To the Mountains...and someplace new up there (July 23, 2016)

 Not sure what came over me, with heat close to 100 and a heat factor of over 100-105 but rode today to Lexington, VA. I had never been there, though had been close. Went to see the grave of Robert E. Lee (which this is NOT) its a statue in the Lee Chapel though his grave with his wife and family members is in the basement. Even his horse Traveller has a grave...outside the chapel.
After the surrender he became President of the school, and is honor of him they added his name. George Washington also donated some money (earlier) and so it was named for him (also earlier. Very beautiful old school, was fun walking around there.

While in Lexington, saw the grave of General Stonewall Jackson, Very strange guy, if you haven't already check out his history. The man was a born killer, but had some strange ideas.
I also toured the George Marshall Museum at VMI. Saw my first Nobel Peace Prize. That and some other photos from this visit will be on my "Racing with the Wind Page". I really enjoyed the ride and as I noted this was my first visit to this town.
Had a lot of old buildings and enjoyed staggering around in the heat. You can also take a tour in a horse drawn carriage. If I had it to do over, would certainly have done that. Nice places to eat and some friendly people.
Highly suggest you make your first stop the Visitor Center. Very nice people there and they had all sorts of maps and info which came in handy. I was able to find everything I was looking for, and being a history buff enjoyed seeing the sites where some of these people worked. Stonewall Jackson had a house there.  

In fact Jackson and Marshall (Marshall you have heard of as he created the post WWII Marshall Plan which basically rebuilt Europe after the War) both were associated with VMI. Very old and interesting school. Has a long history, and is a National Historic Site.  

No trip there would be complete without a ride on my favorite road. I took this photo while STOPPED...so don't freak out....but sure enjoyed it. Went about 70 miles, and enjoyed it a great deal. I also passed a park officer who was clocking riders. Came across one guy (not me thank God) who got a ticket for speeding. Speed limit is 45 on the roads. Good thing though cause for one the turns can be tight in spots and also that remarkable view can be distracting.
Lexington is about 138 miles (from my house) from Richmond...counting the whole days riding (up Midlothian Turnpike, on the Parkway, and back via I-64 covered a total of 289 miles. It was a fantastic day exploring in Virginia. As I noted more photos can be seen on my Racing with the Wind blog page.