Blog Post #4800

Blogging since 2005 and I'm still here.

My Childhood Home

Both the City Daily Photo Theme Day and a local group's photo challenge are dealing with a topic of Hometown. This got me thinking of my original hometown, Alexandria, Virginia. I was raised near there and lived there for much of my adult life.  It's a great town, filled with cultural opportunities and an appreciation of history.  Sometimes I miss it, but not enough to brave the traffic to visit it very often.

George Washington Birthday Parade, 1962

I raised my daughters in Alexandria, first in the Rosemont neighborhood and then in Del Ray. When they were teens (and after I was divorced from their father) we moved to Taft Avenue in the western part of town. By that time I was taking classes at NVCC and volunteering with Alexandria Archaeology, as well as working full-time.

Eventually I decided to move out into the country to escape the air pollution that plagued the DC Metropolitan Area in the summertime. In the late 1990's there were all too many days when weather forecasters warned people to avoid exercising outdoors because of the air pollution. I think this improved after the coal-burning power plant closed down.

Even though I enjoy the beautiful area where I live now, there are times when I miss downtown Alexandria. It's a vibrant town, quite walkable, with a scenic riverfront area and interesting shops. No doubt many of my readers have been there. It's between Washington DC and Mount Vernon, and it's popular with tourists.