Vacations don’t always require a lot of travel time to be enjoyable! A recent trip to Rockbridge County in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia was only about 40 miles from where I live, but it proved to be a wonderful mid-week getaway.
Over the years I’d been “to and through” Lexington, Virginia, but I’d never really explored the town, and I’d never stayed there. For this mini-vacation we stayed at The Gin Hotel, right on Main Street. Built in the 1920s, this historic hotel was restored and renovated by new owners in 2014. With present-day amenities–combined with its original Art Deco design elements–it was both a comfortable and an “artsy” experience!
We arrived well before the check-in time, so we took advantage of the very walkable downtown area to do a bit of exploring.
I’ve always enjoyed walking on the Chessie Nature Trail that follows the Maury River, so after leaving the downtown area we drove to one of its access points on the east side of Lexington. The following video shows a bit of what makes this trail a special place to visit:
Unfortunately, there was a lot of mud and some very slick areas on the trail given all the snow and ice we had in late January. Off-trail paths along the edge of the river weren’t a good option either, so we didn’t go too far….
Instead, we drove “up river” just a bit to Jordan’s Point Park, which was once the industrial and transportation center in Lexington:
Just beyond Jordan’s Point is the Virginia Military Institute. Usually referred to as VMI, the school was founded in Lexington, VA in 1839.
Back at the hotel, I enjoyed seeing the mix of Art Deco and modern influences in the lobby…
…but the elevators were really cool!
Wow, 100 years old!
That evening we walked to Niko’s Grille on Main Street for dinner (I had Chicken Piccata–very good!), and the next day we visited Natural Bridge State Park, which is about 15 miles south of Lexington. While I’ve visited Natural Bridge several times over the years, this was the first time I’d been there since it became Virginia’s 37th state park in 2016.
In addition to being a state park, this is a National Historic Landmark, as it was surveyed by George Washington in about 1750 and granted to Thomas Jefferson in 1774.
Getting to the bridge involves walking down stairs. LOTS of stairs (137). Fortunately there are interesting things to read along the way….
It’s hard to grasp just how tall the Bridge is, especially from this perspective.
This is the same picture as above, just zoomed in and cropped to show the size of the people in relation to the height of the bridge. So yes, Natural Bridge is massive, rising 215 feet above Cedar Creek, which flows through its opening.
Legend says that George Washington carved his initials on the side of the Bridge, but there is no firm proof that the “G.W.” about 25 feet up was carved by him. There are several other names and initials carved into the limestone Bridge on either side of the creek.
Funny to think that Rt. 11–a busy N/S highway in the Shenandoah Valley–goes right over the top of Natural Bridge!
It was overcast and chilly when we were there, and Cedar Creek still had quite a bit of snow along its banks!
Almost 2 miles up the trail from the Bridge is Lace Falls, but knowing I’d ultimately have to hoof it back to the Bridge and then walk up 137 stairs to get to the car made the thought of going to the falls a hard pass!
After lunch at Blue Ridge Deli in Natural Bridge Station, our next stop was in Glasgow, VA. A large duck, likely a female Common Merganser, was surfing the waves of the Maury as it flowed into the James River at the confluence.
I’ve always been drawn to confluences–where one river joins another river–and this has always been one of my favorite ones. Usually the fast-moving Maury has a greenish color and enters the slower-moving and brownish James River, but on this afternoon, both rivers were moving quickly and looked almost the same, likely from the ongoing snow melt.
The wind started blowing really hard as we walked out to the confluence, and you can hear it in this short video:
I guess it IS time for crocuses to start coming up, but I was surprised to see these delicate little beauties near the rivers!
As we were walking back to the car, we heard a distant train whistle and decided to wait to see the train. It was hauling so many coal cars, likely coming from the mines in West Virginia and heading to deep-water terminals in Hampton Roads and Norfolk on the eastern edge of the state.
As we started driving away from the confluence, I spotted a bird hovering over the fields. While it was too far away to get a good picture, I’m almost positive that this was an American Kestrel, as I was able to get better photographs of one doing the same thing in October 2016! Kestrels, the smallest falcons in North America, are known for their “windhovering” ability which allows them to remain almost stationary while searching the ground below for prey.
That evening back at the hotel, we ate dinner in the Juniper Lounge, and the food was absolutely amazing….
It was raining the next morning as we left Lexington, but we took a few minutes to drive through the VMI and Washington and Lee University campuses. I was surprised by how close W&L is to VMI–they’re literally nextdoor neighbors!
We’d talked about touring the W&L campus to see the museum and the art and ceramic galleries, but between the rain and a sign that the museum was temporarily closed, we decided to start the drive towards home.
Preferring roads less traveled to interstates, we made most of the drive northeast on rural Rt. 252 which took us through the village of Brownsburg, VA. While it may be too small to read the sign in the photograph, it says that the community was established in 1793, and by 1835 it was a “thriving commercial hub” that was centrally located between Staunton, VA and Lexington on the stagecoach line. There is so much history in the Shenandoah Valley!
Our final stop was at historic Wade’s Mill near Raphine, VA. According to the website, this mill was founded in 1750, and it is the “oldest continuously operating commercial grist mill” in Virginia. A sign was posted saying it would be closed from December through April, but I’d love to visit in the spring to see it in operation!
I believe I’ve mentioned it’s been cold in Virginia?! Look at that ice!
There is so much to see and so much to do in Virginia, and I’m always, always thankful for opportunities to get out and explore!
“The most beautiful things in life are not things.
They are people, places, memories, and pictures.
They are feelings and moments, smiles and laughter.”
~ mysuitcasejourneys.com
