The Great Underground

Can you think of a better way to cool off on an almost-hot summer day than to go 160 feet below ground? I can (the beach, swimming, a cold iced tea...), but it was still fun to walk through Howe Caverns on Sunday after church. Sean had a blast (well, not literally), and keeps asking to go back. It was a bit expensive, so we'll probably wait until next visit before going back, but here are some pictures to commemorate our day.

Sean and the Stalactite (it fell many years ago when Mr. Howe was clearing out some path for the visitors, that's why it's not still on the ceiling, which is what "stalactite" means) Sean and the stalagmite (it also came "unglued" from its place when they were doing some excavating, but it is one that originally grew from the ground up.) These formations remind me of the fun I have making pillars with wet sand at the beach...
One of Mom's parishoners joined us for the trip - we love having S* around, and Sean loves her, too! They had a great time. I particularly enjoy Sophia's face in this picture! Chip is holding Sean, so sorry that I didn't get a better view of his face.

Here's the whole gang (minus me - the joy of holding the camera!), and you can almost see Chip in this one! :)
For some unknown reason (perhaps Mr. Howe's daughter's wedding), they decided once upon a time to cut out a piece of some formation (I think it's called flatstone or something else that starts with "flat") and shape it into a heart and host weddings in the cave. It really happens - I think he said 357 times! Maybe it was just 57. At least you wouldn't have to worry about the weather...except flooding. At any rate, they cut it in the shape of a heart and lit it from underneath, so it's nice and warm. Here the kids are warming their hands, because hanging out in 52 degrees for an hour made them rather chilly.
Oh, and just a little footnote: Sean decorated his own sweatshirt. We bought a sweatshirt at a yard sale for 50 cents and he wanted to make it look cool, so he used fabric markers to paint on flames. It was all his idea. Pretty funny!