Washington, DC & the Capital Region - Eastern USA - page 604

and roasted duck breast, plus the best vegetarian food in town - the vegetarian Beef Wel-
lington uses beets in place of beef.

Lexington & Around

This is the place to see Southern gentry at their stately best, as cadets from the Virginia
Military Institute jog past the prestigious academics of Washington & Lee University.
The visitor center ( 540-463-3777; 106 E Washington St; 9am-5pm) has free parking.

Sights & Activities
Founded in 1749, colonnaded Washington & Lee University is one of the top small col-
leges in America. The Lee Chapel & Museum ( 540-458-8768; 9am-4pm, from 1pm
Sun) inters Robert E Lee, while his horse Traveller is buried outside. One of the four
Confederate banners surrounding Lee's tomb is set in an original flagpole, a branch a
rebel soldier turned into a makeshift standard.

Virginia Military Institute UNIVERSITY
(VMI; Letcher Ave; 9am-5pm when campus & museums open) You'll either be impressed or
put off by the extreme discipline of the cadets at Virginia Military Institute, the only uni-
versity to have sent its entire graduating class into combat (plaques to student war dead
are touching and ubiquitous). A full-dress parade takes place most Fridays at 4:30pm
during the school year. The school's George C Marshall Museum ( 540-463-7103; ht-
tp://www.marshallfoundation.org/museum / ; adult/student $5/2; 9am-5pm Tue-Sat, from 1pm
Sun) honors the creator of the Marshall Plan for post-WWII European reconstruction.
The VMI Cadet Museum ( 540-464-7334; 9am-5pm) houses the stuffed car-
cass of Stonewall Jackson's horse, a homemade American flag made by an alumnus pris-
oner of war in Vietnam, and a tribute to VMI students killed in the War on Terror.
Contact the museum for a free guided tour of the campus offered at noon.

Natural Bridge & Foamhenge LANDMARK
Yes, it's a kitschy tourist trap, and yes, vocal creationists who insist it was made by the
hand of God are dominating the site, but the 215ft-high Natural Bridge
( www.naturalbridgeva.com ; bridge adult/child $21/12, bridge & caverns $29/17; 9am-dusk) , 15
miles from Lexington, is still pretty cool. It was surveyed by 16-year-old George Wash-
ington, who supposedly carved his initials into the wall, and was once owned by Thomas
Jefferson. You can also take a tour of some exceptionally deep caverns here. Just up the