Fairfax, VA to Alexandria, VA to Timberville, VA

Friday, October 21

I left my great breakfast at my favorite Best Western in Fairfax (it is the only one) and rushed slowly over the the National Gun Museum, which turned out to excellent.

 I did not spend as much time there as I would like to have done. I especially enjoyed the displays on how early craftsmen fashioned guns, one at a time, Two hundred years ago, a gun was just a tool that nearly everyone owned. It was very interesting to see how guns have evolved over the past several hundred years.

When my dad was a teenager he purchased a Colt Woodsman similar to this example, minus the engraving. He owned it for well over 60 years until it was stolen, along with about twenty other guns. Several years ago, my brother found one that the three of us purchased for him. He was very pleased but, being in his late 80's, never had a chance to shoot.






After enjoying my time at the museum, I drove over to Alexandria, VA, a trip of about 45 minutes. Traffic can be brutal in the D.C. area so I never am sure what to expect. Some local people have told me that it is among the worst in the country--worse that LA & the San Francisco Bay area that I'm more familiar with. Alexandria is a suburb of DC and is located just south of the city, on the Potomac River. I wanted to experience the "Old Towne" section of it, so I did.

 This town is known for Captain's Row.

These houses are an examples found on Capitan's Row of homes built in the 1700's & 1800's. I saw a couple for sale but they had no visible price. That's OK as I'm not really in the market for another home.

The paving of the alley on the right left much to be desired as it was difficult to walk on. I guess it beats walking in the mud, especially as much of this area flooded due to it's proximity to the river. I enjoyed the brick work of many of the houses.