Mike Rayburn Rocked the House!

Mike Rayburn’s performance at Freedom High School was fantastic! He is one of the most talented guitarists I’ve even seen perform and his skills as a comedian are equally impressive. His performance was truly a special treat for us locals.

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In the scene below Mike becomes Michael Jackson. He won’t appreciate this pic, but it was hilarious!

As if the show wasn’t enough of a treat I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Mike’s dad as we left the performance. He’s a former teacher from this area and knew the teachers I had back in high school. He made it clear how proud he is of his son and I’m certain the feeling is mutual!

You can learn more about Mike and his extraordinary performances at this previous post on the performance last night at Freedom high school or at his Website: Mike Rayburn

I definitely recommend you catch his performance next time he performs in our area!

Find the Lowest Gas Prices in Our Area

Gas prices are finally moving in the right direction… DOWN! Did you ever think seeing gas prices close to $3.50 a gallon would be a good thing!?

I added a great new tool to the Resources section to help you find the best deal on gas in our area. Of course it can be used to find the best deals anywhere you happen to be traveling as well, but the report on GumSpringRoad.com will focus on prices in our immediate area. It’s updated frequently and should make it much easier to find the best bargains. Visit our Gas Prices page for the list.

If you want to help the rest of us out register at Gas Buddy and add a report when you spot a great deal in your area. It’s the largest site of it’s kind with thousands of stations in Virginia alone being reported* on every day. (* By “reported on” I mean the gas station’s prices are being updated)

Assistant Principal at Freedom Arrested

On Tuesday an Assistant Principal at Freedom High School, Ting-Yi Oei, was arrested at the school and charged with possession of child pornography.

According to reports a student sent a picture of a fellow student to Mr. Oei in March of this year. We asked one of our 2 sons that attends Freedom what he knew knew about Mr. Oei and he said of the incident in March, “everyone heard about it and shrugged it off as just a prank”. He added, “he is one of the strict guys at school and not likely to be involved in anything like this”.

The mistakes Mr. Oei apparently made that led to his arrest include; not reporting the original incident to police, not deleting the photograph off of his computer, and finally, not showing up for a recent court hearing.

We hope there’s nothing more to the story… we’ll keep you posted.

For more information visit Loudoun Extra.

Family Fest Loudoun August 23rd Dulles Town Center

Saturday August 23rd from 10 – 4pm at the Dulles Town Center

This full day event, features hands-on interactive stations, exhibits, demonstrations and live entertainment. The event focuses on family health & safety, nutrition, education, community awareness. It’s perfect for a family day of FUN!

Be one of the first 100 families and you’ll receive a free “goodie bag”.

For more information visit their site: Family Fest Loudoun

Yuck! Traffic Issues all Over the Area Today

This is a snapshot of the current traffic situation as depicted by the traffic.com tool used on the homepage. Friday August 15th at 3:15 pm.

I haven’t seen it this bad before today. It’s registering a 6.6 for 66 Westbound. Yuck!

Area Home Prices Are on the Rise

According to the IAS360 House Price Index home prices in Fairfax rose 4.9 percent over May and are down 6.7 percent from June of 2007, which is not as bad as the national decline of 11.5 percent. This should help drive more prospective buyers out of their holding pattern and into new homes.

Many Northern Virginia realtor’s claim this area is better suited to withstand economic downturns then most and this 4.9 percent increase, compared to an increase of 1.1 percent at the national level, further supports that claim.

Unless the US Government decides to relocate or goes out of business the DC are should continue to prosper over the years and decades ahead.

The Opening Ceremony for the Olympics

If you watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics you were probably in awe like we were. Truly amazing to watch what $300 million dollars and discipline can accomplish!

Like this dad I’ve found myself getting motivated to do great things as well. Hmmm… will it be grilled chicken or some burgers and dogs?

The Lansdowne Wine Chick

Just a couple months ago I had the pleasure of being treated to some of the best wine I’ve ever had at a function being held at the Lansdowne Resort. One of the speakers gave serious praise to the resident sommelier, Mary Watson Delauder, and the wines we were treated to were absolutely spectacular. That experience made finding this video all the more rewarding.

Mary is a Virginia gal that knows her wine and thrives on getting other people more enthusiastic about their wine experiences. Equally unique is her herb garden. She grows organic herbs right there at her home… er, her place of “employment”.

Check out her video and plan a visit one Friday evening with your guy or gal. It’ll be a good time.

See you there!

They’re Talking About Us in St. Louis

It’s interesting that our beloved Loudoun and Prince William County suburbs would make it into an article in the St. Louis Today. Eddie Roth, the author of ‘Mass transit and suburban home market‘, makes great points about how we’re all paying very close attention to our transportation costs now. Commuting an hour each way used to be simply a quality of life issue. Now it’s hitting us in the pocketbook and it’s affecting buying decisions more then ever.

There are two claims he made in his article that I object to; #1) that home prices in Loudoun and Prince William counties “have collapsed” while prices in “the District and inner suburbs have stayed the same or increased”. (Even if true we don’t need them blabbering it all over), and #2) is his reference to our counties as “far suburbs”. Far from St. Louis I suppose! Has he ever driven Gum Spring Road? It’s not “far” any more!

Typical Monday Morning Traffic

We finally figured out why traffic was so light during the recent Loudoun County Fair! It was peaceful for the first time in years on the road…

Ain’t the net great? Y’all can find jes bout anything on it. This looks like a blast!

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