Bowlero at Tysons Galleria

My mom said she liked to bowl. As kids, we also bowled. I haven’t given it much thought until I read somewhere there are five reasons to visit Tysons. Since the wind was howling after a dreadful rainstorm last night we didn’t want to take a morning walk outside. So for the first time in months we decided to drive over to Tysons Galleria to walk there instead. It was always our go to place for inclement weather until the pandemic struck. Now that things are settling down - or at least we are vaccinated and wear masks indoors - a trip to the mall was in order. There has been construction work going on for at least two years or more where the Macy’s three level store once stood. When we walked in today the first thing we noticed was Bowlero - a huge entertainment venue on the main floor. It just opened, but only in afternoon and evening hours. So we peeked through the glass to see what was going on. We didn’t see any bowling alleys as such, but there were signs - along with a lot of other arcade type things to do. For whatever reason it feels sad to go to the mall. I used to love going to Northbrook on the way to Chicago to search for seasonal work and leisure clothes. Now I don’t care what I wear and dread the idea of having to get something if we really need it. At least there is some place for those inclined to go to spend time doing something different. We will just walk past it. 

Tyson’s Corner Mall, Goodwill, Target & McD’s

It’s hot again, and humid. So rather than take our morning walk in the park, we drove over to Tyson’s Corner Center to get in a bit of exercise. I wanted to pick up a bath mat at Macy’s anyway, but they didn’t have any. The mat we have now must be about 8 years old and looks it! After 2.4 miles of walk in air conditioning, we needed to drop off a couple of things at the Goodwill. A ride to the Falls Church/Annandale center was next on the list. It was a quick stop there so I searched for the nearest Target and found one just a half mile away. So we ventured to Target to pick up the bath mat and an extra shower curtain liner. Before we left we thought we would just have breakfast at home but decided an egg McMuffin and hash browns would be an easy pick up before we got home just before noon. We accomplished everything we wanted to including trying to see if the old bath mat could get cleaned in the washing machine. It wasn’t worth the effort because the old mat is still grungy. Maybe this time we need to follow directions and hang it up after every use - or just be lazy and get a new one in another eight years. 

A Bus Ride Around Town

Last week we went to pick up my senior smart card in the event we ever wanted to take metro in to town. Today we thought we should check out the bus route that we would need to take to get to the metro station from our house. When we lived on Capitol Hill, Capitol South metro station was two blocks away. I am not a fan of public transportation but my husband loves it. I have a feeling we will be taking it more now than we needed to before. So we walked to the bus stop that is located right in front of our house. I have three transportation apps that have all the required info, but I’m not used to any of it and prefer a car any day. We waited a few minutes for the bus because I knew when it was expected to arrive, and we were soon off on our adventure for the day. We picked up a few passengers along the way, then the route ended at Tyson’s Mall - which was not expected. I thought we would ride in a big circle and didn’t expect to have to get off and start all over. Good thing the weather was decent! There was a nice young man who assisted us with our questions about where to catch the next bus. So we took note of where we would need to get off and reboard for our silver line metro stop, and realized we could take the bus to Nordstrom or LLBean if we felt like it. The senior pass fare is $1.00 each way. It is a convenience to be right on the bus line. But I’d rather take a car any day. The next adventure will be taking the metro in to town. We’ll definitely need to plan that in between rush hour times. 

Tyson’s Galleria

For whatever reason we needed to be out of the house today from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. We usually go out for breakfast every Saturday morning at McLean family restaurant followed by grocery shopping. So we could still do that. But what else would we do to fill the time? So we drove about and decided to see where the French restaurant was located that my sister has made reservations for her birthday later this month in the Falls. After that we had breakfast and then drove to Tyson’s Galleria to walk, but then to sit for awhile to pass the time. Both my husband and I brought our iPads to stay occupied. The view is rather bland. There are people milling about but the Mall doesn’t do much for me. But given the circumstances it’s not a bad option. We first came to Tyson’s Galleria when we moved to DC thirteen years ago. My hairdresser/stylist in the Midwest told me to go to a Vidal Sassoon Salon for a haircut until I found someone in DC. Since then we have taken route 123 millions of times. It’s nice that Tyson’s is close by but I wouldn’t want to live there. It reminds us of Northbrook near Chicago that we frequented regularly. For us, McLean is a favorite location. Maybe one day it will become more than that.