Old Tavern, VA (USA)

[took care of paperwork in the morning - started to rain around noon - undeterred, drove over to Burke Lake (west of Springfield) on the Fairfax County Parkway - parked in a neighborhood on the edge of the park - first rode north on the Fairfax County Parkway Trail until I figured out that it was taking me away from the park - then backtracked south until I stumbled across a sign that said "FBT Bike Hike" - intrigued, I took the gravel/dirt trail into the woods - entered Burke Lake Wilderness Area and eventually found a dirt trail that ringed the lake - it was nice to use my mountain bike in the right terrain, for once - there were lots of people walking and riding on the windy, hilly trail (it reminded me of Mariocart because I never knew what I would find around the corner...) - a light rain still sprinkled out on the lake, but I didn't get wet - eventually, I had completed the entire 4.5 mile trail and I rode back through the woods to the FCPT - rode for a few more miles to the south before backtracking to my car - probably finished around 10 miles - I went back to the house to take a shower and then drove over to get some supplies and cash before picking up the girls for our night out at the Twilight Polo match! - we drove via I-495 and I-66 (lots of traffic, some rain too) - stopped for dinner at Chick-fil-A in Manassas and then got back on the road until we got to Old Tavern Road - just a few miles south of the interstate, we found the Great Meadow Park (and Longhorn cattle!) - parking cost just $30 and there was no other entry fee - we went inside (1845) and found that a polo match had already begun - the girls and I set up our blankets on a tarp I brought and we watched for a bit until all of my other friends (from work and competitor companies) showed up - there were tons of kids and every time a polo ball left the playing field they got candy if they returned the ball to the announcers - the weather was great and there were very few bugs - the kids ate fried twinkies and oreos! - we saw huge flocks of birds rising into the twilight sky (what a view!) - we ended up seeing three matches and then watched all the little kids in a big tug of war (with ice cream afterwards) - many of the kids played in a nearby field until well after dark - when the matches were over, everyone went up to dance to 1980s music - the twins watched some of my friends' kids - Kelly, Jason, Laura and Sandy were so hospitable (they brought extra food and drink) - everyone was having so much fun and nobody wanted to leave! - we stayed until around 2230 and then drove home (no traffic) - the girls and I got a lot of quality time this evening (nice, it has been a while since I got to see them for so long on the same day) - I headed home and watched some TV before bed (late)]