Public Meeting at the Community Center

It’s supposed to be be one of the worst places to drive - DC and northern Virginia. We experienced it first hand living on Capitol Hill. We timed our outings based on marathon races, baseball games, inaugurations, and other traffic related events. Now that we live in northern Virginia and the Dolley Madison Boulevard is one of our biggest headaches. Last evening we attended a public meeting at the community center to see who would be there, listen to the presentation by the Fairfax County DOT about traffic mitigation plans, and get a feel for our new neighborhood. We had been to the community center once before to see a sort of play about James and Dolley Madison. Who would have guessed we would be there again under these circumstances? We walk by the center frequently on our morning walks so we knew where it was, but because of a rain threat we decided to drive. By the time the presentation started it was a full house. In the end there didn’t seem to be any good short term solutions - perhaps the focus should be on a longer term strategy that doesn’t annoy everyone on a daily basis. Perhaps tweaking some of the intersection lights might help. Luckily we don’t have to travel during rush hour, but it seems no matter where one lives around here defeating traffic headaches is a lost cause. Something revolutionary needs to occur - and I don’t mean Uber and Lyft. They only made the matter worse. 

The Ride Home From Hell

It’s the time of year that we check whatever is going on around in the city to decide if we should stay in or leave from our house for errands, lunch, appointments. On Saturday we always go for brunch in McLean and then do grocery shopping. I thought we would be safe even though the baseball game and cherry blossom parade were scheduled in the early afternoon. But by the time we started to head home, we thought we would take an alternate route to avoid the baseball traffic on I395. What a mistake. I did not have in my calculations the Emancipation Day parade nor the march for science. On top of that it was a beautiful warm and sunny day for the first time in days. It was okay when we drove along MacArthur Blvd in Palisades, the Whitehurst Freeway straight on to K Street. But after that it was all downhill. What usually is not more than a 25 minute ride turned in to 90 minutes or more. It was so bad near the courthouse I was getting claustrophobic. My husband usually drives on the way out of town and I drive back to come home. Aside from the usual downtown messy traffic and pedestrians, we were at a complete standstill. People were turning around and getting no where. There was no police assistance. It’s times like this that I really hate living here. I don’t know what I was thinking. I never want to leave the house again! 

DC Rush Hour Traffic, Subaru Maintenance, and Safeway Flu Shots

It's never a good idea to schedule an appointment anywhere in this town if it involves rush hour. But we did. We had a 1000 Subaru service maintenance appointment in Alexandria. Our Subaru Forester is almost a year old and needed a check up. Aside from the typical mess, there was a stalled vehicle smack dab in the center lane creating an even bigger mess. In spite of it all we managed to get there right at 1000. Twelve miles took almost an hour. But rather than sit in the waiting room for two hours, we decided to walk across the street to the Safeway grocery store and get flu shots. This is the first year I'm not at work to get one, and our medical clinic is not a place we particularly care for. My husband has been getting his flu shots at CVS and such for the last few years. We were early enough to avoid a busy time, but the pharmacist was all alone and getting frequently interrupted. We sat in a space that looked just like a doctor office or clinic. Wouldn't you know my husband's insurance paperwork was accepted without a hitch, while mine was creating a glitch (in spite of the fact that we are both on MY self plus one insurance from work!) An additional benefit of getting a flu shot in this setting is that there is no co-pay and we got two coupons for 10% off on groceries at Safeway with an end date of March 2017. When we got back to the Subaru waiting room and got a coffee to warm up from the air conditioned waiting area at Safeway, the car was ready. So having service at the car shop is best during the week and after summer is over. Just make sure there is a Safeway across the street to get your flu shot and kill two birds with one stone. 

Goodwill Visit and a Google Redirect

It's funny how your wardrobe changes when you retire. I decided to clean out my closets this weekend and eliminated a lot of work related items like suits, heels, and purses. So that meant a trip to the Goodwill store in Arlington. It happened to be a Saturday afternoon. It didn't seem like it would be a big deal, but one should not venture out around here on a Saturday late afternoon because the traffic is dreadful! But we kept going only to find out that the store in Arlington was closing early because of the extreme heat, but drop offs could be made at the store in Annandale, six miles further out. So rather than return the following day, we decided to take the trip and get the task done. It took quite some time to reach our destination. Everyone in Washington was eating out at six pm. Once we got there, the drop off was a cinch. To make matters worse, there was a baseball game and the traffic back home would be irritaitng. So I tested google maps ability to read the congestion and select an alternate route. And for the first time, it took us on a much better path away from the mess. On top of that, both of us were starving, and our plan to stop at Five Guys - near the stadium - would be impossible. We usually check to see when the baseball games are scheduled before we go anywhere so we can avoid these messes, take alternate routes, or plan to do things at other times. We didn't even think about it this time. Lesson learned. 

