Falls Church, VA (USA)

[the forecast indicated an unseasonable (cool) day for July, so I made sure not to waste it indoors - leaving around 0900, I drove north from Alexandria on Van Dorn Street and used Little River Turnpike and Columbia Pike to get closer to the W&OD trail (see JUN 2013) - after some map checking on my cell phone, I found a good parking spot near mile marker 4 (North Four Mile Run Drive) - I biked back to mile marker 1.5 mile (to meet up with where Mollie and I turned around) and then backtracked to the 7.5 mile marker (basically, following I-66 and VA-7 - Arlington, Fairfax County and East Falls Church) - it was a little hot (and a bit hilly in spots) but it felt great to be on the move - lots of other people were enjoying the Regional Park: roller blading, jogging, walking, cross country "skiing" (on skates) - the whole setup is great - I only turned around, actually, because I was supposed to go home before going to Mass to hear Kim play - on the way back, I used the Custis Trail for a bit - overall, I biked around 12 miles (Ol' Reliable is holding up!) - car acting up (transmission trouble - rescheduled with Kim (not convenient for her anyway) - stopped for lunch at Chick-fil-a (sat outside to eat - nice) - found my way to I-66 and drove home via I-495 and got off at the Fairfax County Parkway - since it wasn't too far out of the way, I headed over to Mason Neck and spent the rest of the afternoon hiking in the Wildlife Refuge - pleasant temperatures throughout - didn't even run out of water all day today - a little sad to have to wrap it all up... - headed home around 1830]