fairfax va.

Papa’s World – We built our first home – Ridgetop!

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It was 2002 or 2003 – NVA – Fairfax, Va. –

We listed the townhouse and sold it!

We had built our first new home –

A three-story brick fronted Townhouse –

with huge arched windows on the front!

Ridgetop Commons was just one block from Fountain Side Lane –

In a brand-new neighborhood,

we had ridden bike paths through the woods!

We took a giant step forward –

selling our townhouse –

And buying this one for more than we sold the first one for!

But – it was an upgrade –

in a growing neighborhood –

And a brand new town center was being built –

Dozens of stores and restaurants –

walking distance away –

and the ground had been broken for the –

FIRST WEGMANS GROCERY store in Va.!

I would walk and sit on a park bench –

and watch the construction of both the town center and the Wegmans.

The new townhouse was 2500 SF.

On three levels – a two-car garage –

a huge deck off the second level –

and an enclosed patio under the deck.

The windows in the living room were huge arched –

and went almost from floor to ceiling!

On that level was the living room – dining room –

kitchen and a step down to a half bath.

Downstairs was a second living-family room with a fireplace-

and a door out to the patio.

This is also where we had our office.

Upstairs on the third level –

were three bedrooms and two baths.

The master bedroom was huge!

Looking out the windows from the living room –

Was the only fenced-in playground in the community.

A great place for Maddy and Ella to play when they came to visit.

The community pool was a short walk away.

It was here that after living most of our lives in WNY and NWPA –

That we experienced the worst snowfall in our lives!

Twenty-seven inches in 48 hours!

We had company –

Jim and Dottie Brown –

We shoveled for hours –

until we had no more space to put it!

Then it was just sit back and watch it come down.

A huge grader came down the road –

But we still could not get out

We were stranded –

until the county and development came to dig us out!

That was my first time ever with that much snow and it was in Va.!

After that we would go to Florida to visit my brother on vacation-

I had enough of snow- ice and cold weather even in NVA!

We spent almost four years in the first house we had built –

In Ridgetop Commons –

But it was very busy and we looked toward the West –

To Loudoun County and a brand new area being built-

Churches – Banks – Stores – Movie theaters and restaurants in the middle of pastures!

On the back side of the Dulles airport –

BRAMBLETON!

A very large planned community –

But once there – almost no traffic!

Our end was in sight of living in Fairfax, Va. for seven years!

But – I will remember Ridgetop Commons with fondness –

THE VERY FIRST HOUSE WE BUILT TOGETHER.

June 25th. 1982 – the day we were married.

We would leave here and move to the SECOND HOUSE WE WOULD BUILD TOGETHER!

BRAMBLETON, VA. coming soon in a blog!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Papa’s World – Life at Fountain Side Lane.

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In June of 1999 –

Sherry and I transferred within the company –

To Northern Va. – to the Alexandria section –

just outside Washington, D.C.

We had two months of company-paid living –

in a block of condos.

We used this time for our new jobs –

hers in Dulles next to the airport –

and mine in Springfield at our Alexandria SSC.

We came from the country to city life!

In our spare time, we hired a realtor –

and started our search for a home.

We wanted a place that was halfway to work for both of us.

FAIRFAX, VA.!

What we found was a townhome in the Fountain Side Lane –

Three miles to George Mason University –

two miles to the NRA – building!

STICKER SHOCK – this town home was about 1600 SF.

On three levels – three bedrooms –

and two and one-half baths.

But was centrally located to both our jobs.

It would take me one-half hour to get to work –

and she is about twenty minutes!

It was a nice neighborhood –

walkable to a large town square with stores –

shopping and restaurants.

During our time there-

we rode our bikes on trails in a forest behind the house.

This whole area would become a planned TOWN CENTER –

With dozens of stores and bars and grills-

even a Ruth’s Chris Steak House!

We watched it being built –

and eventually the first WEGMENS in the NVA. area.

It was during this time her sister Debbie –

seen here in the middle-

Relocated from Wisconsin –

and stayed with us for a short time-

until she found a place in the Manassas area.

Her other sister Bonnie remains in NWPA in Mount Jewett.

We experienced two traumatic life-changing events-

while living here.

