last minute travel advice, central VA

Lexington VA not too far from there. They’ve renamed the chapel and hidden the tomb but can see REL financing place and an amazing sarcophagus of him lying in repose. Great Main street, house mountain, VMI and WL.

I’ve been to the greenbrier it’s fantastic but yeah that’s the opposite direction we need to go. We may stay an extra night in Roanoke if there’s anything to do there before we head to Portsmouth. Lynchburg looks like it might be nice

Natural Bridge State Park is just north of Roanoke. It's a short walk to the bridge and then there is about a mile walk along a small river to a small water fall. It was a nice walk in the fall, may be a little hot now.

A worker at the state park recommended Niko's Grille in Lexington for lunch. It was the best Ruben sandwich I've had. And the hummus was very good as well and I'm not a big fan of that. The Greek salad was a little disappointing.

If you go to Lexington you can take Hwy 60 to Buena Vista and then Hwy 501 to Lynchburg. It's a two lane mountain road that goes over the Blue Ridge. If you go that route you might want to take a little detour to Woodruffs Cafe and Pies at 3297 Elon Road, Monroe, VA. It's a little north of Lynchburg.

Just east of Appomattox is Farmville. They have an area with renovated tobacco warehouse that is now Green Front Furniture. It's 17 buildings full of stuff. It's near the river and there is a restaurant nearby; Charley's Waterfront Cafe. You can sit outside on the deck next to the river or eat inside.

The High Bridge Trail State Park passes through Farmville. It's an old railroad bed and you can walk it or rent a bike.

Patrick Henry's Red Hill home is near Brookneal, which is south of Lynchburg. Petersburg National Battlefield is near Petersburg, south of Richmond.

In addition to W&L and the Lee association, Lexington is home to Stonewall Jackson’s grave (his statue facing South as he would never turn his back on his beloved South) and VMI (war museum worth checking out). The Maury river runs through there as well.

Second on NCtigers recs. I really like Lexington. It is a really cool walkable small town. I'd rather stay there than Roanoke. Natural Bridge is great. If you have time, drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway from the NC line to your stop in Lexington. It's a slower pace but great stops along the way. I really loved going to Chateau Morrisette when I lived near by. Depending on timing, they have jazz concerts there often on weekends. Also the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax has been on my bucket list.

LINK (Link to Parkway Map)

Visit VMI’s campus in Lexington fo’ sho’

Sad I never brought my kids there like my dad did me.

quote:

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VMI

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I lived in Lynchburg until the beginning of the 7th grade. The first soccer game I ever saw was at VMI. A friend's brother played either for VMI or VPI (VA Tech now), I think it was VMI, but I'm not sure.

We often visited Appomattox, Natural Bridge and Peaks of Otter

thanks again to everyone for their help.
we took a late breeze flight into Richmond last night and are about to head to Roanoke. I’m gonna take the interstate to Charlottesville and then 29 to 60 thru BV then 501 thru Glasgow and on to Roanoke. It’s a nice day here for a drive.

Stayed at the moxy downtown Richmond last night and got a fairly shockingly great meal at midnight on a Monday at the bar at the Hilton down the street.

I’ll report back on today’s drive, and the show tonight in Roanoke