Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, August 24, 2009

Lexington, Virginia Visit


IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF ROBERT E. LEE 6/25/07
The final ‘lap’ of our June '07 vacation was to Lexington, Virginia (after we had visited 5 waterfalls along the Blue Ridge Pkwy). We had been in Lexington in 2002--so we didn’t spend too much time here this particular time. We did visit Washington and Lee University, Lee Chapel, R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, Lee’s homeplace, and an old cemetery.

You may not know this but my husband is a HUGE fan of Robert E. Lee. He even named his son, Robert Edward Lee Adams. George has read almost every book ever written about Lee. SO--when we visit places where Robert E. Lee lived and worked, since George knows all of the history, I have a 'built-in' tour guide.

Here are pictures from our day in Lexington. Above is Washington Hall at Washington and Lee University. Robert E. Lee was President there from 1865-1870, when the college was called Washington College. Below are more.





This is the Jackson House---where Lee lived while building his home next door.





Above is Robert E. Lee's home--which he designed for himself and his invalid wife and daughters.





Here is the open garage--which was once the stable where Lee's horse, Traveller, lived.





This is Robert E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA.





Above is a view from the side of the church (but there were too many trees for a good picture).





George stands beside the announcement board in the front of the church.





The inside of this beautiful church; Note the gorgeous stained-glass windows.





Another beautiful window--taken from inside the church






Look at this fancy pulpit... Wow!!!





Well---if you don't want to preach, maybe you want to read scripture from this beautiful lectern.... Neat, huh?





Gen. Stonewall Jackson is buried in a cemetery in Lexington.





I enjoyed reading the inscriptions on the grave markers in the cemetery. (Wonder if there are some Bruce's or Ballard's buried there?????)





Stonewall Jackson was the most revered Confederate commander after Lee.

Hope you have enjoyed our little history lesson. Lexington, Virginia is a neat little city. IF you ever get near there, check it out.

Hugs,

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had the pleasure of visiting this area back in the late '80's. Your pictures bring back fond memories and how wonderful that George can share his love of Lee with you while touring these magnificent historical places.

Jayne said...

How neat that George got to see so much of Lee's life and home. :c) Don't you just love seeing old churches like that?

Kathy W said...

Those homes are beautiful. They done a wonderful job on the upkeep on them. Love the shots of the inside of that church.

jlshall said...

We've lived in Virginia for almost twenty-five years and have visited most of the sites connected with the Civil War. But we've never made it to Lexington. It looks like such a beautiful place! I've put it on my list of places to see before we move away from the area. Thanks for the lovely photos.

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Betsy, Loved these photos...those stained glass windows are so beautiful and interesting...thanks for sharing them...

Deb Murphree/Alabama Politics said...

dear Betsy...I have visited Robert E. Lee's home and many others of historical interest. Always found it to be exciting. Like I said before, whenever you sneak off to Virginia, ya better tell me first LOL...I'll hitch a ride. (joking)...I LOVE VIRGINIA!!!!

Rose said...

I would love to see that church...it sure looks interesting. Beautiful inside also.

T said...

What a beautiful church.....and those window (especially the rose window) are just breathtaking!

Darla said...

Very nice Betsy!!! I like the photo of the Church in the trees..

Arkansas Patti said...

How nice to have your own tour guide. Beautiful homes those boys had.
That must have really been special for George since he is such a Lee buff.
I remembered about Traveler. I think somewhere there is a statue of just the horse. May be wrong.
Thanks for the tour.

Sunny said...

Thanks Betsy for the tour. Wonderful pictures and history.
Sunny :)

Roses and Lilacs said...

Lee's horse, Traveler, sure had a nice home;)

Another beautiful church. I hadn't known Lee's wife was an invalid. Oddly, my home here in Illinois is less than a hundred miles from the home of Ulysses S Grant.
Marnie

Thistlebrooms said...

Funny Betsy, my cousin and I went down especially to Lexington for a week to check the area out...
We were looking for a place in that area make a move to...

You captured the Beauty of the area and it's such a Wonderful small town feel...

Thanks for sharing your Journeys...
Marilyn

Snap said...

Always fun to travel with Betsy and George!

Small City Scenes said...

Thanks for the history info and all the gorgeous pictures. The inside shot of the church is wonderful. Excellent!! History of our country is one of my favorite subjects and to see some of the actual historic places is so great. MB

Anonymous said...

Nice photos! That's a town I've wanted to visit for a long time.

Shelley said...

I just loved that church - those stained glass windows were gorgeous! Neat to see Lee's homes - and I bet George made a great tour guide! :-)
Bunches of hugs,
Shelley

Busy Bee Suz said...

This is great Betsy.Now I feel like I have had my tour and history lesson as well!!!! So neat about George and his passion about Lee!

Cheryl said...

How great it must be to have your own personal tour guide. I enjoyed all the photos. The buildings are so grand aren't they?

Susie said...

How nice that George is such a historian when it comes to Lee. Looks like a very interesting place to visit Betsy.

EG CameraGirl said...

I haven't been to Lexington for many, many years. I remember it as being a very clean city. (Funny what you remember, isn't it>) I hope it still is.

