Over the years I can remember a few early season snows in Reston. One came when I was staying in the Reston Hyatt. I thought I was going to have a great time staying in the hotel and enjoying the snow. It turned out the whole town shut down including all but one restaurant in the hotel. The ones outside the hotel all closed as did the shops. I decided to make a run for it on Saturday morning.
As is the often the case, heading south got rid of the snow eventually.
Reston is far enough north and has enough trees for shade that snow can come and stay for a long time. I can remember a couple of January snows that lasted well into March several years ago. As I drove up from Roanoke, it would seem like I was entering another country, one of never ending cold and darkness.
Fortunately this most recent snow does not seem to be hanging around. However, I have noticed the chance of snow in the forecast for the weekend. We were going to come for a visit, but somehow sliding around the roads of DC does not sound like a lot of fun.
This latest storm which brought blizzard conditions to the mid-west only brought winds and some rain to the coast. The winds have whipped up the ocean, but coastal North Carolina is pretty laid back this time of year so it would take more than some winds to bother us. I call it the "In Between Time."
Having a time when things move a little slower is actually a good thing especially when the rest of the world is speeding toward a holiday season. We will enjoy the holidays, we just do not have all the stores to whip us up into a frenzy. That is part of what makes this a good place to live.
In my mind the idea of going to Reston and scooting over to Tyson's for some shopping seemed like a good ideal. Then I remembered the post, A Tale of Shopping Two Virginia Cities, that I wrote in 2005. The truth is that I do not handle well crowds, waiting in line, and circling for parking spaces.
As much as I might enjoy visiting LL Bean's and the Apple Store, I would probably be shocked by how much more crowded it is now that it was four years ago.
I will probably wander down to Swansboro to get my wife a small present and call it quits with that. We are going to try to spend the least we have ever spent on Christmas this year.
It is tough at Christmas for lots of folks, I think we could make better use of our dollars than piles of gifts. We downsized Christmas a lot last year so this year will just be a continuation of a trend.
Not being in Reston just makes it that much easier. Winter beach time is a good time to be thankful for what you have and not worry so much about what you might want.
I hope Reston gets just enough snow to make things look festive this weekend. I know any significant accumulation could cause havoc with the shopping. Even missing a day or two of shopping in a powerhouse shopping region like Reston might have an economic impact well beyond the local area.
We do not want that to happen. It has been a good year in a lot of respects, but the economy is not one of them. Maybe Northern Virginia shopping will lead us out of the recession.