First was 911 – this happened while we worked in the area –

The plane that hit the Pentagon –

flew right over the parking lot where I worked –

And Sherry was right next to the Dulles airport

One plane took off from there,

and all these large tanks were holding fuel right next to her store.

For days the sound of silence ensued.

No planes –

we traveled to see the Pentagon –

and have a picture of the destruction.

This went on for days –

as no planes –

but the high military jets leaving their presence known-

in the trail of white contrails in the sky!

The next event was the DC. SNIPERS!

We were exactly in the middle of all the killings!

It was all around us –

and not knowing from moment to moment who would be next!

We lived in TERROR!

Always be watchful at the beginning-

of a WHITE VAN!

Rumors – going to work at 5am.

Stopping to get gas –

and crouching down behind the car door –

in the light from the overhead lights.

Here is Maddy –

about five years old –

and just a baby when we moved to the area.

I carried her in my arms –

while walking the streets during the quiet period after 911!

Looking at the jet planes so high in the sky.

Our home here –

we lived in it for three and one-half years.

Tammy moved in with us as she came from Rochester to be near us.

Later Debby and Mike moved down from the Syracuse area with Maddy!

It was here that both sets of parents came to visit –

before they passed away.

We have many fond memories of this first home in Fairfax, Va.

Soon – more family members made their way to this area of NVA.

While here –

we watched a new development –

just behind our house going up –

We liked the new townhomes made out of brick.

S o – we decided to sell –

and buy our first new to-be-built home – a block away!

RIDGETOP COMMONS – a 2500 SF. Town Home!

We would be moving up the hill!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Coming in another blog – RIDGETOP COMMONS!

Papa’s World – In 1999 – we transferred to NVA!

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It was time to move on – at 50 years old and soon to be 50 –

Sherry and I decided on new adventures

awaited us – not in Olean, N.Y., and at Dal Tile ( American Olean Tile) –

where we both worked –

She is the Logistics manager and I am the supervisor of Body Prep – Service departments!

She had gone as far as she could in a male-dominated world of manufacturing.

Both of us needed a change –

me – I was frustrated –

I needed to get to a better frame of mind –

Her – she was going to be stuck and overlooked!

So – after sifting through multiple in-company openings –

we choose the Northern Va. area!

We moved from a country county filled with farms – two lane roads – deer – cows – turkeys –

to TRAFFIC –

MILLIONS in population –

to right smack in the middle of Alexandria Va.

Washington D.C. and the infamous BELTWAY!

We lived in a condo in Old Town Alexandria for almost two months –

hoping I would not get lost as I traveled back and forth from work.

WOW – four to six lanes of traffic – one wrong turn –

which I did – brought me panic.

But – I made it home to that apartment.

The positive side – although my sense of direction leaves a lot to be desired –

I loved being able to walk the historic streets-

by the Potomac in Old Town!

I guess this two-month period was what we needed to adapt to CITY LIFE!

We both transferred within the company –

and that is now twenty-five years ago.

But it seems like only yesterday!

We started to search for a home –

PRICES WERE SHOCKING!

We bought our first townhouse in Fairfax – halfway for both of us to drive.

She had a store –

called a SALES SERVICE CENTER – in Dulles – right across from the airport!

Me – I was to stay in Alexandria at what was one of the largest SSCs in the country.

Close to the Springfield Metro.

Both of us had traffic – however,

my hours were changed to 5:00 am. to 2:00 pm.

Traffic for me at those hours was not that bad.

Sherry found the backroads to travel to her store –

which in two years she took from less than one million in sales to almost six million in sales!

Our townhouse was on Fountainside Drive –

3 miles to George Mason University and the same distance to the NRA building.

Before the construction build of the new FAIRFAX TOWN CENTER and the brand new WEGMANS –

we rode our bikes on trails in the woods of what would become those new areas!

We lived in this home that we paid nearly $80,000.00 more-

then we sold our four-bedroom colonial on 3/4 of an acre in Portville, N.Y.!

And we had about 1600 SF.

But – it was in an upcoming new development –

and we sold it and built our very first new home –

a 2400 SF. brick – attached townhouse on Ridgetop Commons –

in that forest, we rode our bikes in!

