also get free tickets to the water park by doing the resort's tour. The kids would like to visit again to do some of the other activities as well as visit the waterpark again. If you'd like to make a trip the address to Massanutten Resort is1822 Resort Drive, Massanutten, Virginia. They're open year round. Of course, you can always call for more information at 540-289-9441.
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