Blogs from Lexington, Virginia, United States, North America

The wedding of our niece (Susan's brother's daughter) took us to Lexington, Virginia. We arrived the day before so as to have plenty of time to explore the town. This was our first time staying in an Airbnb. The house was on a separate property neighboring the proprietor's residence. A little apart from the town, it has a view across a neighboring horse farm to the mountains beyond. Drew and Aubrey stayed with us. Town and historic property sightseeing was not for them, so they headed for Natural Bridge State Park. Lexington is most famous as the home of two higher education institutions: Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Washington and Lee University (W&L). It was also the home of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (1823-1863), a VMI instructor before the Civil War and Confederate general during it. The ... read more

Are we good or just lucky?? Today, we said our goodbyes to Amy and family. It was the first day back to school for Abby (10th grade) and Jake (9th). Good luck to them. We drove North towards Lexington up I-77 and I-81. As we progressed, Jackie started to search for a nearby winery to visit and maybe have some lunch. Once into Virginia, she located a promising vineyard and we left the Interstate in search of the WHITEBARRLE Winery. I give Jackie five stars for her pick. We arrived about five minutes before the winery opened for business. We were the only guests there and waited inside the winery until we were welcomed. Our hostess, Tess, was terrific. She was the expecting wife of the owner, Rik. She told us of the winery history and ... read more

Geo: 37.7839, -79.4431Heading west on 66 through bullshit eastern Virginia traffic (and at 2:30 on a Saturday - what gives?), I eventually found freedom in the wooded hills further inland. A friend from D.C. recommended taking Skyline Drive - a long, windy road that pretty much traverses the backbone of the Blur Ridge Mountains. A quick pit stop in Front Royal was necessary for gas and a latte, and it just so happened that the old main street was blocked off for a fair of sorts. I parked my truck and started walking toward the activity. The first person I saw made eye contact, acknowledged my humanity, and went as far as saying "Good afternoon." Places like this, places like Crested Butte, where I was greeted by nearly every local I passed by, I believe, I ... read more

Lexington is located at the heart of the Sherendoah Valley in western Virginia.The valley has been a place of fertile farms since colonial times.This fertility also means that it is soaked in blood.During the Civil War, the Sherendoah was one of the main food sources for the Confederacy.Early in the war, the Union decided to deprive their enemy of this resource.In 1862, Stonewall Jackson, who had lived in the area before the war and knew it well, was assigned to defend it.He successfully defeated a Union force four times his army's size over the next four months.The Valley Campaign is still studied at West Point.Two years later an even larger Union army moved into the valley, with orders from Ulysses S Grant to destroy the valley so thoroughly that "crows flying across it will need to ... read more