Probably the Last Time

Today I drove to the allergist's office in Burke for the last time. They are moving to McLean. That's farther away and the Northern Virginia traffic can be pretty awful.

It takes almost 90 minutes to drive to Burke and I allowed two hours because traffic has made me late before. I was on I-66 when they called me to say they were running late so they moved my appointment from 1:30 to 2 PM. Okay then, I'll stop for lunch.

I remembered seeing a Popeye's restaurant under construction the last time I went through Haymarket, so I stopped there. I had red beans and rice and browsed on my iPhone.

After my appointment, I did some grocery shopping, which was frustrating because both stores I went to were out of things that I wanted. I also had to deal with construction zones and traffic. My navigation app failed to avoid these.

Anyway, I stopped to take a picture of this marker on Burke Road. The history it tells is more recent then I usually see on historical markers.

Signs 2

Copperthite Raceway was constructed in 1907 for harness racing. “Horse, motorcycle and car races were also featured. Special trains from the Washington, D.C. area brought visitors to Burke, where they could stay at the new hotel. Families enjoyed fairs, Fort Myer cavalry drills, balloon ascensions, baseball games, athletic contests and dances at the pavilion. For nearly a decade, thousands were entertained at the Copperthite racetrack and fairground."