In three and one-half years we upgraded –

and we had become assimilated into city life!

Many times we drove into the Capital to park and walk the city!

But – we bought METRO passes and rode into D.C. on weekends to tour and see the sights.

We became official tour guides to friends and family –

often sitting on the capital lawn for the Memorial Day concerts –

and Fourth of July salutes televised

nationally for concerts on the mall!

We watched the 2000 election results and saw people partying in the streets –

it was an awesome time for two country folks from WNY!

In this case, it took a lot of understanding –

but in time – Debby and Tammy –

came to live in NVA –

bringing family and finding their own destinies –

If we had not transferred here –

there would be no Taylor – Cassidy and Bode-

as she found Marcus here.

There was Maddy but who knows about Ella and Sarah?

Our move had a profound outcome on our families and still does to this day.

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – IN 1999 WE TRANSFERRED TO NORTHERN VA.

Papa’s World – We built on Ridgetop Commons!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

We were going to sell our Fountainside Lane Town house – which we first bought in 1999 –

and build a new townhouse in a new development called Ridgemont Commons!

This was a 2400 SF. – three-story brick townhouse –

and we were to pick the upgrades we wanted.

It was to have a two-car garage and a deck off the second floor with a fenced-in courtyard below it!

This would be the first of three homes we built – and three floors – I would never do that again.

Three floors are a lot of stairs to navigate – but it also was our first and only all-brick home!

This was a brand new neighborhood in the forest behind our first townhouse.

We used to ride the trails through the woods on our bikes!

It was a beautiful home and off the garage – under the staircase was a hidden storage space.

I hired a contractor to cut a hole and install a door so we could access it!

It was about 15 feet long and made a hard right to end up behind the fireplace on the first floor –

We stored a lot down there.

I knew it was there from visiting the construction site –

throughout the process.

This home had three bedrooms – two and one-half baths –

Very large gothic windows on the second floor –

Cherry wood cabinets and granite tops.

We also were within walking distance of a brand new WEGMANS –

and a newly built town center called Fairfax Corners.

We really liked this neighborhood as we could walk to stores – theaters – and places to eat.

But – it was city life – traffic was busy – George Mason University was a couple miles away –

The NRA building was also –

It was just too busy!

We lived here almost four years – we had experienced the DC SNIPER and 9-11 terror here.

It was time to look elsewhere – and there was a brand new development in the countryside-

called “BRAMBLETON, VA.”

They were building an entire small city there –

Once again we put the house up for sale – and put in an offer on what we thought –

“OUR FOREVER HOME TO BE BUILT IN BRAMBLETON, VA.”

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

Soon to come – BRAMBLETON, VA. OUR FOREVER HOME – SO WE THOUGHT!

Papa’s World – Life at Pleasant Acres Drive!

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Our love and marriage – for five and one-half years – we lived on the East Windfall Road –

way out in the country.

A house came up for sale – it was being sold by a holding company – the previous owner transferred and his company bought the house in the move.

It was a beautiful – ten-year-old – two-story Colonial – with four bedrooms and two baths upstairs!

A full basement with cement floor – and on the main level – two living rooms – a dining room – a breakfast area and a large laundry room with an attached half bath.

A large two-car garage with a bump out for shelving and storage.

Situated on three-quarter-acre mowed lot – with a small grouping of trees in the backyard.

And right across the street were our dear friends – The McBrides!

Sherry and Papa – with Cindy and Buck McBride – later – moved to N.C. and about twenty-five years later –

we followed and now live some 38 miles from them.

We often get together to golf on weekends and then either go out or to one another home for dinner.

We lived in Pleasant Acres Drive for twelve and one-half years – Mike and Carol John lived next door – and we often played tricks on one another –

One time he snuck over and hooked up to my Christmas lights and would turn them off and on! LOL

Another time I remodeled the half bath – took out the old toilet – painted it Red – White and Blue –

I placed it behind a big pine tree where he could not see it – and I placed a sign on it –

“WELCOME TO MIKE’S JOHN”! LOL

To this day we still visit them and they visit us – they have since moved and built a large house near his business and purchased a large house on Chautauqua Lake that we have visited twice!

