With Apologies to Waldo…5 Things I Love About Northern Virginia Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Posted by Conaway B. Haskins III in Uncategorized.trackback
After a recent jaunt to the northern part of Virginia, Charlottesville blogger Waldo Jaquith had some pointed remarks about that region’s pesky little sprawl issues. Now, Waldo is one of my favorite bloggers, and I cannot disparage his perspective on the quality of life of Northern Virginians seeing as how we moved down here in part to escape the maddening elements of NoVA (the place, not the community college). But, there are some very nice aspects to life in NoVA that must be given their due. The region many consider to be lacking in identity really does have a culture of its own. So, in the spirit of Waldo’s 5 Things posts, here are five things that I adore about my former home.
1. The Dairy Godmother – if you haven’t had her custard, well, you haven’t really had custard. Plus, she makes sorbets that are out of this world – you can literally taste the fruit, spice and herb concoctions that she comes up with.
2. Northern Snakeheads - It’s fitting that this Asian import landed in one of the nation’s most diverse regions. Along with 9/11 and the DC Snipers, these aggressive critters terrorized the region’s aquatic life. Some feared that this invasive species threatened the destruction of popular fish like certain bass and catfish, which are themselves non-native. The Potomac’s newest killer fish has taken a liking to creeks and streams near Mt. Vernon, obvious evidence of their good taste…
3. Instant Caffeine – Seriously, how can a caffeine lover like me not go gaga over the deadly brew of over 200 Starbucks outlets within a 20-mile radius (type in ZIP 22030 and see what you get), not to mention countless other neighborhood java joints where I can get my fix.
4. Jim Moran – No offense to the other members of the Commonwealth’s congressional delegation, but I’ve never had as much fun voting for a candidate as I did when Jim Moran was on the ballot. Not only did he take on Duke Cunningham a few years back(you could say he’s a crime-fighter, eh?) and inspire a strangely vitriolic blog aimed at maligning his character, he seems to be the only member of Congress who’s in on Steven Colbert’s joke (the punch was classic). Plus, he unabashedly takes care of his district.
5. George Mason University - It’s been 3 months since the Final Four, and frankly, I still get a bit tingly over the thought of their run. Plus, Mason’s up for some ESPYs, top thinkers like Richard Florida, Walter Williams, and Roger Wilkins call it home, and the school’s got Nobel talent. With campuses in the inner ‘burbs, middle ‘burbs, and exurbs, Mason is helping shape the region for years to come. In case you’re wondering, yes, I refuse to stop being a total Mason dork…
Well, that’s it for my 5. Sure, I could’ve gone on, but that’s not the point. Hopefully, when the folks in NoVA get home from spending 2 hours in traffic to drive 6 or 7 miles, they’ll comment 
Well, if I didn’t already think you were a rock star…
The Dairy Godmother is one of the common haunts of Kristen and myself (although you should go to this relatively new place about two blocks down, Caboose Cafe), although we preferred it to be called “The Dreamery.” We can’t walk by without giggling about the time when we went last December for hot chocolate, and wound up with ginormous square marshmellows that didn’t really fit in the cup. (So we forced ‘em in, “for science.” It wasn’t pretty.
)
GMU, as I’m sure you know, is my university.
Snakeheads just rock, ask any of the guys who spend Saturday and Sunday mornings fishing the Potomac.
Coffee is just wonderful. ‘Nuff said.
All in all, awesome, fun post, especially the “Dairy Godmother” shoutout.
Yay. I’ve been waiting for months for somebody else to do a 5ives.
Good list…Jammin’ Java in Vienna is an awesome small coffee shop.
When I walk around GMU, I’m sad that I’m leaving the campus in 2 weeks. I was only there a year but I it definitely left an impression on me. I’ve never had so much fun being on campus and seeing all of the buzz during the Final Four run.
Good picture by the way…in my best Jon Stewart impersonation…”Smooooth”!
As a former Richmonder (10 years) AND NoVA (12 years) resident, I wish I could agree with singing its praises. I suppose I’ll give you the food places; there IS a great ethnic scene developing in places like Arlington, so food choices are huge. I’ll buy that it’s great there’s good coffee there–but since I live in Portland, OR now, I guess I’m spoiled. (I’ll give you a hearty “GO PATRIOTS”, though!)
I don’t know when you started living there, but I arrived in 1975. By the time I left the area for good in the early 90s (I went to college at W&M, and came back and forth for summers and whatnot), I couldn’t recognize the place–for the worst. Any sense of place had disappeared entirely. It was all one interconnected mass of cheap subdivisions and strip malls.
Frankly, I also left Richmond because I just couldn’t stand to see it happen again…and it was happening again. You can barely tell the difference between Mechanicsville and Short Pump–and there is barely a speck of green space between them. In 10 years that will stretch from New Kent to Powhatan. It frightened me.
But thanks for the stroll down memory lane, and keep on blogging!
The blog looks great! Also agree it’s a great picture.
My list isn’t as good as yours but what I love about NOVA is
1) Trader Joes (don’t think there are any south of here)
2) Awesome restaurants (Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Arabic, etc)
3) You gotta love the melting pot of cultures and people
4) Being 20 minutes from Georgetown/DC – and all the options of things to do on the weekends
5) The public school system, parks and public transportation are great
What sucks about NOVA? (coming from a native)
1) Traffic (obviously) but there’s always at least 2 -3 different ways to choose from to get where you need to go
2) The NOVA attitude that some people get (if you live here, you’ll know what I mean)
3) Housing costs
4) Being so close to where George Bush and George Allen live
5) Being so close to where George Bush and George Allen live. Oh, did I already say that? Well, it really sucks.
I dont hate NoVA, then again I worked from home for a long time while I lived there. I loved the diversity, the insider vibe (even if you are very close to the outside of outsiders), trader joes, a crate and barrel on every corner and the bike paths (I really miss those) (and the salaries).
I really disagree about Jim Moran though, I am still mad about the Bankruptcy Act- there are lots of low and middle income folks in his district who are hurt by the legislation and the creditor protection he espouses. Great post though, thanks.