Arlington & Fairfax County Virginia

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Part 2 of my 6-part (possibly 7-part) blog series on my recent trip to and from – Northern Virginia and Washington D.C. It was my first trip back to the area in exactly a decade (to the date). Back during the final week of July 2015 we (family) visited Ocean City Maryland, drove through our old 1970s neighborhoods in Prince Georges County Maryland, and visited a lot of memorials and monuments in Washington D.C. On this trip 10 years later – we spent most of our time in Northern Virginia, but we also spent a fun day inside D.C.

I believe that the last time I flew into Reagan National Airport (#DCA) was in 2003 when I flew from Columbus Ohio (#CMH) to Reagan to visit my Uncle, Aunt, and Grandmom in Charles County Maryland. I remember that the only vehicle available to rent was a big SUV, so I drove that for a couple of days – including on the Beltway (I-95 / I-495) – back when I was still boldly driving on the Interstates.

As our flight descended into the Washington D.C. area (from #TPA) I spotted the first landmark – the 555-foot Washington Monument. It was the only landmark that I could discern from my left-side window seat. (Eventually other notable landmarks would come into view.)

My flight landed on the tarmac at 1351, and we got to our gate at 1403. I was off the plane at 1414, and I was on an Avis shuttle at 1423. At 1430 – I joined the rest of my family – my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces. They were waiting for me in our big SUV rental – a Ford Explorer.

Fun Fact: The only reason why I know those exact times above is because I was keeping my family updated via group text on my forward momentum towards them. (They were waiting for me to arrive via the Avis shuttle.)

Let’s head home – or at least our family home for 16 years from 1980 to 1996. I lived there for just the first 5 of those years. (I turned 18, moved away, and began my USAF career in June 1985.)

We took the George Washington Memorial Parkway straight to McLean (Virginia State Route 123 / Chain Bridge Road / Dolley Madison Boulevard). We drove in to our old neighborhood off 123. That’s when me and my brother realized something quite shocking. It seems as if more than half of the original houses were torn down and replaced by much bigger all-new houses. Our old neighborhood was mostly built in the late-1950s and early-1960s to support housing for CIA employees and their families. (Their headquarters complex is a couple of miles away, and it was built at the same time.)

We did not recognize much of our old neighborhood. Our 1959 house was still there (although noticeably remodeled), and me and my brother reminisced about it as we sat in our big SUV out front. Our childhood neighborhood was half gone, but our memories were still vivid. It impacted my brother more than me, as he lived in that neighborhood from age 5 to 21. I only lived there from age 13 to 18.

After that we drove around downtown McLean where we used to ride our bikes all around to visit various stores. We stopped for an early-dinner at Rocco’s – an Italian restaurant that’s been there since 1977. We used to eat there on special occasions (like birthdays). We also stopped in at the 7-Eleven next door (another childhood favorite). From there we visited the grounds of our former high school – Langley. I attended from 1981 to 1985, and my brother attended from 1989 to 1993. We were both Saxons.

After a Target run we checked-in to our hotel for the next 3 nights in the up-and-coming neighborhood of “West Falls” which lies in a far-northwestern pocket of what is known as the independent city of Falls Church Virginia.

I visit Arlington National Cemetery for the very first time in my life – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.