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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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Return To Homestead

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Let’s get back on the road. Almost 3 weekends ago I drove down to my old Homestead – which was Homestead Florida – my home from 1987 to 2023. It was Flag Day on Saturday and Father’s Day on Sunday.

I departed home at 8:18 AM, and I arrived at my old home at 11:58 AM. That’s fairly average for a Saturday morning drive southward. I haven’t done many Saturday morning drives down to Homestead. My last one was last September (2024) – and before that – April (2024).

I entered my old condo for probably the very last time – exactly 30 years and 1 day after I first entered and moved-in to it on June 13TH 1995. I went there to look around one last time, pick-up my Shark Rotator vacuum cleaner (best vacuum I’ve ever owned – bought it in April 2014), and pick-up a few other assorted items from my kitchen cabinets. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes – taking with me for good – 30 years of memories of that home – from my late-20s to my late-50s.

Time for some food, so I ventured over to Outback Steakhouse for lunch. I enjoyed food and fellowship with a longtime former coworker at the airbase near Homestead. And we celebrated my birthday too, and the wait staff all gathered together to sing their fun birthday song to me and present me with a delicious dessert with a lit candle on it.

I spent the night at the Hampton Inn behind the Outback. I had a wonderful 5TH floor view of the Outback and the surrounding businesses along busy Campbell Drive. Outback got increasingly busier as the afternoon became the evening. My favorite Publix (# 1136) is in view in the shopping center in the background. That was built in 2007. This whole area of Homestead is mostly less than 20 years old.

The next morning – I went to my former home church across town in NW Homestead, and we celebrated my birthday again at the start of the service. After service a group of us battled the Father’s Day crowds and went to Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. In fact – nearly half of our church attendance that morning went there, and we were scattered over a couple of tables. The place was packed for the holiday. (This just in – Dads love steak.) Longhorn is my favorite restaurant in Homestead. I’ve always received great food and service there ever since they opened in 2009. I’ve probably been there more than any other restaurant in Homestead over the past 16 years. Olive Garden (next door) is my second-most visited restaurant in Homestead. So many great memories next door to each other.

After Longhorn I headed home to Sebring. My route out of Miami-Dade County was endangered because it was shut down the previous afternoon due to a wildfire near Krome Avenue (Florida State Road 997) and Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41). Firefighters contained the fire overnight, conditions improved, and the highways were reopened on Sunday morning. I got home at 6:08 PM, and that was the end of my fun 373-mile weekend road-trip between Sebring and Homestead. It was my 4TH such trip of 2025, and 17TH trip since the start of 2024, and 36TH trip since I bought my home here in Sebring in February 2023. My 37TH trip has already occurred, and I’ll report on that trip in a few weeks.

#ButFirst – Next #TravelThursday I’ll stay on the road as I begin a multi-part series on my recent trip to and from Florida’s Gulf Coast Beaches. I’ll write about some areas that I visited for the very first time – and for the first time in a long time. Let’s keep traveling together.

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

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Texas Return

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. This is a continuation of my post from last week when I wrote about meeting my family at Disney’s Coronado Springs at Walt Disney World. My sister-in-law and two nieces headed for Orlando International Airport (#MCO) – on their way back home to the Dallas Texas area. My brother came with me, and we spent a few hours at Disney Springs before driving southward to Highlands County, Avon Park, and Sebring.

Day 2 begins now, and on that Wednesday we did more shopping at my brother’s request. We ate lunch at my favorite Asian restaurant in Sebring – Cang Tong. (It’s really my only Chinese restaurant here, as I haven’t visited any other.) We saw a fun “action on an airplane” movie at the mall – “Fight Or Flight” – starring Josh Hartnett. And we made a Starbucks run.

Day 3 (Thursday) consisted of breakfast at Avon Park Diner (one of my favorites), more shopping, and then our monthly Sebring Historical Society spaghetti dinner fundraiser at our Charles F. Weigle House Museum. My brother got to meet some of my museum friends, and we both enjoyed being served a delicious spaghetti dinner. (Normally I’m preparing the desserts or in the kitchen helping prepare the meals, but on this special night I was a paid customer.) And we made a Publix run.

Day 4 (Friday) consisted of lunch at Olympic. Everyone I know seems to love Olympic, and so do I. The first time I ate there was back in June 2022 – 3 days after my 55TH birthday – after I had toured my 55+ dream neighborhood for the very first time and determined that I wanted to buy and live there forever. Olympic serves all kinds of great food for lunch and dinner, and I believe it’s one of the longest-running restaurants in the area. It’s been there with the same name for 47 years – since 1978. The left / west side of the building has been there since 1951 – when it opened as a different restaurant. There’s a lot of history there at that corner of U.S. 27 and Circle Street in Avon Park.

We went to another historic business down the road after Olympic – Maxwell Groves Country Store. Unfortunately they had a sign up at their door stating that they were closed due to minor repairs. So no soft-serve / dairy-free orange ice cream for us. Maybe next year.

We saw another movie at the mall on that Friday afternoon – the # 1 movie of the weekend and perhaps my favorite movie series of all-time – “Final Destination Bloodlines” – the 6TH in the series since 2000. I’m looking forward to # 7 in a few years.

On Day 5 (Saturday) we headed back north to the Orlando area. We ate an early lunch at Skyline Chili – one of my brother’s favorite fast-food places from when he lived in Ohio near Cincinnati and Columbus. After that we went to a couple of sports card stores – and then The Florida Mall. This mall is thriving and bustling – unlike many malls around the country. There were thousands of young locals and tourists at the mall on that Saturday afternoon.

I dropped my brother off at the airport (#MCO), and then I headed back southward to my dream home in my dream neighborhood in my dream part of Florida. My brother made his way back home to Texas via an unplanned (weather-related) trek through Houston’s Hobby Airport.

That ended an unusual span of 10 out of 19 days with my brother since the end of April – 5 days in Texas and 5 days in Florida. In summary – we did a lot of shopping (my brother’s favorite thing to do) and eating (my favorite thing to do). It’s what we’ve always done together for the past 40+ years in Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Texas, and beyond.

And this concludes my 6-part blog series on those 10 out of 19 days with my brother. It was a lot of fun to write, as it brought back great memories with my brother, sister-in-law, nieces, and sister-in-law’s parents. Next #TravelThursday I’ll put on my Meteorologist hat and look back at the cold Winter of 2024-2025 here in Sebring Florida. Let’s keep traveling together.

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