Eight U.S. presidents were born in Virginia, more than any other state. George Washington's Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello are the best-known homes of the Virginia contingent, but history buffs can visit homes or birthplaces of most of the eight. I was surprised to realize that in a half-dozen trips to Virginia, I'd never visited any of them.

The only presidential landmark I'd visited in Virginia is John F. Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery. Although he was born in Massachusetts, his widow, Jacqueline Kennedy, decided he should be buried at Arlington because ''he belongs to the people.'' Inspired by the flame at the grave of the French Unknown Soldier in Paris, she also chose to have Kennedy's grave marked by an eternal flame.

Only one other president, William Howard Taft, is buried at Arlington.

On my most recent trip to Virginia, I drove up from North Carolina along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains and into Virginia's hunt country. I stayed at the Red Fox Inn and Tavern in Middleburg, about an hour's drive from Washington, D.C. The inn dates itself back to a tavern built in 1728. In checking its history, I learned that George Washington -- a young surveyor at the time -- visited the tavern around 1748. So even though I've never visited any of the Virginia presidents' homes, now I can say I crossed paths with the first of them.

This is one in a series of postcards by Marjie Lambert, assistant Travel editor, who has been to all 50 states. Read her other postcards at www.MiamiHerald.com/travel.

Join the discussion

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

     Showing: Oldest first Newest first Most-recommended first Least-recommended first

@Nyx.AuthorDisplayName@ wrote on @Nyx.PostedAtTime@:

@Nyx.repliedToText@

@Nyx.replyAnswerText@

Reply to this Comment @Nyx.Recommender@ @Nyx.AbuseReporter@