Fall Festival Weekend


It was a spectacular fall weekend in Northern Virginia. With limitless sunshine, temperatures in the 70s and festivals everywhere, Joe, Theresa & Anna set out to maximize the outdoor time.

The weekend kicked off Friday with Oktoberfest in Reston. While Joe was enthusiastic about the brats and beer (which seems to be the only requirement for calling it "Oktoberfest"), Theresa was less impressed....particularly after the "polka" band began playing 50s and 60s music. Theresa vowed to visit Columbus during the German Village Oktoberfest so that Joe and Anna could see how it is done properly (including the fabulous German desserts).

Saturday it was off to the Fairfax Fall Festival, the of which the highlight was "The Legwarmers," a 1980s tribute band. Well, it may have been the highlight for Theresa...not so much for the rest of the family. Anna was excited about the carmel apple.


Sunday, it was decided to load up and head for the mountains for some hiking. The term "hiking" is used loosely as Anna was going on the trip. We made it to Shenandoah National Park to Old Rag Mountain. After some lunch at the car, we headed up to the trail head. We quickly discovered that the walk to the trail head was about a mile and immediately lowered our expectations for this "hike." The goal became to reach the trailhead...which took about 45 minutes with Anna. Thankfully the ranger had given her a park bandana, which Joe proceeded to show her along the way all the things she could use it for (an apron, hat, flag, etc...). Joe also found a walking stick for Anna, which she used to draw in the dirt along the way. At last we made it to the trail head, and decided to go back to the car....a smart decision given the fact that Anna wanted to be carried the last 10 minutes. While Joe and Theresa are not back to their glory days of hiking, at least this was a start. On the way back, the family stopped at a local apple orchard and picked up 1/2 bushel of apples (Theresa is wondering what she was thinking) and some cider.

Finally, today was Columbus Day and both Theresa and Anna had the day off. Since the weather was again beautiful, they met up with Sue & Aidan at a pumpkin patch - Cox Farms in Centreville, Virginia. Apparently this idea was not too original judging from the thousands of other people that were also there. Sue & Theresa braved the crowds and went down countless super slides with Aidan and Anna. The lines were too long for the hayride and some of the other activities, but Aidan and Anna had plenty to keep them occupied, including a straw maze & tunnel. After collecting pumpkins on the way out, everyone left exhausted.


Happy Columbus Day!

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