3 August 2018 marked our one year wedding anniversary and we spent it at a lovely bed and breakfast in Lexington, VA.
Brierley Hill Bed and Breakfast
We found a bed and breakfast located just outside of the Lexington city limits at the top of a beautiful 8 acre property overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains. The owners were extremely hospitable and I’d definitely recommend this location to anybody planning a trip to the historic little town. The veranda provides awesome views towards the mountain ridges, and if the weather cooperates, the sunrises and sunsets there can be absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, it rained most of our time there but that did provide us with some early morning fog and a double rainbow.
The clouds didn’t allow for the best light, but sitting on the veranda, with coffee, away from the craziness of Northern Virginia was refreshing.
City of Lexington
Lexington, Virginia is a city with a lot of history and you can feel it as soon as you enter the town. The current climate in the U.S. surrounding our civil war history aims to forget the good with the bad, but the people there seem to have a reasonable take on their city’s history. We visited the Stonewall House, Robert E. Lee crypt at Washington Lee University, and the Stonewall Cemetery. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and Robert E. Lee are probably the two most prominent men associated with Lexington (Although my Marine buddies will probably point to Chesty Puller) and the memorials here do a fantastic job of examining these men in the context of their time.
The city has very interesting architecture and cool little alleyways that make for great street photography scenes. Unfortunately, due to the rain and not wanting to carry my 700D through town I didn’t get any images. But, I just ordered a Ricoh GR Digital III on Ebay so street photography is an area I hope to explore more in the future.
Back Home
On the drive home we elected to take the Blue Ridge Parkway to Skyline Drive and then took Lee Highway back up to Northern Virginia. Although some of the trees were starting to change color, it will probably be another couple of months before the color really comes to life in the Shenandoah National Park. Also, the increased fare to enter the park really motivates me to return multiple times in the allotted 7 day window.
Overall, our trip to Lexington provided a much-needed getaway and glimpse into country living. I haven’t had much time to explore photography lately, but I’m hoping to change that with the last few months remaining of 2018. If, by chance, you’ve stumbled upon this post and have read this far I will close with another recommendation for visiting Lexington, VA and staying at the Brierley Hill Bed and Breakfast.