POLL: Next Photo Tour: Culpeper vs. Winchester vs. Fredericksburg? (Alexandria: cul-de-sac, appointed)

[Denton56]

Pittsburgh. Go north young man and check out Pittsburgh.

[SteelCityRising]

Well as luck would have it I got a little bit "distracted" today. I decided to drive out to Purcellville to see what it would be like to run the W&OD Trail from the very beginning. I ran from the parking lot along Hatcher Avenue to Hamilton Station, a distance of roughly eight miles round-trip. It was a wonderful time! Unlike in Reston where the bikers are snooty, the bikers up there actually called out "ON YOUR LEFT" or "PASSING" when they zoomed by me instead of just making me pee my pants by almost hitting me as a lot of the Reston bikers do. The town was great! I didn't care for having some suburban-styled shopping right in the town proper (the shopping center with Bloom, the Giant, the banks, etc.), but there were some nice older homes to be found, a nice farmers' market, and there was some sort of thing going on with a church group at a nearby parking lot as well. There was even a lemonade stand!

From here I drove north to scope out Lovettsville. I was not impressed. Instead of building a rotary in the middle of town they built some sort of really wacky traffic square of sorts with all sorts of stop signs that is really confusing, and there are a lot of ugly new construction homes dominating town. It's sad because you can tell that Lovettsville was probably at one time a pretty place too. I then drove up to Route 15 and came down through Lucketts back into Leesburg. From here I took Route 7 and took the ENTIRETY of Georgetown Pike through Great Falls and Langley. I then got lost in McLean, but I ended up going down this AWESOME narrow windy road lined with mansions all the way down a very steep hill! It was so cool!!!

[mamaplaysflute]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Well as luck would have it I got a little bit "distracted" today. I decided to drive out to Purcellville to see what it would be like to run the W&OD Trail from the very beginning. I ran from the parking lot along Hatcher Avenue to Hamilton Station, a distance of roughly eight miles round-trip. It was a wonderful time! Unlike in Reston where the bikers are snooty, the bikers up there actually called out "ON YOUR LEFT" or "PASSING" when they zoomed by me instead of just making me pee my pants by almost hitting me as a lot of the Reston bikers do. The town was great! I didn't care for having some suburban-styled shopping right in the town proper (the shopping center with Bloom, the Giant, the banks, etc.), but there were some nice older homes to be found, a nice farmers' market, and there was some sort of thing going on with a church group at a nearby parking lot as well. There was even a lemonade stand!

From here I drove north to scope out Lovettsville. I was not impressed. Instead of building a rotary in the middle of town they built some sort of really wacky traffic square of sorts with all sorts of stop signs that is really confusing, and there are a lot of ugly new construction homes dominating town. It's sad because you can tell that Lovettsville was probably at one time a pretty place too. I then drove up to Route 15 and came down through Lucketts back into Leesburg. From here I took Route 7 and took the ENTIRETY of Georgetown Pike through Great Falls and Langley. I then got lost in McLean, but I ended up going down this AWESOME narrow windy road lined with mansions all the way down a very steep hill! It was so cool!!!

The wacky traffic square is called a "squircle" believe it or not. It took us a while to get used to it (we have been here about 8 months) but it's not that confusing. We live in one of the "ugly new construction homes" and we happen to love it. The neighborhood we are in is peaceful, the neighbors friendly and plenty of fellow dog owners. As far as we are concerned Lovettsville is still a pretty place to live.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by mamaplaysflute

The wacky traffic square is called a "squircle" believe it or not. It took us a while to get used to it (we have been here about 8 months) but it's not that confusing. We live in one of the "ugly new construction homes" and we happen to love it. The neighborhood we are in is peaceful, the neighbors friendly and plenty of fellow dog owners. As far as we are concerned Lovettsville is still a pretty place to live.

To me it just looks like these new developments 100% altered the rustic atmosphere of the town. Couldn't they have been designed to "blend in" a bit better? The new just doesn't mesh well with the old. I would have reserved a narrow strip of land between the squircle and the development to put up a buffer zone of arborvitae or shade trees to help ease that transition a bit better. I also believe a rotary there would have been better than the squircle. When I came back down to Lovettsville after getting lost on my way into Maryland in order to make a simple left-hand turn to head towards Route 15 I first had to go straight, then turn left and stop, then turn left again, then stop again, then turn right. It was very inefficient when in a rotary I would have just gone around with no issue at all.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by mamaplaysflute

The wacky traffic square is called a "squircle" believe it or not. It took us a while to get used to it (we have been here about 8 months) but it's not that confusing. We live in one of the "ugly new construction homes" and we happen to love it. The neighborhood we are in is peaceful, the neighbors friendly and plenty of fellow dog owners. As far as we are concerned Lovettsville is still a pretty place to live.

