Shirlington, VA (USA)

It was another beautiful day, so Mollie and I decided to check out the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (a bike trail we had seen almost two months ago on our way back from West Virginia). We departed the house around 1400 and made our way to Shirlington (a neighborhood in Arlington), using guidance we got from a good website. The trail is connected to many other local trails (sign posts indicated we could ride it back to the Reagan National Airport via local trails in Arlington and Alexandria). We began at the beginning and rode close to three miles along South Four Mile Run Drive. Soon after we passed the Columbia Pike, the trail changed from suburban to more rural - tall trees lined the trail. A small trail paralleled our course, so we took a short trip down into a canyon to get close to it. The water was cool and there was more shade there. After that, we turned around and headed back to our car. We had a good time and made plans to come back for the next leg of the trail. The day reminded me of several trips with Erin and Brenna on the Silver Comet Trail in Georgia (see 2004 and 2005)... After we stowed the bikes, Mollie and I played tennis at a nearby public court. We did some errands on the way home and arrived in time for dinner.