East Coast Road Trip - Day 8 - Water Country USA & off to Christiansburg

[Gunna]

Day 8 - 16th August 2014 - Water Country USA, Friendly's & heading off to the Smokies

It was time to leave Williamsburg today and our bags were packed before we headed down to breakfast. We could of easily spent a few more days here there was lots more to explore and although sad to leave we were looking forward to the next stage of the road trip. As part of the deal we got online with the Busch Gardens tickets we also got access to their waterpark included. We had a few hours before we needed to be on the road so knowing how much Sam loves the water thought it to good an opportunity to miss. We had our breakfast, packed the car and where on our way. Couple of wrong turns but we were in the carpark for 10am. The warm, sunny weekend weather had brought the people out in force and we joined the queue and headed to the turnstiles. Slight fiasco with the tickets as we were informed by a miserable staff member we had to now change our printed ticket for a different one and were send back to the automated machines to sort it out before joining the queue again. We were soon in and as Kik wasn't swimming today we found her some shade near the café bar where she could read her book and relax. That left Sam and me to hit the water.



Sam had already headed off into the wave pool and once the waves stopped for a break we went off to get on some of the slides. One we really wanted to try was their new slide 'Colossal Curl' shown below. The queue, with this being so new was huge and we debated joining the queue which we knew would take a massive chunk out of our time or trying the others. We decided to give it a miss and head onto what else the park had to offer.



There was a good choice of slides and we enjoyed the ones we did. The queues on the ones we tried moved quickly. One of our favourites was 'Aquazoid' a dual dingy ride in the dark with flashing lights, drops and waterfalls, great fun and we really enjoyed it. Sam had seen they had a drop slide and wanted to try it so off we went to see what it looked like.



Couple of years ago in Florida when we visited Blizzard Beach I had chickened out of Summit Plummit, Sam didn't and loved it. Needless to say I have never lived it down and it quite often gets brought up how I 'wussed it' and he does enjoy ribbing me about it. This one had two types of slide. The one were you can launch yourself over the edge and those were you sit in the capsule and the floor drops and then so do you onto the slide below. I was determined to not bottle it today so me and Sam headed up the tower on Vanish Point. We watched the capsule slides and even Sam was nervous so we chose the self launch and both got ready to go. I enjoyed it though to be honest felt it a bit rough, Sam loved it but reminded me it was nowhere near as tall as Summit Plummit.



We spent the next couple of hours enjoying numerous trips in Hubba Highway (the same as Roa Rapids at Aquatica) and the wave pool. The park was getting busier now and so were the queues and Sam and me were more than happy to catch some waves and enjoy the fun of the rapid river. The sun was getting warmer and the temperature hotter and about 1pm we had a final go in the wave pool before hunger and the need to move made us get changed and head on out. We all enjoyed the waterpark and Sam could of easily stayed in a few more hours but the road was calling as were our empty stomachs. We drove back through Williamsburg and we had previously spotted Friendly's. This was a favourite of ours from our first trips to Orlando in the 1990's so we dropped in for our lunch. Sam chose of the kids menu with some sliders, Kik the tuna melt and I went for the BBQ chicken melt.



My mum rang just as we ordered our desserts for a catch up, she misses Sam when we are away and we had a good catch up. Me and Kik order ice cream and Sam goes with one of the kids sundae creation which he loved. The food was really good and with drinks and tip at just $30 was a bargain. As we needed to get on our way we paid and filled up with petrol and headed off to Christiansburg



Plan tonight was to get to Christiansburg, check in and then go to their drive-in movie theatre to see a movie. We decided to have a stop on route to break up the drive to the Smokies. the drive was fine and near Charlottesville we stopped off for a coffee and loo stop before the final leg to Christiansburg. Once we had passed Charlottesville the scenery changed and although good to this point it was very impressive after. It wasn't long before the Blue Ridge parkway and mountains came into view and they were stunning. The first thing I though was that the Blue Ridge mountains were actually blue. It was a lovely drive and made the journey all the more enjoyable. What I didn't realise is that the drive would take longer than what I had originally though and when we finally arrived in Christiansburg it was 7.45pm. The drive in movie queue opened at 6pm with the film starting at 8pm. Knowing we had missed it we checked in and went to the room. Somehow as we got there so had someone else and there were cases in the room already. So we headed back to reception got the room mix up sorted and then took the bags to our second room. Kik then realised she had left her drink in the first room but it would be a surprise for the occupants I'm sure.

We had seen loads of places called 'Cracker Barrel' on the drive and then there was one right next to the hotel. A place we had never tried before so we headed in and got a seat. Bit of a surprise and a nice change to burgers and chips. Real home cooking and we enjoyed our meatloaf, mac n cheese, chicken dumplings, ham, mash potatoes and proper veggies! After this we had a look around the shop and brought maybe a few too many candies and sweets.



Picked up a few bits for people back home and a stock of Jelly Bellys for me. The girl in the shop on the till was a bit 'out there' and laughed at most things we said and I soon realised Kik and Sam had wandered off and left me talking to her. She came across a bit nuts but harmless and amusing and we left her laughing to herself on the till. We picked up some coffees and free cookies from the lobby and headed back to room, luckily no-one else had checked in to our room. We were soon in bed and asleep ready for our final drive to the Smokies.

Tomorrow - Great Smoky Mountains, Pigeon Forge attractions and our cabin.

[orlandosgr8]

What a great day the waterpark looks fantastic and would be a huge it with us.

Looking forward to the next part as we visited the Smokies in August too

[Gunna]

Originally Posted by orlandosgr8

What a great day the waterpark looks fantastic and would be a huge it with us.

Looking forward to the next part as we visited the Smokies in August too

See more...

We loved the waterpark, just a shame we could not stay longer, it was a good park.

[Pussycat Doll]

You're packing so much into this trip, brilliant! Pussycat

[juliab]

What a lovely day, the waterpark looked such fun

[OB1LukeLucas]

The waterpark looks great, you managed to get lots done there-I hope Kik enjoyed her relax with a book too. I bet the drive was stunning, really looking forward to tomorrow's photos. Shame you missed the drive in movie but Cracker Barrel food sounded great.

[Glee Fan]

Water park looks great - the lazy river suits me fine!