Upcoming trip to Virginia...

[Jim O'Dell]

Fairfax and The Frying Pan Park to be exact. Not sure how much free time I'll have available, but are there any woodworking stores in the area? I will be there with my wife and 3 dogs for the Irish Setter Club of America's 2013 National Specialty show. Show grounds at the Frying Pan Park, host hotel is the Hyatt Fair Lakes in or just north of Fairfax. To complicate matters, my wife's aunt and uncle, daughter and grand kids (we've never seen the grand kids), live close, so that will take up some time.
Also, anyone know of a dog park in the area? We will have 3 dogs with us, 2 under the age of 18 months and they will need some free running space if possible. May use the aunt and uncle's place for a couple hours each day.
Also 2, good restaurants in the area. Open to suggestions on just about any type of food, and will have evening meals with friends from around the country, as this is about the only time we get to visit with them. And if you would like to see a bunch of Irish Setters in one place, Saturdays Best of Breed is a sight to behold.
Thanks for any help and insight you can offer. When we went to the national specialty show in 1995, I missed getting to drive down the coast from Jacksonville FL and watching a shuttle launch. I'll never forgive myself for that. Jim.

[Stephen Cherry]

Thats a little far out from my stomping grounds, but, if you are interested, the air and space museum at dulles airport is very much worth a look.

[Greg Portland]

There is a Dogfish Head alehouse in town... worthwhile if you like ales. Mazadar is a great middle eastern place (kebabs, hummus, etc.)

http://www.yelp.com/c/fairfax-va-us/restaurants

For things to do, there is all the DC stuff (Smithsonian, gov't buildings, etc.) and you are in the middle of multiple Civil War battlefields. Another cool destination in the area (just north of DC) is the National Cryptologic Museum (http://www.nsa.gov/about/cryptologic_heritage/museum/index.shtml).

[Paul McGaha]

Hi Jim,

We have a couple of Woodcraft's. The best things has a facility in Herndon, VA (very near where you'll be) but I'm not sure if it's a retail store or an office to support their internet store.

There are several nice places to visit, All the Smithsonian stuff including both of the Air and Space Museums.

There's a Spy museum, I haven't been to it but I heard it was really cool.

The Lincloln and Jefferson memorials. The Washington monument might be open, it had some damage when we had that earthquake. I'm not sure if it reopened to the public or not.

Seeing the Pentagon even from the outside is something . The size of it is just unbelievable.

Have fun. Washington DC really is a cool place to visit.

PHM

PS-And of course you could visit Redskin Park.

[Jim O'Dell]

We won't have a lot of time to site see. I've been to several of the battlefields when I was a kid. I'd have a great time at the Smithsonian, but I somehow doubt they'd allow us in with the dogs.:rolleyes: This trip is about them. And getting to visit with some close dog show friends from around the country that we only get to see every 3 or 4 years. I'm just thinking I might be able to steal an hour away some afternoon for something close. Not even sure that can happen yet until we get the full agenda of times and events. I'll especially keep a list of all the restaurants you mention. Never know what our friends will be interested in. Neither the LOML nor I drink, but most of our friends do. So a good restaurant with a wide variety of drinks would be interesting to many of them. Thanks for all the suggestions so far. We won't be going for 5 or 6 weeks, so keep the ideas coming! And Woodcraft might be a good place to go, seeing that the one close to me moved across the county! :D Jim.