Virginia Safari Park & Zoo in Natural Bridge

The Virginia Safari Park is a 180-acre drive-thru zoo and safari park located in Natural Bridge, Virginia. Admission into the park ranges from $13.95 to $21.95, depending on age (children vs. adult). Hours of operation 9 AM to 6:30 PM, depending on the season.

Available Paid Extras:

* Safari Guidebook: One free per vehicle. Extra guidebooks are $2.00 each.
* Animal Feed: $4.50 per bucket
* Giraffe Grain: .50
* Giraffe Romaine Lettuce: $5.00 and includes souvenir cup.
* Budgie Feed Stick: $1.50

Directions:

If you're traveling down to the park from central Pennsylvania, you'll want to hop onto I-81 and follow that down into Virginia until you see exit 180, in Natural Bridge. Follow signs to the park. For GPS Users: Virginia Safari Park, 229 Safari Lane, Natural Bridge, VA 24578.

You'll enter the park at the main entrance located near the gift shop. If you need to use the public restrooms, you'll find them located in the gift shop building and another one at the watering hole & snack bar building within the park.

Once in the facility you'll want to use your park map to meander your way through the park. If you're looking for the petting zoo area, you'll want to enter via the Safari Village Entrance. If you have children along with you, they're going to love visiting the petting zoo where they can get up close & personal with the animals.

The Drive-Thru Safari has an entrance within the park that you'll utilize when doing the drive-thru portion of your visit. You'll want to drive slowly and always be observant of the animals around your vehicle and the cars in front & behind you. Per park rules: You must remain in your vehicle, keep your doors closed at all times and ONLY feed the animals the food you received at the park. No outside food! You can have your windows rolled down!

Some of the animals that you will encounter during your visit include (but are not limited to): Giraffes, Cheetahs, Spider Monkeys, Tigers, Spider Monkeys, Kangaroos, Pigs, Goats, Tortoises, Budgie Avery, Snakes, Turtles, Ostrich, Camels, Bison, Buffalo's, Llamas, Deer, Rhinos, Penguins, Kangaroos and more! There are a lot of different animal species for you to see and to learn about.

There is a picnic area in front of the park that you and your family can utilize. I recommend bringing along brown-bag or picnic lunches for you to enjoy. The picnic area has a covered pavilion, so you can sit down in a shady spot and enjoy your meal.

The Watering Hole Cafe is located within the park and you can purchase lunch, dinner, beverages and/or snacks at the cafe. They offer up hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, ice cream, soft pretzels, nachos, popcorn, icees,  hot and cold beverages, plus more. We found their prices to be fairly reasonable.

You can visit the Virginia Safari Park's official website online to learn more about them, obtain their operating schedule and to see a list of their current events. You can connect with them over on Facebook too.

Col. James Burd Historical Marker in Highspire

Highspire is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. If you're unfamiliar with the area, it's about a 10 minute drive from downtown Harrisburg. It lies along the Susquehanna River with a population of around 2,700 people. The town used to have several food and beverage factories and was a home to early logging.

While driving through Highspire we stumbled upon the Col. James Burd historical marker. We enjoy documenting the various historical markers, national historic places & landmarks and other things that we stumble across while traveling around the state. You'll find this historical marker located on Pennsylvania Route 230 in Highspire.

Col. James Burd Historical Marker

Tinian, home of Col. Burd, is still standing on the opposite hill. Burd was road-builder of Braddock's expedition. French and Indian War commandant at Fort Augusta. Patriot and a soldier in the Revolution.

By: 1946 by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

When looking across the street (the opposite hill) we couldn't tell which home they marker was referring to or if its still standing today (2018) as the marker was put up in 1946. I did a little bit of research online and couldn't find any documentation on it. We will have to stop into the historical society to see if they can help guide us.

The Revolutionary War Monument in Middletown, Dauphin County

We enjoy taking road trips all around the United States. Every time we hit the road, we seek out the historic sites along the way. These sites can be historical markers, natural landmarks, historic places, monuments, memorials and sometimes things that we find off-the-beaten path.

While visiting another historical site in Middletown, Dauphin County, we stumbled upon the Revolutionary War Monument. It sits right on the property of the Sant Peter's Kierch Church at the corner of High Street and Union Street in Middletown, Pennsylvania.

The Inscription Reads as Follows:

Erected by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Swatara-Pine Ford Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This tablet is in commemoration of the services of Revolutionary War soldiers buried at Middletown or immediate vicinity. This marker is dedicated in grateful recognition of their patriotism, valor and fidelity.

Below the main inscription you'll find a lot of our fallen heroes name's and military rank.

If you're documenting historical markers and National Historic Places you can check out the Sant Peter's Kierch historical marker which sits right beside the monument. The Sant Peter's Kierch Church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and you'll find information about the church on the property too.

It's always nice to see small towns across America honoring their hometown war heroes by dedicating various monuments, memorials, banners, etc. to them. Matter of fact, as we drove through downtown Middletown they had hometown heroes banners hanging up on the majority of their street lampposts which was nice to see too!