Robert E. Lee must have been a very great man if George reveres him!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Thanks,I enjoy seeing the old buildings.They have such charm.
Blessings,Ruth

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Betsy: Thanks for sharing this info and photos of your visit to see Lee. That was a sad time in American history.

Cicero Sings said...

What beautiful old buildings. They sure don't make churches like they used to!

NCmountainwoman said...

It is indeed a beautiful area. I love roaming through the old cemeteries as well.

troutbirder said...

Beautiful landscaped grounds and buildings!

SmilingSally said...

This is one place I never visited although I lived in Maryland, which is not very far. Thanks for sharing.

Becca's Dirt said...

I haven't been there yet but I have it on my bucket list. I love to tour old plantations. Beautiful stained glass.

Betty said...

What a wonderful place to visit.Thank you for taking us there I really like the stained-glass windows.

Kay said...

I love to visit historical places. I think there are more of them in the eastern part of the US though than out here in SoCal.

Adrienne Zwart said...

I love visiting a place with someone who is knowledgeable about the history. It makes an otherwise ordinary old building an exciting, vibrant place.
It's so wonderful that you love to travel together and enjoy the same things. I love reading about your journeys.

Diane AZ said...

Really enjoyed going to Lexington through your blog. Sure must be handy to have George, your 'built-in' tour guide, by your side while you visit these places!

Stephanie Suzanne Designs said...

Good Evening Betsy,

We took Hwy 321 through Wears Valley. Our House is about 7 miles from the Parkway/Wears Valley Rd intersection. It was a beautiful drive but like I said..it wouldn't have been pleasant with bad weather.

One of the first places we looked at for sale was in Walland. I like Maryville too. Heck, the whole area is nice!! :0)

Thomas carves songbirds right now. He took very limited instruction with a well known woodcarver in the Chattanooga club...Thomas's daddy was an artist and Thomas definitely has natural talent. The guy at the club told him that his beginner birds were worth $100+ each. So you know with anything in life it's a pleasure to know you are gifted in some areas and that you may be able to prosper from that talent. :0)

We look forward to the day that Thomas can quit this full time long distance work and come home..this blasted economy and the Washington situation has really taken it's toll on us financially and now they just keep talking about taxing us more.

I don't believe I've ever seen American's as unhappy as I'm hearing right now (us included)....but Washington just ignores what the people are saying and doing as they please...

We need election time to get here FAST!! :0)

Sorry...it's just every time I think about Thomas traveling 450 miles to work and having to be gone so much it really fires off what has happened to the millions of us in this country financially at no error on our parts. We have been responsible!!!!! It's just more than I can stomach some days.

Blah, blah, blah....sorry! LOL

Steph

Stephanie Suzanne Designs said...

Good Evening Betsy,

We took Hwy 321 through Wears Valley. Our House is about 7 miles from the Parkway/Wears Valley Rd intersection. It was a beautiful drive but like I said..it wouldn't have been pleasant with bad weather.

One of the first places we looked at for sale was in Walland. I like Maryville too. Heck, the whole area is nice!! :0)

Thomas carves songbirds right now. He took very limited instruction with a well known woodcarver in the Chattanooga club...Thomas's daddy was an artist and Thomas definitely has natural talent. The guy at the club told him that his beginner birds were worth $100+ each. So you know with anything in life it's a pleasure to know you are gifted in some areas and that you may be able to prosper from that talent. :0)

We look forward to the day that Thomas can quit this full time long distance work and come home..this blasted economy and the Washington situation has really taken it's toll on us financially and now they just keep talking about taxing us more.

I don't believe I've ever seen American's as unhappy as I'm hearing right now (us included)....but Washington just ignores what the people are saying and doing as they please...

We need election time to get here FAST!! :0)

Sorry...it's just every time I think about Thomas traveling 450 miles to work and having to be gone so much it really fires off what has happened to the millions of us in this country financially at no error on our parts. We have been responsible!!!!! It's just more than I can stomach some days.

Blah, blah, blah....sorry! LOL

Steph

Unknown said...

Churches are under-rated places to visit: especially one's with historical stories to read and think about. They are almost as good as waterfalls in terms of peacefulness ...

Jen said...

I bet George was in 7th heaven.

Loran said...

Excellent post there, Betsy! Have you guys been to Charlottesville? There is a lot of good Thomas Jefferson history, my old alma mater, University of Virginia is there, so maybe I'm a little biased.

Janie said...

I never knew Lee was a University President after the war. Interesting info. Beautiful photos of his home and the church. I love the stained glass.

Rajesh said...

Beautiful place. The architecture of the buildings and interiors are marvelous.

Carol Murdock said...

Loved the tour Betsy! Thanks!

Joe Todd said...

Great post Love the history and hope to see in person some day. This past spring my wife and I were at Harpers Ferry,Antietam and Gettysburg.

Jack said...

Excellent post..The architecture of the buildings and interiors are marvelous.
--
Jack
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Cookie said...

That is one part of VA that I haven't visited yet. It's amazing how rich in history VA is. Looks like a neat place.