Blog Post #3000

Yes, this is the three thousandth entry in this blog. I've been posting since June 2005. Since this is an anniversary post, I'll try to tell you a little bit more about myself. In case you are wondering how it can be that there is anything I haven't covered in thousands of posts, I'm normally a private person and avoid revealing much that's personal, preferring to share photos and information about things I've seen (usually places).

The result is that you're more likely to find this blog if you are looking for a long-closed herb garden or a photo of a reenactor than if you're a long-lost friend.  So this post may help close the gap by naming the places I've lived.

I've Always Lived in Virginia

When I was born, my family lived in Fairlington, a development on the Alexandria-Arlington border. At that time it was not very old, having been built during World War II. Now it's on the Register of Historic Places. But I barely remember Fairlington because when I was three, we moved to Tauxemont. And now it's in the National Register too! (I'm feel old admitting this!)

I spent most of my childhood in Tauxemont. Our house was on Bolling Drive and it was built of cinderblocks painted white — pretty basic but big enough, and we liked it. The metal-framed windows were drafty but large and gave us a nice view of the trees. There were tall oaks and flowering dogwoods.

We had an Alexandria address although we were actually in Fairfax County. When I grew up, I moved into the city of Alexandria, a 20-minute drive from my parents' home. As a newlywed I lived in a small apartment near the train station, and after a few years we moved to a townhouse in Delray. My children spent their formative years there and attended Mt. Vernon Elementary School.  (See cute pic of neighborhood kids.)

But living in a townhouse means living very close to your neighbors, and this grew to be a problem. The folks next door had noisy fights every weekend! Eventually I moved to a single family home in the west end of Alexandria. By that time I was divorced and the kids were almost grown.

I lived there on Taft Avenue for many years. The house is gone now, replaced by a larger and fancier one.

When I married Frank, we lived in Montclair near Dumfries. We were on Spillway Lane near the lake. In 2001 we purchased a vacation chalet in Bryce Resort, and later bought a waterfront house in Glebe Harbor. We took an early retirement (actually semi-retirement) and moved to the chalet.

The chalet was a bit small for full-time living but we loved the area. In 2006 we moved to a slightly larger home in the resort which offers one-level living and a mountain view.

It's beautiful here. When we go out west, I miss Virginia and always feel glad to get back.