HUMMINGBIRD INN

Innkeepers Dick and Pam Matthews say their bed and breakfast, the Hummingbird Inn, is a destination in itself. Located 20 minutes northwest of Lexington, in Goshen, the drive to the Hummingbird takes you through the beautiful Goshen Pass to a rural area that’s been noted for its hospitality since the C & O Railroad (now CSX) came through Goshen in the mid-1800s. And yes, in season, there are hummingbirds everywhere in the gardens.

The Hummingbird Inn started life as a log cabin and the post beams that were set in place around 1780 still stand in what is now the inn’s rustic den, complete with stone fireplace. You can have dinner at the inn in front of that roaring fireplace or a candlelight dinner in the dining room or a massage for two in the privacy of your room.

Thinking of getting married this Valentine’s Day? The Hummingbird Inn has a “Just Us Two” package for you that includes a two-night stay in your choice of a room with a whirlpool tub or double shower for two; marriage (or renewal of vows) by a minister or officiate; a ribbon-tied bridal bouquet; a heart-shaped wedding cake; a bottle of champagne or sparkling cider; a romantic candlelight dinner one night and a picnic supper the next, and a continental breakfast delivered to your room. Put all that together with fresh flowers, and chocolate-covered strawberries or chocolate truffles delivered to your room, and the romantic getaway is complete!

The rooms are lovely and each has its own private bathroom, feather beds with down comforters, soft cotton robes, and fireplaces or antique stoves in every room. If you feel like strolling outside your room, there’s wraparound verandas on the first and second stories, original pine floors, a solarium, and a deck that overlooks a wide trout stream outside by the old barn.

For information, visit www.hummingbirdinn.com or call 800-397-3214. The Hummingbird Inn is located at 30 Wood Lane in Goshen, VA 22439.

THE INN AT LEXINGTON

If you’d rather stay in Lexington and explore the old downtown area with its antique shops and stores with unique collectibles, make plans to stay at The Inn at Lexington, where you can book one of four luxury suites.

This bed and breakfast bills itself as enticing, eclectic and elegant. And it is! The suites have names like Bits and Saddles, named after Ralph Lauren’s Secretariat; Seven Hills, decorated with nature wallpaper and heavy oak and metal furniture; Key West Suite, with sunny Key West décor; and The Fiddler’s Suite, which is decorated in shades of mauve and cream. Each room has its own television and VCR, so you could rummage around the innkeeper’s collection of old VHS movies and find just the right one to share. The upstairs parlor has a computer if you feel you need to reach the outside world.

Breakfast at the Inn at Lexington is always scrumptious and innkeeper Natalie serves up a gourmet treat. On a recent stay, visitors were treated to ice cream for breakfast! The ice cream topped a lovely warm, baked apple filled with grape nuts cereal. Downstairs there’s a comfortable and spacious living room, a good place to curl up with a good book or simply sit and listen to the wide variety of music that plays around the clock while you watch the fire glowing in the hearth.

The Inn’s legacy began in 1927 when it housed a fraternity at Washington and Lee University. In the 1940s, for a while it was the Colonial Inn with 20 rooms, then in 1953 the house was again purchased by a fraternity, none other than the infamous Delta Upsilon men of the movie “Animal House.” For a while it was a refuge for homeless children, then it was remodeled and now the inn boasts four specialty suites, each with an original theme and the convenience of a private bath.

For information, visit www.theinnatlexington.com or call

866-288-4715. The Inn at Lexington is located at 408 South Main Street in Lexington, VA 22450.

ALPINE HIDEAWAY COTTAGES

If you really want your romantic escape and have your privacy at the same time, the Alpine Hideaway cottages, located north of Lexington in Steeles Tavern, Va., could be the ticket. Alpine owner Eileen Hoernlein and her husband used to run a bed and breakfast. Over the years as they found couples wanted more privacy, they built three cottages, Ivy, Sunset and Pond View.

You can make yourself at home in these cottages that come equipped with complete kitchens, but it’s the pampering you can give yourself soaking in the secluded hot tub outdoors or sharing the double Jacuzzi in the large, luxurious bathroom that’s most important. Two of the cabins perch high atop the Blue Ridge overlooking the Shenandoah Valley’s green fields and Blue Mountains. The third cabin is located by a fishing pond and mountain pastures and also comes equipped with the hot tub, double Jacuzzi and fireplace like the other two cabins. A four-poster canopy king bed, plush towels, a skylight in the bathroom and luxurious robes to wear all help complete the picture that just needs you and your sweetie in it.

For information, visit www.alpinehide away.com or call 800-895-6121. The cottages are located at 30 Butler Circle, Steeles Tavern, VA 24476.

For information, visit www.theinnatlexington.com or call866-288-4715. The Inn at Lexington is located at 408 South Main Street in Lexington, VA 22450.

