Written on August 2, 2009 at 7:00 pm by Jennie

Lexington & Stuffed Animals

Filed under North American Culture {8 comments}

I am still in Virginia! My sister got married last night in Lexington, but before that we spent Thursday & Friday exploring the town. We saw Robert E. Lee’s crypt and where his horse, Traveller, is buried at Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington & Lee University. Then we saw Stonewall Jackson’s house and garden, his grave (and statue) at the cemetery named after him, and his horse, Little Sorrel, who is not buried, but stuffed and standing in the Virginia Military Institute Museum.

We checked into the House Mountain Inn on Friday. The bridal party and family members all stayed there, and the reception was also held there on Saturday night. It’s just a modest, little inn located in the mountains.

It has a nice view of the yard and mountain, with many trails for hiking and horse riding. All 9 rooms either have a hot tub or jacuzzi tub. And apparently Tom Cruise stayed there while filming War of the Worlds a few years ago.

And inside the inn, there are many animal friends to play with. Or just pet since they don’t move.

I don’t have any wedding pictures on my camera, so they’ll have to wait until Tuesday night when we get back home. I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Virginia though. I love hearing pretty Southern accents everywhere and even though the weather isn’t always sunny, it’s still rather warm. The Confederate flags still make me feel uneasy, but that’s mostly because when I see them in Michigan it usually means that person is racist. At least around here it just means that person loves the south and is proud to be a southerner. (Or that’s what I’d like to believe it always means.)

We are at my sister’s house in Virginia Beach for today, and then we should be in D.C. all day tomorrow. The drive to Lexington took 11.5 hours, but I’m hoping the drive from D.C. will be slightly shorter. I’m so glad we didn’t have to fly here, but I am also really sick of sitting in a car!

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http://family-counts.blogspot.com/ barbara

Hi Jennie,
Very interesting… everytime I come back to the US, I always do some historical visits. I find that I’m much more attentive to all the History than when I lived in the US;

I know that you were in VA, but Lexington makes me think of when my hubby & I visted the beautiful Horse museum in Lexington KY, in KY Derby country. A must if you love horses .

Keep on enjoying
.-= barbara´s last blog ..Hang 10 ! =-.
http://family-counts.blogspot.com/ barbara

Hi Jennie,
Very interesting… everytime I come back to the US, I always do some historical visits. I find that I’m much more attentive to all the History than when I lived in the US;

I know that you were in VA, but Lexington makes me think of when my hubby & I visted the beautiful Horse museum in Lexington KY, in KY Derby country. A must if you love horses .

Keep on enjoying
.-= barbara´s last blog ..Hang 10 ! =-.
http://www.correresmidestino.com Zhu

The Confederate flags still make me feel uneasy, but that’s mostly because when I see them in Michigan it usually means that person is racist. At least around here it just means that person loves the south and is proud to be a southerner. (Or that’s what I’d like to believe it always means.)

That’s funny! I can relate to that a little bit. I feel the same when I see people displaying French flags in France. I know, it’s stupid… it can mean they are proud to be French. But because the flag is also mostly used by Front National members, it is a bit weird.
.-= Zhu´s last blog ..Ottawa Busker Festival =-.
http://www.correresmidestino.com/ Zhu

The Confederate flags still make me feel uneasy, but that’s mostly because when I see them in Michigan it usually means that person is racist. At least around here it just means that person loves the south and is proud to be a southerner. (Or that’s what I’d like to believe it always means.)

That’s funny! I can relate to that a little bit. I feel the same when I see people displaying French flags in France. I know, it’s stupid… it can mean they are proud to be French. But because the flag is also mostly used by Front National members, it is a bit weird.
.-= Zhu´s last blog ..Ottawa Busker Festival =-.
http://ausoleillevant.blogspot.com/ au soleil levant

Congratulations on your sister’s marriage! I love how there are stuffed animals everywhere, it’s so hokey. I love DC, have a wonderful time!

It makes me more nervous to see confederate flags in the South than it does in Michigan because that’s where they actually had slavery, Jim Crow laws that maintained a second-class status for blacks until 40 some years ago, and still revere the generals who fought to keep the right to have human beings as slaves. I love Gone with the Wind as much as the next girl, but let’s not have illusions about “the glorious South.”
.-= au soleil levant´s last blog ..The Shores of Michigan =-.
http://ausoleillevant.blogspot.com au soleil levant

Congratulations on your sister’s marriage! I love how there are stuffed animals everywhere, it’s so hokey. I love DC, have a wonderful time!

It makes me more nervous to see confederate flags in the South than it does in Michigan because that’s where they actually had slavery, Jim Crow laws that maintained a second-class status for blacks until 40 some years ago, and still revere the generals who fought to keep the right to have human beings as slaves. I love Gone with the Wind as much as the next girl, but let’s not have illusions about “the glorious South.”
.-= au soleil levant´s last blog ..The Shores of Michigan =-.
Kaylin

Hey Jennie, I have been reading your blog and website since I am applying for the Teaching Assistantship next year and I have found it very interesting!
but I just wanted to say, in relation to this particular blog, and speaking as someone born and raised in Alabama (despite my agnosticism and liberal political leanings that I managed to acquire somehow), a confederate flag in the South pretty much means exactly what a confederate flag in Michigan does.

People will lie and tell you it means they are “proud of the South and being Southern” but that’s really just innuendo for “I hate black people (and mexicans)” and they wish they could go back to the “good ol’ days” of Jim Crow laws and lynching.
Kaylin

Hey Jennie, I have been reading your blog and website since I am applying for the Teaching Assistantship next year and I have found it very interesting!
but I just wanted to say, in relation to this particular blog, and speaking as someone born and raised in Alabama (despite my agnosticism and liberal political leanings that I managed to acquire somehow), a confederate flag in the South pretty much means exactly what a confederate flag in Michigan does.

People will lie and tell you it means they are “proud of the South and being Southern” but that’s really just innuendo for “I hate black people (and mexicans)” and they wish they could go back to the “good ol’ days” of Jim Crow laws and lynching.