I have been quite remiss in maintaining this blog over the past month. It’s been almost a month since there was a post. My apologies for that. But I have an excuse.
Next week, we’re moving to northern Virginia. Specifically, I took a job in Springfield, VA. One of the primary motives for this move is to be closer to family. My parents live in Maryland and Angela’s live in Florida.
We haven’t decided where to live yet (as of November 13 we’re technically homeless) but we’re thinking about the Alexandria area. But that’s only speculation at this point.
What does this move mean for this blog? Not much. The primary changes will be that my hiatus will probably continue for a few more weeks as we continue to prepare for the move, find a place to live, and then unpack. On the positive side, there will be more family around which means that we can have more family dinners and I’ll have the opportunity to prepare more elaborate dinners. Or so I tell myself.
If you have any advice on northern Virginia, I’d love to hear it.
two yolks 
Be prepared for loads of traffic and strip malls. And cookie cutter apartment buildings and housing developments. But there are good things too. Virginia is a blue state now thanks to Northern VA. You’re close to D.C. and Richmond and many small towns worth visiting, so you should have an opportunity for many pleasant weekend drives. Honestly, I find NOVA to be soul-sucking, but I’m more of a small town person. You’ll find plenty to do there and plenty of people to do it with. Good luck with your move!
I have been reading your blog for eons. Found your blog via wordpress tag surfer and just bookmarked it to keep coming back… because I love food… and specifically the way you write about working through a recipe and the photos are great. Anyway, I am finally de-lurking today because: I live in Northern Virginia!
If you’re thinking Alexandria, that’s not bad commuting to Springfield, and then you have many indie restaurants in Old Town, access to the metro and some wonderful exercise trails along the Potomac. So much to do and very close to DC. You’ll never be at a loss for things to do! Which is good because you will never be able to leave Alexandria due to the traffic. LOL…
Mel – It almost sounds like you’re describing southern California. Do you know of any particular towns we should go visit? I’m only slightly familiar with Virginia.
charlotte harris – I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the blog. Most of the positive things you’ve said about Alexandria are the reasons we’re considering it. Anything there in particular you can recommend?
I’ve actually been to Springfield rather regularly for work already. So I have a little bit of familiarity with the area. I think that we’re moving from the one place in the world that may have worse traffic than the Washington DC area (I was once in a traffic jam at 1 am on Saturday night).
If you like wine, take a few trips on Virginia’s wine trails. I’m not a big wine connoisseur. I’ve heard from some that Virginia wines suck. But hey, when in Rome…
Definitely make an effort to visit Richmond and Baltimore at least once. There’s plenty of touristy and non-touristy stuff to do in each city. If you hit Baltimore, stop by the Wharf Rat for beer.
Fredericksburg is a cute town. As is Orange. Make a visit to Charlottesville as well. Especially in the fall. Around this time of year the leaves are changing. There’s also an Apple Festival on Carter’s Mountain early in October. The apple cider, apple fritters, and apple cookies are delicious.
You’ll have to take a drive on Skyline Drive too.
If you’re a fan of nature, there’s the Shenandoah National Park as well.
Mel – Thanks for the information. My parents live outside of Baltimore and I grew up there so visiting it won’t be a problem. And Shenandoah is one of my favorite places, particularly in the fall.