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The Long Trek Back Home

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. We’ve made it to Part 7 of my 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).

So my family’s Southwest flight back to Dallas Texas (#DAL) was cancelled due to weather. And my American Airlines (#AA) flight back to Tampa Florida (#TPA) was also cancelled. My family was on their way to northwestern Ohio in the very same Avis rental SUV that we drove in all around Northern Virginia. I took the Avis shuttle to the airport to determine my next move.

I soon received a text notification from #AA stating that I was rebooked on the very same flight 24 hours later (on Monday night). So my next move was to book a night at the very same Hampton near Reagan National Airport (U.S. 1 in Crystal City) that I pointed out to my family as we drove by it on our way to Avis. The hotel shuttle picked me up from the airport, and I checked in for the night.

Hotel Room View Of U.S. 1 In Crystal City Virginia

Fun Fact: I paid for 2 Hampton rooms for the same night (including the one outside #TPA that was non-refundable within 5 nights prior). I’ve never done that before. At least I got the Hilton Honors points for both rooms. I think next time I have a flight scheduled to arrive late in Tampa I won’t book that hotel room in advance in the event that the flight back is cancelled. I’ll just hope that a hotel room is available, or if not – then I’ll just drive 2½ hours home.

After I checked-in to my cozy hotel room I decided to get smart with the #AA app. I really did not want to hang around the hotel until checkout time the next day (12 Noon) and then hang out at the airport for 7 to 8 hours after that waiting to board my early-evening flight back to Tampa that has a long history of departing late (or not at all). I soon rebooked a flight back to Tampa for earlier in the day (mid-afternoon), and then a little while later I discovered even earlier flights available – so I rebooked yet again for a late-morning flight. As it turns out – at least with #AA – if your flight is cancelled – then you can rebook as many times as you wish using their app as long as seats are available on the flight of your choice. There is no charge to do so. (I don’t know if other airlines have the same policy, but I’m glad that #AA does since I fly them almost exclusively.)

My packed flight back to #TPA departed and arrived early. I called the hotel (where my car was parked at) to have them send their shuttle my way to pick me up, and there was a bit of confusion on the telephone. After a bit of waiting for the receptionist and hotel manager to get their act together – they finally requested an Uber to be sent to pick me up, as their shuttle was either out of commission, on another assignment, or the driver was out to lunch. The Uber arrived in a white Kia SUV, and the driver was courteous and friendly. He couldn’t figure out why his GPS kept saying that he should go to the hotel when he was requested to go to the airport at a specific location to pick up a customer (me). I explained what happened – that the hotel contacted Uber on my behalf. We talked about Ubers and Kias all the way to the hotel.

I got in my car (a Kia), and I drove home on that Monday afternoon. My 122-hour adventure was complete !

What a wonderful trip this was with my family – brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces. Me and my brother enjoyed our trip down memory lane in Langley, McLean, Tysons, Falls Church, Vienna, and into Annandale. It was fun to take the Metro into D.C., take a 2-hour tour, and then visit a Smithsonian museum. And then there’s all of the good food that we enjoyed together. And finally – the main reason for this trip – to place our Mom’s urn next to our Dad’s urn inside the niche at the columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery.

As I hinted in a previous installment of this blog series – me and my brother have already discussed a future trip back to the Washington D.C. area (both Maryland and Virginia) to do a “deep-dive” into our roots there from the late-’60s (me) to the mid-’90s (my brother). Maybe we’ll get back there as early as later next year in conjunction with a Washington Capitals or Washington Commanders game. Maybe we’ll just talk about it for years to come. (We still haven’t returned to Las Vegas, and we’ve been talking about that off-and-on since our last visit over 20 years ago !)

Later this morning I’ll be at #TPA on my way to my next destination, and so next #TravelThursday – I’ll begin a brand-new multi-part blog series to and from and all about that next destination out west. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Cornhole & Mini-Golf

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. It’s Part 4 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).

Last week I wrote about our 3+ hours at Arlington National Cemetery. After that we headed back to McLean (our family hometown of 16 years in the ’80s and ’90s), and we ate at a local deli for late-lunch. We continued our trip down memory lane through McLean and into Falls Church. My brother knew where he was going because he used to drive those streets from 1991 to 1996, and before that he was our Mom’s passenger in her car, and he told her how to get to different places around the region (even into Maryland). Aside from downtown McLean I was pretty much lost, as I only drove around the local area for a little over a year 40+ years ago.

We drove over or under I-66 dozens of times. We lost count of the number of times that we did so. It became a running gag as we drove around the local area. “Oh look – it’s I-66 again !”

I remarked that they don’t build new roads in Fairfax County. They were the same roads that we drove on in the ’80s and ’90s, and those were the same roads that our predecessors drove on in the ’60s and ’70s. They simply repair, repave, and restripe the existing roads. And now more vehicles than ever before drive on those same roads. They also don’t cut down forests in Fairfax County to build new neighborhoods. They cut down old houses in existing neighborhoods to replace them with new houses.

Me and my brother took a side-trip to nearby Annandale to visit a store that he used to visit 30+ years ago. (It’s still in the same shopping center but at a different location.) A few hours later we (as a family) took a trip to nearby Vienna, and we ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant that my brother used to enjoy eating at back in the early-’90s. (It’s been there for 50+ years.)