NATURAL BRIDGE

Whether you travel I-81 or the Blue Ridge Parkway, start your trip by traveling just a few miles south of Lexington to visit Natural Bridge, billed as one of the wonders of the world. The bridge, said to be millions of years old, is a geological formation formed by the meanderings of Cedar Creek, a tributary of the James River. The bridge is 215 feet high and stretches a span of 90 feet.

George Washington was a young surveyor when he surveyed the bridge for Lord Fairfax, and if you look closely, you can see Washington’s initials carved into the limestone mammoth. Thomas Jefferson liked the bridge so much that in 1774 he bought it from King George III to preserve it as a mountain retreat. He built a two-room log cabin for guests and since then thousands have come — first by horse and stagecoach and train and now by automobile — to view the huge, mysterious rock bridge, which is now privately owned.

Visitors to the bridge can also visit a toy museum and stroll down memory lane with over 30,000 toys and childhood memorabilia. They can also visit the Monacan Indian Village, located along the nature trail beyond the bridge, tour Professor Cline’s Haunted Monster Museum and experience his incredible creations in haunted house style or visit Dinosaur Kingdom located next to the Monster Museum.

THE GENERALS AND LEXINGTON

Next, travel to the town of Lexington and go back in time to the end of the Civil War. When Southern General Robert E. Lee surrendered, he pledged his allegiance to the union and became president of Washington College the same day. The school, first known as Liberty Hall, was founded in 1749. When the school was floundering in 1796, George Washington gave the school an endowment of $20,000, and it was renamed for him. Lee was president until his death in 1870.

After Lee died, the school was named to honor him as well as Washington, hence the name Washington and Lee University. Today you can visit the Lee Chapel and Museum and see the office where Lee met with students and the pew where he sat in the chapel that was used not only for daily worship services but also for debates and lectures.

Lexington is also home to Virginia Military Institute, another college with a connection to famous generals — Stonewall Jackson, a Civil War general and George C. Marshall, a 20th-century American general.

Before he gained the nickname “Stonewall,” Thomas Jonathan Jackson was a professor of philosophy and instructor in military tactics at VMI from 1851 to 1861. The only home Jackson ever owned is now a museum, and there you will find period pieces and personal items including the uniform coat he wore while teaching at VMI. History buffs will also want to tour the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery where Jackson and his family are buried. Stop at the Lexington and Rockbridge Area’s Visitor Center, 106 East Washington Street, for maps of both schools.

ANTIQUES AND SHOPPING

After visiting the schools, you could begin a walking tour and visit other historical places or, if you prefer, take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage and listen to the rhythm of hoof beats as your carriage driver/tour guide points out many historic places of interest.

You could also tour some of those lovely antique stores in the downtown area and visit the unique shops like Artists in Cahoots, a cooperative gallery run by local artists and craftspeople; or Artisans on Washington Street, a gallery featuring fine American crafts and the work of VirginiaLee Highway to Duke’s Lexington Antique Center with over 200 dealers and consignors. The Antique Mall has over 40,000 square feet of display space and more than 160 dealers. For country antiques and collectibles, visit the Valley of Virginia Antiques with its large selection of 18th- and 19th-century American country furniture and antique quilts and accessories attractively displayed in a restored 1788 manor house. artists. There are many more antique stores in the area. Just drive out.

CRAFTING AND COOKING

North of Lexington in Raphine visit a simple white house filled with love, laughter, good times — and yarn and more yarn. Orchardside Yarn Shop has been in existence for more than 40 years, since current owner Carole’s mother Ruth started it in 1964. Carole offers classes for all skill levels and says knitting is the perfect hobby to relax with. Some knitters love her shop and classes so much they plan trips to the area, spending the night in local bed and breakfasts. Carole invites all knitters to visit her year round to “knit, knit, knit.”

Nearby, Wade’s Mill is a working water-powered flour mill that has been in operation since 1882. Hit it right and you can take cooking classes using the whole grain and stone-ground flours and corn meal in the spring and warmer months of the year. The mill is powered by a 21-foot water wheel, visible if you climb to the second floor of the mill, which is fed by a nearby stream. It is one of the few remaining flour mills that still produce a wide variety of flours exclusively on mill stones.

VIRGINIA HORSE CENTER

A visit to the Lexington area is not complete without stopping off to see the Virginia Horse Center that’s known internationally, as well as nationally, and where over 100 events are held every year. There are many kinds of horse shows, such as the quarter horse and Arabian horse shows in March and rodeos, such as the February Lone Star championship Rodeo. Each month, on the second Tuesday, the Old Time Music Jam features mountain music that attracts people from miles around.

For information about the Lexington area, contact Lexington and Rockbridge Tourism at www.lexingtonvirginia.com or call 540-463-3777.