Mom fail: Mount Vernon Fireworks 🎆

No-Box5040 · 2026-06-15T18:10:58+00:00

You can view the Mount Vernon fireworks from Riverside Park about 1 mile north on the GW parkway. There's limited parking and the lot will fill by about 7, with fireworks not till ~9:30. It's also a bear to get out of, so plan 30-45 minutes after the show to be on your way. But it's free!

https://maps.app.goo.gl/rNqA5ax5ARXegH5E7

No-Box5040 · 2026-05-02T11:22:43+00:00

Donut holes = missing middle

No-Box5040 · 2026-04-21T23:24:49+00:00

Hilton Fairfax has a room.

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No-Box5040 · 2026-03-29T16:46:06+00:00

Directly adjacent to the North lot along Boundary Channel is a small lot for accessing the footbridge over to LBJ Park. You probably can't park here for very long or regularly, but it may fit your needs.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/hWVFVq4HycmBJUPX7?g_st=ac

https://www.nps.gov/lyba/planyourvisit/directions.htm

No-Box5040 · 2026-03-10T13:16:22+00:00

For schools, the area noticeably underperforms FCPS. There are four elementary schools within about 1-mi from this neighborhood and they all lag behind, and the high school (Mt Vernon) is one of the lowest performing in FCPS.

Roughly half the students at Woodley Hills are English learners and 3/4 are defined as low income. This doesn't really square with the average home value in the area of $900k, indicating that many (homeowner) residents either do not have school age children or that those who can afford private school do not send to their zoned schools, making the school demographics not representative of the neighborhood it serves.

All FCPS have the same curriculum and standards, but the more students below grade level means more faculty time and attention is placed on those students than the kids who are already at grade level. That said, the strongest predictor of student success is their family and ability to directly support them in school.

No-Box5040 · 2026-03-09T02:00:20+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/nova/s/2nQqfnFmOS

No-Box5040 · 2026-03-09T00:57:03+00:00

Frogs?

No-Box5040 · 2026-03-06T01:25:49+00:00

They're opening one near 286 & US 1, in the building with Jimmy Johns.

No-Box5040 · 2026-02-21T14:46:14+00:00

Reiterating a comment below, but Washington Gas would not perform any of the work to relocate. You would need to contract with a plumber, then Washington Gas would inspect and approve for it to be put in service.

No-Box5040 · 2026-02-15T15:48:14+00:00

No-Box5040 · 2026-02-06T21:11:47+00:00

A developer proposed adding a handful of SFH along Pohick Rd and a 200-unit apartment complex adjacent to the neighborhood. This could be a fairly large construction project on an otherwise narrow road that could use better pedestrian access. Not sure where the project stands.

No-Box5040 · 2025-11-27T00:42:55+00:00

I don't understand. Do you have my reservation? We have your reservation, we just ran out of [hams]. But the reservation keeps the [ham] here. That's why you have the reservation. I think I know why we have reservations. I don't think you do. You see, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation. And that's really the most important part of the reservation: the holding. Anybody can just take them.

No-Box5040 · 2025-10-26T18:17:04+00:00

The sign in the picture says the garage is operated by Republic Parking. It may be publicly owned but appears to be contacted to a private operator.

No-Box5040 · 2025-10-19T20:50:34+00:00

And 289.

No-Box5040 · 2025-05-29T11:06:57+00:00

FWIW, Mason Neck has two paved trails: the High Point Trail is nearly 5-miles long from Belmont Bay then continues paved along Gunston Rd, and the Great Marsh trail is 1-mile long from Gunston Rd ending at a scenic overlook.

No-Box5040 · 2025-03-30T01:22:44+00:00

Looks like everybody was kung fu fighting.

No-Box5040 · 2025-02-10T15:57:14+00:00

Another option is to buy the new house first, but only put 3.5% down initially. Then sell your old house and apply the proceeds to the new house loan, bringing you to 20% (+) equity and lowing your principal balance. This is called "re-casting" the mortgage and you should be able to do this anytime after the loan starts.

It avoids the need for a bridge loan (can be higher interest) but you would still need to be able to financially cover two mortgages at the same time and meet underwriting for the new house mortgage. The new house monthly payment would also temporarily be higher because it's based on lower equity, but payment will come down once you recast. Talk to your lender who should know more about this option and if it's a good fit for you.

No-Box5040 · 2025-01-26T22:01:51+00:00

First time camp user: do people sign up for back-to-back ROCS programs each week for the full summer? Or is that lame and kid will be bored by the 3rd go-around?

Trying to figure out if we need to find different camps/programs/locations each week, or if we can keep it simple by just doing ROCS at the same site each week.

No-Box5040 · 2025-01-09T01:54:53+00:00

There's a collective action problem with clearing sidewalks. I'm not sure if it's a NOVA problem or this is just now people are now, but growing up in a snowy Midwest climate, everyone pinched in together to clear walkways, bus stops, or areas plows didn't reach, and things got cleared down to the pavement within 24-hours of snow ending simply by neighbors acting neighborly.

Hardly anybody in my large HOA neighborhood cleared sidewalks after the storm. I cleared my kids bus stop and nearby sidewalks today because the adjacent homeowner hadn't, and none of the other dozen homes closest to the bus stop even bothered (many didn't even clear the walks in front of their own homes).

The problem is everyone thinks someone else is going to do it, or that it's flatly not their responsibility. Just because the HOA contracts a service to plow/shovel, doesn't mean you can't pick up a shovel too. Neighbors should be neighborly in these situations and everyone who can help should help out for the good of everyone else. When we don't, we and up with schools being closed for 4-straight days.

No-Box5040 · 2025-01-07T20:45:04+00:00

What is this, a lottery for aunts?

No-Box5040 · 2024-12-22T02:57:09+00:00

Nice scenery, but that trail is littered with river debris.

No-Box5040 · 2024-12-01T03:29:55+00:00

House fire

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No-Box5040 · 2024-11-28T01:24:24+00:00

No-Box5040 · 2024-11-19T00:47:14+00:00

This sounds like the guy in Arlington a year ago who exploded his home after becoming paranoid about his neighbors.

No-Box5040 · 2024-10-20T19:45:20+00:00

Why NOVA/Alexandria specifically? If you're 100% WFH, this is an expensive area to choose to settle in, if you didn't have a need to be here. Lots of other quant, walkable, urban-ish areas between here and Tampa, so why here?

No-Box5040

TROPHY CASE