After dinner we headed north up to Tysons for some Friday family fun. We went to a place called The Perch. None of us knew what to expect there, but at least me and my brother were mesmerized by it all. Think of a 2½-acre public park with plenty of green space (including a dog park), gardens, trees, benches, picnic tables, food trucks, drink kiosks, a biergarten, LIVE concerts, cornhole, and an 18-round mini-golf course. Now picture all of that 11 stories up high atop the roof of a 1,600-seat performing arts center and attached to a large 300-room hotel – surrounded by much taller high-rises. It was cooler, breezier, and refreshing up at the park in the sky, and the views were spectacular (where not obstructed by the surrounding office buildings).

I haven’t played much cornhole in my life, but I think I did pretty good at The Perch. And then our 18 rounds of mini-golf after that ? It was perhaps one of my best performances of my lifetime. I was doing so good that my sister-in-law – the scorekeeper – gave up about halfway through on recording the scores. Mini-Golf is a 30+ year vacation tradition for me and my brother. This particular course was a bit on the bland side, but you can only do so much with limited space high atop the roof of a building. (No caves or waterfalls.)

Me and my brother have already discussed staying at that 300-room Watermark Hotel when we possibly revisit Northern Virginia next year. It’s steps away from the McLean Metro station on the Silver Line !

And speaking of the Metro – we take it into Washington D.C. – next #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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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.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Homestead: The Finale

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. 5 weeks ago I wrote about my Flag Day / Father’s Day Weekend road-trip to and from my old homestead – Homestead Florida. It was my 36TH trip to Homestead since I bought my new home near Sebring Florida in February 2023. This week I’m writing about my 37TH and final trip to Homestead. That took place at the end of June – on Sunday June 29TH.

I departed home at 6:35 AM (right at sunrise), and I arrived at my former home church near downtown Homestead at 9:58 AM. As always it was a great church service led by our Worship Pastor Ben and our Lead Pastor Bob. Living Waters Full Gospel Church was my home church for 8+ years, and I served as an Assistant Pastor there. I received my ministerial credentials there. I preached over 60 sermons, and I led 79 Communions. I’ve been a guest there over these past 2½ years, and I’ll continue to be a guest there in the future whenever the Pastor wants me to fill-in for him.

A small group of us went out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse post church service. After that I checked-in to my hotel for the night.

The next morning – Monday June 30TH – I head northward – actually northeastward up U.S. 1 over to Dadeland to a Real Estate Attorney’s office. That’s where I signed all of the paperwork to officially close on the sale of my longtime home in Homestead – a home that I rented for 6 years (1995-2001) and owned for 24 years (2001-2025). I lived in it for 28 years (1995-2023), and over these past 2½ years I had been moving my most treasured personal belongings one trip at a time from my old home to my new home. I moved into that old home on June 13TH 1995, and my final walk-through was on June 14TH 2025 – a timespan of 30 years and 1 day.

So – for the first time since 1987 – I am neither a resident nor a property owner near or in Homestead Florida – from age 20 to 58 – 65½% of my entire life.

Like most cities Homestead has evolved and “grown-up” over time. It went from a sleepy farming community with a large military (active and retired) population before 1992 – to total devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew – to a small town struggling to recover for 10 years after that – to one of the fastest-growing cities (of its size) in the nation – to a thriving and bustling big suburban city with big suburban city amenities and problems.

Personally – Homestead was a place that I rarely visited in my early-20s, as I lived on an Active-Duty Air Force Base several miles outside of town. And then it became my home in my late-20s, and I embraced it and loved it into my 30s and 40s. As I entered my 50s and I began thinking about retirement I realized that I couldn’t afford to live there as a retiree. It had become too expensive, too noisy, and too crowded. I had outgrown it. I looked elsewhere, and I eventually found Sebring Florida 3½ hours up the road.

Facebook is littered on multiple local group pages with mostly disgusting and racist and hateful comments and diatribes about how Homestead is today compared with the way it was 40 or 50 years ago. Most of these comments are from people who moved away 40 or 50 years ago and visited once or twice recently and didn’t recognize the small town that they once called home. They don’t realize that they themselves are probably being discussed negatively where they live today by many longtime residents who don’t appreciate having them around. Change is inevitable, and it’s painful for a lot of people.

YES – even here in still small-town Sebring – some longtime residents don’t appreciate all of the new people (like myself) that have migrated here from South Florida, and Tampa, and Orlando, and pretty much everywhere else. We’ve ruined the Sebring of the 1970s and 1980s !

I enjoyed a good life from my early-20s to my late-50s in Homestead. I made good money in my Air Force career – 36 out of 39 years in Homestead. I wish Homestead the best. I pray for safety and security and comfort and peace for all of my friends, neighbors, and fellow residents that I left behind. I leave with mostly good memories, and although my future visits to Homestead will be less frequent now – they will still occur. I will always appreciate Homestead for what she was, what she is, and what she will be. Thank You for being my hometown for 36 years.

Next #TravelThursday I’m heading somewhere – outside of Florida – that I haven’t been to in exactly 10 years, and I’ll write about it for the next 3 weeks. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2025 Christopher M. Day, CountUp