It’s Friday / Flexday season at work again finally, and I took the day to hike part of the Cedarville State Park, located about 15 miles southeast of the District. Interesting park, with lots of recreational opportunites, like fishing, boating and archery. Not a heck of a lot to look at, but there is pleant of it there to wander around.
Hiked another Nature Convervancy preserve, this on called the Fraser Preserve near Great Falls, Virginia.
It’s a nice hike, relatively flat and easily navigatable … except for one tiny little problem. Apparently, the trail crosses onto the property of a neighboors who doesn’t like the Conservancy much. There is a 5-string barbed wire fence blocking off fifteen (yes, 15) feet of the circuit trail. How much do you have to hate conservationists (not to mention the baptists that co-own the preserve) to do that?!?
To make matters worse, everything around that part of the path is swamp-land, so you have to go all the way back past the river and use the government access road to get across the property … just to get to where the blue blazed trail picks back up.
When you do make the trip, you’ll have the opportunity to stand at the barbed wire fence and stare at the neighboor has he fishes away on his fancy-pants barbed-off stream. I did, and it was a heck of a lot of fun … tho he didn’t seem to enjoy it that much.
Last weekend we took them to see the leading contender for the reception, The Heritage Inn and also look at the Primitive Baptist Church and Presbyterian Church in Clifton. Everyone was in agreement that Clifton, VA is a beautiful town and perfect spot for our wedding.
Right now we’re leaning toward using the Presbyterian Church. They are in the middle of expanding the church facilities but we were able to see the sanctuary. We loved it — the wood pews with carvings, the huge windows, and a bell with a real bell pull in the back of the sanctuary.
The biggest challenge will be picking out bridesmaid dresses that work well with the deep, vibrant red front curtain, pew cushions, and carpet. Oh, and there’s no center isle, so we’ll need to research if there are rules or superstitions that determine if it’s better to walk down the left or right aisle.
This past week I also finally managed to ask my bridal party to be part of our wedding: Christy is my m.o.h. (maid of honor). My bridesmaids are Melissa and sisters, Joanna and Nadine. Thankfully everyone said yes! Photos will follow soon … maybe.
Spent a cloudy day touring the National Arboretum in extreme Northeast DC. The trees and plants were wonderful, but due to the heavy clouds blotting out the sun, it was very hard to get anything to “pop.” Definately going to make a return trip some afternoon when the sun is a little more cooperative.
Every six months or so, my father and I try to take a couple of kayaks down the Shenandoah, using a great outrigger near Bentonville, Virginia. Despite how it looked in the pictures, we had pretty spectacular weather both days.
Short of my father trying to kill himself in Compton’s rapids (it was his turn this year, mine was last year), it was nother great trip. I look forward to it each time.
Part of our planning retreat was a lunchtime tour of the Cheasapeake Bay, including a discussion about its ecological significance and uniqueness. It had been a looong time since I was last on the water …
My department had a planning retreat in Annapolis, in a suite of hotels right by the State House. We had about half an hour of free time in between events where we could wander the grounds.
With The Lady Sparkler out of town reprising her role as big muckety-muck at a “conference” in some posh resort in the hills of Virginia, I took the opportunity make a couple of “Hey, I’m throwing a wedding, do you want to be an attendant?” phone calls.
Actually, my brother Collin came on board as best man when we talked the night after the proposal, but the rest signed on yesterday and today.
Chrissy, my best friend from William & Mary, happily agreed to join the very selective society of groomsmaid. (Does my use of the gender-ambiguous word “attendants” seem less awkward, now?) John (remember that “h”, it will become more confusing in a moment) also seemed very happy and willing, though this probably makes him eligible for some kind of veteran / valor / danger pay as he’s been putting up with me since sixth grade. Finally, I asked Jon (without the “h” and very territorial about it) today at work, and he agreed as well … tho he IS my Siamese twin, so it would have been pretty awkward if he had said “no.”
