Sunday, March 30, 2014
Ashburn, VA (USA)
[one of my squadron mates from Jacksonville and Meridian recently connected with me on Linkedin - our wives used to do a lot of things together while we were away on cruise, so they started talking again too - soon, we had set up a get together at Matt and Vicky's house in Ashburn - it had been awhile since the whole family went somewhere together... - we took the Beltway, I-66, VA-28 and US-50 and Louden County Parkway and made our way to the "dark side" of Dulles Airport - it took roughly an hour to make it to their house (1330L) - when we arrived, we met their two Rodesian Ridgebacks and three of their four kids - our kids were close in age, so they weren't terribly bored while the adults reminiced - we enjoyed finger foods and beer/sodas for several hours - it actually started sleeting (with some accumulation - mostly slush) - Matt and I went to the nearby town center (very nice) to pick up some supplies and it was downright cold! - back at their house, Vicky and Matt cooked up a great meal (brats, potato caserole and a great caesar salad) - the kids sat together in the other room and seemed to have great conversations - we ended up leaving close to 1800L after a nice visit - we drove home via the Greenway/Dulles Toll Road - I hadn't used it before from this far out - with a $7 plus toll each way, I would be pretty mad to have to use this road - slush and actual snow accumulation met us near Tysons Corner but we made it home OK (much faster than the way up) - what a nice visit!]
Friday, March 21, 2014
Warrenton, VA (USA)
[I got up earlier than usual so I could drive out to our remote site in Warrenton - made good time (and was happy not to be in the nasty traffic jam going the other way on I-66 (at 0630!!!!) - arrived at 0700L and met Ed - he got me into the building and then we waited for the rest of our crew - we got a nice tour and had a great technical conversation until around 1130L - I was supposed to go to Chantilly today but the meeting got cancelled - instead, I met up with my "Executive Coach" (Kim from work) and we had lunch at Eggspectations - finished that around 1400L and drove home - traffic on I-66 near Beltway as usual, but still made it back to Alexandria well before the worst of the rush hour traffic]
Monday, March 17, 2014
Washington, DC (USA)
[it was another "snow day" for most of the office but I made it into the city with almost no problem - after working for several hours, I found a few other guys to go with me to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - I had actually scheduled a big happy hour group but it was OBE (for weather) - we headed over to Bar Louie near the Verizon Center and had some green beers and appetizers - we hung out for several hours before I had to head home - fun!]
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Washington, DC (USA)
[another co-worker decided to leave us this week, so we had to have a farewell happy hour! - Sean set up the event at Graffiato in Chinatown and several of us headed over at 1630L - we ended up staying there for about four hours, having a great time with several of our old friends (who previously left the company) - Sean took me next door to have a drink at the Daikaya Ramen Shop (actually, a bar upstairs there) - the drinks didn't meet his high standards, so we ended up "needing" to repeat the rounds back at Graffiato - by the time it was over, I was the last one there - after I paid, I realized I hadn't been paying attention to how we got to the pub... - I left and headed north, accidentaly, and ended up at the corner of 6th and Massachusetts, clearly unfamiliar territory - I knew I was lost at that point (no Metro signs anywhere), so I backtracked a few blocks and found the Chinatown Gate (next to the Metro entrance) - whew! - rest of trip home OK...]
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Port Tobacco, MD (USA)
[Mollie and I left on another adventure today (it was a rare sunny day!) - we drove across the river to Maryland (1230L) and followed MD-210 down towards Indian Head (I showed Mollie the gate) and then drove towards Port Tobacco on MD-225 - I had been here before (see MAY 2013) but it is never the same without Mollie... - she completed her Junior Ranger badge after a nice hike outside (she said she liked the place because it was so quiet) and we started driving back towards home - I had promised her we would check out the Tanger Outlet Mall and figured we could get gas close by - I miscalculated, though, and we ended up running out of fuel after attempting to make it to National Harbor (almost made it...) - it had been a VERY long time since I had run out (1990 ?) - we squeezed our car up against the "shoulder" on an inclined exit ramp and walked about 100 meters to the gas station - I had to buy an overpriced gas can and pay a lot just to fill it up - when we returned to the car, there was a Metro bus trying to pass our car (and a huge line behind it) - we didn't get too many nasty looks... - actually, someone tried to stop and help us, but the gas tank did the trick - after getting the car started again, I tempted fate again (because I was ticked off at the amount of money I had spent) and we drove back into Virginia to fill up the car again - Mollie was a good sport throughout (and didn't even give me too much trouble...) - we made it home by 1700L and Mollie got everyone in the house into a good laugh at my mistake - it was a great day!]
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Great Falls, VA (USA)
[I drove up to Great Falls today to hear Kim play the St. Catherine of Siena Mass - afterwards, we drove into town and met David and Jeremy at the China Garden Restaurant - it had been quite awhile since we ate a meal together - it was fun to spend a few hours with them - afterwards, I headed home via the Georgetown Pike again and made it to the house uneventfully]
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