Our neighborhood there was fun – often, times we would line up the riding mowers and race to the end of the road.

There were neighborhood graduations – parties and just general good fun.

Buck and Cindy moved about four years before we did – sad days followed but we often would vacation down in N.C. with them

After twelve and one-half years – we decided as empty nesters – it was time to move on –

It would be sad but for me – I had enough of supervision – factory life –

and for Sherry – she had a college degree and couldn’t go no further –

she was head of Logistics – time to move on.

We had added on a very large two-level covered deck with a hot tub!

Also a firepit with white scotch pine trees and several birch trees-

Had the back of the lot graded and seeded into the lawn – added hot water baseboard heating

and a wood-burning stove in the basement and tiled part of that.

I hand-stained the woodwork with her father’s special woodworking – he was a master –

And that all is there today – we sold it to a close friend and they live there today!

We said our goodbyes to friends and neighbors – packed up and we both transferred to NVA!

We transferred within the company and took all our benefits with us –

We went from the middle of COUNTRY to ALEXANDRIA, VA. the middle of the city!

After two months of company housing – we purchased our first home –

In the Fairfax, Va. neighborhood of FOUNTAINSIDE DRIVE!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – LIFE AT PLEASANT ACRES DRIVE – my site: LIVINGLIFEDOINGITMYWAY.BLOG

Papa’s World – Through the years – life!

/ Tom / Leave a comment

Our wedding day – June 25th. 1982 – a second marriage for both of us – the start of a new life!

We combined her two daughters with my two sons – although my sons lived with their mother-

Almost every weekend they were with us in the country between Olean and Portville in N.Y.

We tried to have mini long weekends – traveling in our 12-passenger van.

Packing food – eating picnic style – providing what we could afford –

It was an unforgettable time in those early years.

We lived there for 5 1/2 years before moving to the other side of Portville – closer to my sons and still in the same school district for the girls.

A new neighborhood in Pleasant Acres Drive which would be home for 12 1/2 years.

From here both girls graduated from H.S. and the boys graduated from H.S. in nearby Pa.

We were now empty nesters –

In 1999 we applied for a transfer for both of us to NVA. staying within the company!

When we retired – we had 79 1/2 years of service between us.

In Northern Va., we became Washinton Nationals Baseball fans and are still that way to this day!

We bought our first condo in Fairfax, Va. – then sold and built another one also in Fairfax – a couple miles

from George Mason and the NRA building.

We sold again and built a house in Brambleton, Va. behind the Dulles Airport.

Here we lived for 14 1/2 years – the stock market went way down but the housing went way up – SELL!

We lived in NMB for nine months while building our current home in OIB!

Cameron Woods Community is now our home in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

We live near two beaches and a lot of golf courses.

We are 45 minutes from Wilmington, N.C.

And 30 minutes to North Myrtle Beach.

Today we are living our dream where it is warm – near the beach and golf –

We have made new friends and old friends visit us.

Family comes here and we go there.

Life is good!

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – THROUGH THE YEARS LIFE!

Papa’s World – LIFE – PICTURES – MEMORIES!

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Before we moved to N.C. – we had many day trips to Washington, D.C as a family.

Often times we would just take the metro – other times we would drive in and park and walk around.

Many fond memories and here is one for a photo in front of the capital!

On one of our many vacations – here Papa – Sherry – Buck and Cindy pose with Lake Tahoe in the background!

We toured California and drove around the lake.

We would go and visit Shala and Roger – my brother and his wife – in the Villages –

After Shala passed away – we spent a couple months each winter with him.

He was by himself and we always had a good time with him.

My oldest son and Andrea – his partner – when they visited us during one summer.

Hoping they come back again.

My oldest son along with my youngest son Shawn – brothers – love them both.

Ella with Taylor on vacation at Oak Island – she adores Ella!

Our neighbors back in Ridgetop Commons in Fairfax – Brandy and Riz and their family.

Before we sold the house and moved they came and paid a visit to us in Brambleton.

Thanks for reading PAPA’S WORLD – my site: livinglifedoingitmyway.blog

PAPA’S WORLD – LIFE PICTURES – MEMORIES!