Pictures of the group below, with me showing off my stunning range of haircuts and complete inability to smile on film …
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| CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: Collin (at my W&M graduation, 1997); John (camping on the Shenandoah, 2001); Chrissy (at her wedding, 2002)’ Jonathon (at a 2005 Nationals’ game). | |
So, we went to Weather Underground’s History page and did some research. Three minutes (and one excel spreadsheet later) we had something that looked like this:
| 22-Sep | 29-Sep | 6-Oct | 13-Oct | |
| Mean Temp. | 65 °F | 62 °F | 59 °F | 56 °F |
| Average High | 77 °F | 74 °F | 71 °F | 69 °F |
| Average Low | 53 °F | 50 °F | 46 °F | 43 °F |
| Record High | 94 °F (1980) | 85 °F (1986) | 85 °F (1997) | 84 °F (1998) |
| Record Low | 38 °F (1997) | 34 °F (1978) | 28 °F (1968) | 30 °F (1985) |
| Avg. Rainfall | 0.13 in | 0.12 in | 0.11 in | 0.11 in |
| Record Rainfall | 1.57 in (1982) | 2.23 in (1963) | 0.68 in (1972) | 0.85 in (1983) |
After much deliberation (three, maybe four minutes) we decided to target October 6, 2007. Not too cold, not too hot … and it didn’t hijack one of our attendants (Melissa Merens) 30th birthday (missed it by a week). It’s a shame, she would have gotten one heck of a party …
We spent the morning in Clifton, Virginia (map, two sites) looking at potential wedding and receptions sites. A friend of mine from work got married in the town, and absolutely loved it. It’s a tiny town (population: 185) about 25 miles west of Washington D.C. (about 15 miles south of Dulles Airport) with a very strong small-town America feel.
The only reception place we visited here was The Hermitage Inn, which seems to rule the town as far as weddings are concerned. Spent an hour talking to Serge, the French-speaking owner of the establishment, and was really impressed by the stunning decor and the strong brunch menu (still planning on a morning wedding so far).
The prices seemed affordable (for Washington D.C. at least, where everything is relative) and they were clear for the two months (September, October 2007) that we are leaning towards. It’s definitely at the top of (what is currently) a very short, short list.
Immediately behind the Hermitage is the Clifton Presbyterian Church… and by “immediately behind,” I mean “shares parking lot with.”
While neither of us are Presbyterian (Methodist and Episcopalian, respectively, but both seem to be AWOL in Clifton) it doesn’t really matter, because they are B.Y.O.P. (bring your own priest) to non-members.
The church is under-construction (well, renovation actually) and have told the lady sparkler that they aren’t accepting reservations until September of 2006. This makes us a little nervous, because it would sorta suck to pick a reception place in Clifton, and then get married at Foundry United Methodist in D.C. We weren’t able to get in (again, the construction) but will swing by later in the process, assuming we are as infatuated with Clifton as we currently are.
There is one other church option in Clifton, called Clifton Primitive Baptist Church. The church has a strong cultural history. Built in 1869, it was the first African American church in Fairfax County. The church hasn’t had regular services there since 1957, but was renovated in the last couple of years for use in weddings and special occasions.
It’s small (even by Clifton standards) with 1 aisle, 10 or 11 pews per side, seating 4 or 5 to a pew. By my math, that’s 80 to 110 rear ends, and not a whole lot of room for breathing and such. On the other hand, the lady sparkler and I are trying very hard to break the land-speed record of my best friend from W&M (Chrissy, with a svelte 22 minute wedding ceremony) so if we have to stack you all in like lumber, at least it will only be for a few minutes.
The good news is that the church is (primatively) gorgeous, available for the whole day, and we don’t have to compete with a congregation for attention.
One thing that is good the WHOLE way round is that all three locations are within an easy walking distance of each other. This means no limo (yay!) and no problems with parking. Not to mention, all three places are within 30 minutes of home and 15 minutes of a major (and cheap) airport. Finally, there are 25 hotels within 9 miles (Manassas, Centreville) of the town.
We’ll keep you posted, but T-minus 524 days and things are looking pretty okay.
