Vlogging and Blogging seem easier when you start with a number. You know, ten things you must have in order for your life to be extraordinarily wonderful. Or, seven pitfalls to avoid in order to have ultimate success. Numbers just give you an easy way to organize information.
As we traveled to Lexington, Virginia, I had no clue as to what to expect. I’d never even heard of it. However, we saw so many beautiful and interesting things while we were there. Here is our list of five places and/or things we enjoyed while we were there a few weeks ago.
1. Natural Bridge State Patk
There are over six miles of hiking trails in the park; we only went on the Cedar Creek trail which highlights the natural bridge and Lace Falls. It’s listed as a moderate hike. I think that is mainly because of the stairs leading down to the trail. It isn’t so bad going down them, but going up is another story.
After we made it down to the “ground level” we had no problems at all. A lot of the trail was paved!
The bridge and arch are at the very beginning of the hike. I was totally unprepared for how vast and beautiful it is. The first words out of my mouth were, “Oh wow!” Pictures cannot show how gorgeous this is. Go see it!
The trail continues beside Cedar Creek. We went around 9:00 am and it was mostly shaded. During our entire walk I felt like I was in a relaxation video with the sound of running water from the creek along with other sounds from nature.
The hiking trail culminates at Lace Falls – a beautiful waterfall with 30 foot cascades. There is a safety barrier that keeps you from getting too close, but the view was still spectacular. The Cedar Creek Trail is 2.2 miles total round trip.
2. Downtown Lexington Walking Tour
We scoped out downtown Lexington on Sunday evening, the night of our arrival. It’s an iconic place with cute stores and several restaurants.
The next day, after our hike, we made our way to the Lexington Visitor’s Center. I highly recommend going there first. I don’t recommend going there right after a hike in warm weather. More on that later. The people at the Visitor’s Center were so helpful. We ended up with a walking tour map of the downtown area. The next two items were the highlight of our downtown experience. There is so much more to see!
3. Stonewall Jackson’s House
I realize that this may not be a popular stop for some people. After all, a statue of Jackson in Charlottesville, Virginia was taken down soon after our trip ended. We stand by this paraphrased quote by Winston Churchill, “Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”
There is a small entry fee to get in for a self guided tour. There are also museum volunteers on site to give additional insight and information.
The house is the only home Thomas Jackson ever owned. It has been restored to appear as it did while Jackson lived there. Most of the tour highlights Jackson’s role as a professor, community leader, and businessman during the time he lived in Lexington, before the Civil War.
4. Virginia Military Institute Museum
Before we visited Lexington, I only knew about VMI because we had a friend and military colleague who graduated there.
The first thing I noticed as we drove through VMI was the architecture. I’ve visited quite a few places and have never seen anything quite like it.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the VMI museum. Plus it was air conditioned! The museum has a collection of over 15,000 artifacts including the hide of Stonewall Jackson’s famous horse – Little Sorrel. You can also visit the George C. Marshall Research Library on the VMI campus.
5. Dining
The first night we stayed in the Natural Bridge/Lexington area, we ate at the Pink Cadillac Diner. It was very close to our campground, plus, who can pass up a diner with that name?
The food was typical diner food, and it was yummy. Al says his burger was one of the best he has ever eaten!
Our last day in Lexington we decided to eat downtown. After hiking (and sweating) around Natural Bridge, we decided on another casual place. We ended up at Pure Eats.
Pure Eats is known for their house-made donuts, made fresh every morning. For their burgers, they use locally sourced beef and they are delicious! I’m not normally a burger person, but the one I ate was amazing. They also serve locally roasted coffee, milkshakes, and local craft beer and cider.
There is so much to do in the Natural Bridge/Lexington area that we hope to go back. We saw a lot during our two day visit, but there is more to see. If you are ever close by, I highly recommend a visit!
