Luray Caverns

My first big family trip was to Luray Caverns and the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. For wide-eyed children, the trip met all of our expectations, with the unexpected perk of Southern hospitality, which we all found so disarmingly wonderful that the family still talks of it today, decades later.

Of course, after a long ride down, a road stop was in order for a hungry family. There was a spirit of vacation esprit, and I was able to order the deluxe breakfast, which, if I recall, was somewhere in the order of 50 cents and came with everything. My father, whose capacity for coffee knew no bounds, was delighted with the unlimited refills policy, something he had not experienced before. We were all in heaven and had not even set foot in the caverns yet.

The commercial cavern was an astounding display of dripstone - limestone formations created by the deposit of minerals which precipitate from dripping water. I learned about stalagmites and stalactites and how to remember the difference ("g" for ground, "c" for ceiling).

While looking at the black ooze coming from openings in the hideous walls in the East Broadway subway station while waiting for the F train in New York City, it occurred to me that the same type of mineral sedimentation might be occurring. A conversation with two friends who have worked for a long time at the Transit Authority said the black ooze was a sedimentation of sorts, specifically insulation. They explained the reasons for this in detail - the construction of the walls, tunnels, rainfall, water accumulation, saturation, and oozing.

The display is certainly not as dramatic or colorful as the world's renowned show caves, and I doubt anyone will be running tours. But the black color is so appropriate for a New York City subterranean gothic feel. Our own secret Luray Caverns :)