After a windy, cold, and rainy night, I went into Luray to be in a cold (54 degrees), but still and lit up cavern about 164 feet underground. I figured it's been a long time since I was in a cave and this one is supposed to be the biggest one east of the Mississippi, so I shouldn't feel claustrophobic.
First, I stopped at a local auto mechanic to have the cigarette lighter assembly put back together - it came out with the attachment needed for the brake buddy. They put it back together again and advised that I hold the end of the assembly when taking the thing out of the lighter area - easy for them to say because it's recessed and covered with the thingy. The next time it comes out, I'll need a new lighter from a Honda dealer, so they tell me.
It is advertised that the waiting time for the tour is anywhere between 5 and 25 minutes, but we waited over ½ hour. The tour is supposed to be an hour, but we were down there for a little over 1.5 hours. So I guess the tour made up for the wait. It was a big crowd, so it was very hard to stay up with the guide and hear everything he had to say and point out. It was still good, though. I took a lot of pictures, hoping that half of them would be keepers. That was right on. I need to learn to slow down my movements when taking videos in a dark place. Most of those weren't clear, so I didn't keep them. I have enough cave experience now for a few years, since I know what stalactites and stalagmites look like. The unique thing about this cave, besides its size, is that wires and musical hammers are hooked up to an organ and the organ is programmed for about 35 songs. We heard "A Mighty Fortress" and I thought it was pretty good.
Included with the price of admission is a tour of their old transportation museum. The old bikes and cars were interesting. They claim to have the cars used by a few silent screen stars and Rudy Vallee.
I have included a couple of views from late in the day when it had stopped raining, but the clouds and fog was still prevalent.