Well you can count us as fans of Lovettsville--our neighbor just bought a place on Ash George Road and has had us out a few times. WE LOVE IT! Ever since he bought that place we've been talking about moving there when we retire. The neighborhoods are just that sort of place we really like.

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, some people may not like new construction but we thought they did a great job on the neighborhoods there and that Lovettsville was beautiful. Different strokes for different folks and all that. Or maybe it just looks different when you are driving through a town versus actually spending time in the homes and in the neighborhoods. As for the squircle, we like it--it's different and it's a hoot.

But, again, different strokes for different folks. Culpeper doesn't do much for me, the newer neighborhoods in Lovettsville are my cup of tea. But that's ok, there's something for everyone around here.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

Couldn't they have been designed to "blend in" a bit better?

Sure, they could have. But not everyone has your taste.

[JD984]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

From here I took Route 7 and took the ENTIRETY of Georgetown Pike through Great Falls and Langley. I then got lost in McLean, but I ended up going down this AWESOME narrow windy road lined with mansions all the way down a very steep hill! It was so cool!!!

Sounds like Kirby Road, maybe. It is indeed extremely pretty. But perhaps you could remind us how the mansions (often on large lots) fit into your "Smart Growth" philosophy. Did you really get co-opted that easily?

The idea that mansions inhabited by the extremely wealthy are "so cool," but that housing for the upwardly mobile or somewhat ambitious must invariably be labeled "McMansions" and "tract housing" is what tends to set a lot of people's teeth on edge.

[Denton56]

We live in Lovettsville, and love it. We're out in the country, a mile and half from Berlin turnpike, but in a new house. From our front porch we can watch the sun rise over mountains. From our back deck, we have a beautiful view of the sun setting behind Short Hill mountain. Across the street is a 12 acre field and to our side, across the road, is a cattle ranch. Our neighbors are fabulous, even if they are a few acres away.

Scranny, did you miss the rolling hills, the horse farms, the vineyards, and the beautiful old stone homes and barns? How could you not think it's beautiful?

[itsajourney]

I just returned from an 11 day trip thru North Carolina & Virginia (also Greenville, SC). I put over 4000 miles on my vehicle during that trip and criss-crossed Virginia from north to south and east to west. The entire state is very beautiful--as it has all of what I miss about Pennsylvania--with less winter--which is a big plus.

I picked Fredericksburg--but that is because it reminds me of the town I left in PA. I loved all of the historical sites, homes, etc. Also, the rolling hills, river area. The downtown is wonderful and all the shopping and dining out is spread out in all directions. Compared to Orlando, traffic was nothing. You could spend an entire day taking pictures and not get it all in.

Culpeper is a cute town. Smaller than Fredericksburg--but also historic with a lot of great things to document on film. The hills surrounding town are really beautiful. Take the sidetrip out to Lake Anna if you have time.

Winchester--area is gorgeous, but I love my mountains.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Lynchburg area--again, the historical homes and downtown area. I had read things on here that made me think I was going to be driving into an old industrial town that would look like a dump. That was not the case at all.

You will also want to go to Roanoke sometime.

I went to Charlottsville also. It was my 3rd and 4th trip to Charlottsville--as I was convinced that I was "missing" something by all of the rants and raves that Charlottsville gets. I still don't see it--but that's just me. The geography around the area is beautiful, but I am still not in awe over the town/city itself.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by JEB77

Sounds like Kirby Road, maybe. It is indeed extremely pretty. But perhaps you could remind us how the mansions (often on large lots) fit into your "Smart Growth" philosophy. Did you really get co-opted that easily?

The idea that mansions inhabited by the extremely wealthy are "so cool," but that housing for the upwardly mobile or somewhat ambitious must invariably be labeled "McMansions" and "tract housing" is what tends to set a lot of people's teeth on edge.

Yes, that was Kirby Road. No, I realize that wasn't "smart growth" either, but I was just depicting the experience of cruising down that steep twisting hill doing about 35 and feeling like I was going to fly right into a house! It was like a roller coaster! I might try to do that once every week for a thrill! LOL!