Friday, October 22, 2010.

This morning we woke up early and left to drive the last 60 miles to Herndon, Virginia, just before Reston, Virginia. Reston, Virginia is a planned town that allowed for apartments, condos, duplexes and single family homes from all levels of society. The government assists those poorer people who are working but can't afford the apartment fees. But the manager of the apartment complex does not know who those families are. They only allow for 20% of the occupancy needing assistance. Therefore, the neighborhood retains it's integrity.
Being a little cooler today, the leaves are just starting to change. It seems the shrub weeds are turning yellow first, then the maple trees. Some of the trees have lost their leaves at the tops only. The oaks and gums have not changed yet.
There was quite a bit of traffic heading towards Washington D.C.; but more was heading towards us. Carol is off today, so we will be able to arrive this morning. Jimmy is trading his stocks again; so I need to gather the clothes we will wear this week end at Carol's and Ray's. We are to park our RV in their driveway and sleep in their house. They are in a really nice development with large homes that are very nicely landscaped. Each house has large mature trees and shrubs separating each other; therefore they are very private. Across the street is the stone wall that surrounds the town of Reston from all other towns. Their house is on Champion Lake and was rebuilt 5 years ago when it burned down. When they rebuilt it, Ray did an awesome job and made it absolutely beautiful. They put in top of the line fixtures and cabinets, hardwood floors, and appliances. When you have a fire, the insurance company will only pay for a new house on the existing lot and it must be the same footprint. Some people were surprised they could come back here after their loss. A faulty air conditioner wire caught fire and they were very lucky they even woke up to be able to escape. Carol feels there was a guardian angel that woke Ray up because their cats didn't even smell the smoke. God definitely had them in his hands!
Carol made a delicious dinner of surf and turf with crab stuffed shrimp! It was yummy! Then we had low calorie cheesecake with strawberries that was delicious. I copied the recipe. The 4 of us played pinochle for several hours. Carol and I were teammates and beat the guys in several games. They can't wait to play again on Sunday to finally beat us. We'll have to see if they can do it. Carol had double pinochle two times tonight. That's very unusual. I don't think I've had double pinochle twice in the last 40 years!
Tomorrow, the guys will watch the college football games and Carol and I are going shopping. At 4 PM we will eat steamed crabs, steamed shrimp and oysters at a seafood restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia. Then we will go to see a political satire called the Capital Steps in downtown Washington D.C.