Shuttle Watch

Sometimes there are benefits to living close to an international airport. This week, I got to experience a benefit that only comes once in a lifetime – watching the landing of the space shuttle Discovery at Dulles Airport.

The highway to the airport was PACKED with cars and people. Every bridge, on-ramp, off-ramp, and median was covered with people who had come to see the Discovery riding piggyback on a 747. All the spectators could tell when the time was getting close because helicopters magically appeared in the sky, hovering high above us. The second the planes were spotted you could hear all the cheers, shouts, and clicking cameras.




The shuttle flew right over our heads! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen!!


After returning from a quick tour of the capitol, the shuttle showed off once again by doing a nice slow flyby of route 28. Everyone was laughing and chatting – friends with perfect strangers for a moment in time.


The planes drew around for one final time, lined up to the runway, and landed forever, to the cheers of all the people around me.


It was undoubtedly one of the coolest experiences of my life. I’m sure many events will surpass this one in value, but how many people get to say they saw a space shuttle fly piggyback on a 747?!

If you are in the area and were not able to see the Discovery land, you might be able to catch the Enterprise’s take off from Dulles on April 23, 2012. (http://www.collectspace.com/shuttles/), or maybe you can catch both the Discovery and the Enterprise together on Thursday, April 19th (http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/discovery/activity-detail.cfm?id=3784).

If you can make it, do! You’ll never forget it. :)

Bluemont Vineyard and Great Country Farms

One of my favorite places to visit is Bluemont, Virginia. Just a half an hour outside of Leesburg, this is a great destination for adults, kids, and dogs. The reason this location is so fantastic is that it is home to both Bluemont Vineyards and Great Country Farms, and the best part is that they are right across the street from each other!

My most recent trip to Bluemont included my friends Nikki and Renee, and their children. Since it is such a great place, more friends and family joined in, and we had quite an energetic group!

If you have children with you, I suggest beginning your day at Great Country Farms. For a small entrance fee, you can have hours of playtime on their countless mazes, slides, jumping pillow, and more. It’s a great way to wear out the kids, as well as get you a free tasting at Bluemont Vineyards. :)

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the kids playing on the farm. (Notice that some of the “kids” are not quite kids. heehee)

The giant jumping pillow


Playing on the Spider web


Double-barrel slide


We played at Great Country Farms for hours, and we barely touched all the activities. The farm also has pick-your-own events throughout the year. I’m planning on going back soon for strawberries. :)

Once the kids are sufficiently worn out, I recommend driving across the street and up the mountain (it is rather steep, but if my mustang could make it, your car can too!) to Bluemont Vineyards. There are some play areas around the building if the kids still have energy, or you can get some crackers and cheese plates for everyone to snack on. Bluemont also serves different meals over the weekend. It changes week-to-week, but you can always call ahead to find out what is being served. My personal favorite is the Lamb Chili that they make in February. It is so good that I called ahead to reserve three servings this year!


Even if you have been once before, I recommend doing the wine tasting (remember, it’s free with the entrance fee at the farm!), because they tend add new wines each year. On this trip, Dan and I picked up bottles of their Meritage, Farm table red, Petit Manseng, and the Blackberry dessert wine. Even though we did not buy a bottle on this trip, I highly recommend the Strawberry dessert wine. It smells like the best strawberry jam and tastes just as good.


With the weather quickly turning to spring and summer, make sure to put Bluemont on your list of local places to visit!

How to Add a New Car to Your Loudoun County Personal Property Taxes

This week brought a very exciting experience for me. I bought my first car! I was very sad to see my old mustang drive away, but the new car represents all that lies in my future. :)

My new car is a Subaru Forester! I picked out this car because, even though I loved driving my mustang, I needed a car that would meet the following requirements: 4WD/AWD for snow or dirt roads, a bigger second row seat for friends/family, and space in the back for the puppies. My new Forester meets all these things, and it has a roof rack for bikes/Christmas trees/etc... Huzzah!

After the excitement of purchasing a vehicle, you face the stress of getting it registered and claimed. Luckily, the dealership helped me with the registration, and my insurance only took a few minutes. However, getting my car registered for my county sticker was more difficult than it needed to be. I hope other counties are not as aggravating, but for anyone living in Loudoun County, Virginia – good luck!

Because I had such a stressful time getting my county decal, I have decided to include a nice set of instructions in today’s blog. Hopefully, Google will do its job and direct people to these instructions, saving them all the headaches I had to deal with!

To Claim a New Vehicle on Your Personal Property Tax in Loudoun County:

1. In an internet browser (IE9 does not fully support this site yet), navigate to this exact URL: www.loudoun.gov/cor.
   
   (Do not attempt to search for this site on Google, because it will not direct you to the correct page. Also, trying to navigate from the loudoun.gov home page is ridiculous, but if you insist on doing so, this is the path to follow: Home>Government>County Departments>Departments A-G>Commissioner of the Revenue)


2. In the left-hand menu, click Online Services.


3. On the Online Services page, under Vehicle Personal Property Division, click Register a Car, Truck, Motorcycle, or Motor Home.


4. On the Disclaimer page, read the information and click Yes.


5. On the Personal Property Tax Declaration page, select the Property Type.


6. Click Continue.


7. On the Add Account page, fill in all the required information.


8. Click Submit.


9. On the Registration Confirmation page, print a copy for your records.

After adding the new vehicle, you can get your county decal mailed to you by doing one of the following:

• If you have unpaid personal property taxes, you have to pay them before requesting your new decal.


• If you are up-to-date on all personal property taxes, call the Treasurer’s Office (703-777-0280) and request that the decal be transferred. You will need both the new car account code and the old car account code.


• If you are new to Loudoun County and have never paid personal property tax here, go to this URL (http://www.loudoun.gov/FAQ.aspx?TID=66) and follow the instructions listed under the first question.

I hope this helps you get your new car registered with Loudoun County. Believe me, you do NOT want to put this off, because there are multiple tow truck companies that regularly patrol neighborhoods looking for cars with no decal!! (This I know from experience… the bastards.)

Enjoy your new vehicle! I know I will. :D