Driving Through Chicago - the Car GPS Leads Us Astray Again

I don't trust the car GPS. And it was proven once again last week when we drove to Milwaukee from DC. I usually set google maps on my phone as well as use the car GPS, but my head was down when we were passing out of Indiana and in to Illinois. Rather than take the usual bypass, we ended up heading straight in to downtown. We haven't been that way since the last time we made that mistake twenty years ago. We always paid close attention to the confusing signs that first take you west to Iowa, then north to Milwaukee. So we cursed a bit, but then just sat back for the ride. After driving past the rusty bridges and landscape of Gary, the Chicago White Sox stadium, and the Sears Tower, we saw our usual exits like Ohio Street, where we would frequent Reza's Persian Restaurant and Michigan Avenue. We spent a lot of time in Chicago over the thirty years we lived in Milwaukee, including Christmas time weekends when my husband was attending medical meetings or we just did Christmas shopping and enjoyed the sounds and sights of the holiday season. I suppose it was a nice reminder of all those things, but it did delay our arrival time by quite a bit. Would we have preferred taking the bypass? Probably. Did we enjoy the ride? Yes. 

Avoid Rolling Thunder at All Costs

As it becomes warmer in the morning, I need to get up earlier to avoid heatstroke during the AM walk. I hate mornings and have developed a habit of getting up at 9:30 AM since I retired in February. But that doesn't work in summer. In the past, we somehow ended up walking later in the day on weekends and have always run in to the rolling thunder mess around the mall on Memorial Day weekend. Luckily, we didn't see a bit of it because it was so quiet at 8:30 on Sunday! After breakfast, we thought we could outsmart the mess, and decided to search for a lampshade that needs replacement and wanted to get to McLean. That was the biggest mistake! Aside from the exit closures because of all the motorcycles around the pentagon, and the baseball game, we were stuck in a big way. So we changed over to the opposite direction and headed to Alexandria to the target store for a few items, then towards Mount Vernon just for the ride and to let the time pass so we could safely return without all the turmoil. In the meantime, we were getting thirsty and stopped at McDonald's for our favorite lemonade - which was refreshing on the way back home. We were going to go out this evening for dinner but have decided against it unless it is within walking distance. It's nice that everyone comes to the city for events and such, but it can be a real pain for the locals. I thought when we left Milwaukee we also left rolling thunder behind. Thanks goodness it's not every weekend - but there's always something else. 

GW Parkway Emergency

There are always sirens going off around us. Police, fire, ambulances abound.  Lately there seem to be an unusual number of mishaps along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. This time looked a little different. It wasn't a vehicular accident blocking the path. I saw a police boat in the water and a camera crew perched on the other side of the drive. It's not uncommon to hear about drownings in the Potomac related to undertows. Unfortunately someone had deliberately driven their car right in to the river. I may have a down day here and there, but how horrible it must feel to want to do something as drastic as this. There's not a lot the police can do about it. It just reminds me that every day matters. How sad for someone who can't seem to make that sound right. 

Sixty Miles to Washington DC

Now that I'm looking for one a New Jersey license plate cannot be found. It was by far the most seen state we saw on our unexpected road trip that started last Friday. We are now about sixty miles away from DC and the traffic is already getting congested. We left St. Pete Florida yesterday after tending to both of my parents who landed in the hospital at the same time. It's been quite a while since we drove a long distance. The google maps is an important addition, but the McDonald breaks, rest stops, trucks, RV's, road construction, emergency traffic delays due to accidents haven't changed. We always stay at Hampton Inn and made reservations on line before we arrived. Even with my familiar pillow neither my husband nor I can sleep when we are away from home. We were also able to transport back two rolls of art canvas for my sister who was trying to figure out a way to get them to Maryland. I can only say my parents are better and I did not miss going to work, or listening to the news. The straight and flat roads and laid back lifestyle of the place I grew up will soon be replaced by the hustle and inconvenience of living in the nation's Capitol. For now that will just have to do - until the next emergency.