It had been many years since we had a full two weeks vacation together so we decided a road trip would be fun to see relatives in Northern Virginia. It was a good choice compared to flying this time of year when the weather can cause havoc. The last time we flew our flight was cancelled and we almost missed our son's wedding in December! We had learned from experience that driving a southern route when the possibility of freezing weather was a smart choice. We also wanted to take Bobi Kitty with us for the first time. A road trip was a smart idea.
The car was packed so Bobi Kitty could have the whole back seat area with the back seat laid down so he could go into the trunk area if he should need to use the litter box which was all set up but he never used it while we were on the road…but you never know, so there it was…just in case. We also had to take an air bed and blanket for when we stayed with our son who has a one bedroom condo. We set it up so Bobi could look outside the window. He liked that a lot! He was very well behaved going back and forth from the front seat on the passenger's lap to his back seat or the small trunk area. Of course, we had a small pet carrier for times when he was to be alone like when we went inside a restaurant or he got restless and wouldn't settle down. We had some meds for anxiety from the vet should we need them. The first time was on the second travel day when there were lots of semi trucks on I-81 along the western length of Virginia. Bobi couldn't settle down on his own with monstrous trucks inches from his face at the window. Keith and I were very surprised and happy that Bobi Kitty traveled as well as he did! We stayed overnight in Knoxville, Tennessee at a Candlewood Suite. I choose this motel because I belong to a
Priority Club for many years and get free stays. This year I will have a free stay on the way home which made the whole travel cost less than the cost to fly! I like the
Candlewood Suites because they are set up for the extended stay market and are lower in cost and also have a full kitchen.
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Bobi Kitty's first motel stay
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About 1200 miles later, we reached my brother's home in Ashburn, Virginia. We were welcomed and made very comfortable in his beautiful home where I have stayed most years when I visited alone the past 15 years. This was Keith's first time as his previous visits were either a short visit staying in a motel when our son got married or longer visits staying with my parents when they were living in Alexandria. Our stay in Ashburn was most hospitable. I was so happy that Keith was able to spend a whole week with my brother and his wife as I had all those years before. It was a good visit filled with walks around the neighborhood, local sites and restaurants, and lots of at home quiet time. Of course, Bobi Kitty was welcomed too! Both my brother and his wife like cats and dogs as they had lost long time pets in recent years. They said that our cat was well behaved.
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| Bobi Kitty is set up comfortably with us in Ashburn, Virginia |
While we stayed with my brother in Ashburn, we enjoyed several trips around the area. We walked around Middleburg after we had a nice lunch at The Red Fox Inn, the site of my son's wedding two years ago. I have wrote much about this event in an earlier blog,
Winter Wedding Weekend, there you would find other links about Middleburg.
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| Lunch of real Southern Fried Chicken, Mac & Cheese, Biscuits & Gravy at Red Fox Inn, Middleburg, VA - Keith, Beti, Corinne, John |
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| Our favorite appetizer is the Duck Spring Roll with Plum Chutney and Slaw |
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| Walking along all the lovely historic shops on the main street, we saw a cute little doggy in the window watching people walk by and a cute look-alike stuffed dog. |
Because of special dietary needs as a diabetic, I like to be sure I have foods available that I can readily access so I brought much of what I needed from home. The rest I shopped at the best store I've ever seen…
Wegmans which I had been familiar with from many previous visits. My niece had worked at the Sterling store but I like to shop at the one in Leesburg. This was Keith's first experience so I made sure we took plenty of time to look at everything and even had lunch there. It was a fine experience and we wished we had one close to home in Missouri!
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| Dining area was on open second floor overlooking the market areas; very nice! |
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| Oh, the Bakery was so wonderful! |
On Sunday, we drove to Linden in the Blue Ridge Mountains to visit my niece, Amanda, and her large family. It took a little while for the eight children (ages 3 months to 11) to warm up to us but soon Keith was giving horseback rides throughout the house and there was singing and laughter all around.
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| Faustina, Beti, Catherine, Amanda, Vince, Corinne, Gus, Keith, Max (Brother John taking photo) |
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| Clare, Cicilia, and Veronica at the little children's table. |
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| The Men of the Family: Gus, Vince, and Max |
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| The Ladies of the Family: Clare, Veronica, Cicilia, Amanda, new baby Mary, Faustina, and Catherine |
When I was a teenager, one of my favorite places to go with friends was
Reston. When we weren't scaring ourselves silly with tales of "The Ghost of Reston," we hung out at the local Coffee Shop. This is an interesting innovative community that was built in the mid-1960's and has grown over the years to become a very desirable place to live and work. I always thought that if I lived in Virginia when I grew up, I would live here because "
Citizens would be able to live in the same community while going through different life cycles with different housing needs as they age. It was hoped that Restonians could live, work, and have recreation in their own community, with common grounds and scenic beauty shared equally regardless of income level."
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Coffee Shop patio at Lake Anne in Reston, Virginia, with Keith, John, Corinne, and Beti
Keith and I were feeling a bit adventurous. We decided to venture out of our comfort zone and go into Washington, DC…by ourselves! We had not done anything like this in decades so we studied the mass transit system and felt confident we could do this!
It began a few blocks from my brother's house in Ashburn where we drove our car and parked at a bus stop. It is a large parking lot as it is the last bus stop to the new Silver Line Metro System which opened in July 2014; 20 minutes later we were on the Metro. Then 40 minutes later, we were at the Smithsonian Station on The National Mall in Washington, DC. That was easy and fun! We can do this!
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| The New Silver Line Metro |
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| Just off the Metro and ready to walk the National Mall |
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| Map of The National Mall |
Since there was so much to write about on our first of three trips into Washington, DC on this trip, I will continue the details on the next blog post…Virginia Road Trip - Week 1 - First DC Trip
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