The Wild, The Innocent, & The Braddock Road Shuffle
The Wild, The Innocent, & The Braddock Road Shuffle
About ten days ago I was driving home one evening from a night of wargaming. I was coming in from the West, past Ox Road and Fairfax City – along Braddock Road. There was something yanking away at my brain – the ride just wasn’t right - Too many people, too many lanes, too many lights.
Thirty years ago, it was much cooler. Oh, you’d have some traffic all the way from
Eastern Annandale all the way to Ox, but after that it was clear sailin’. Driving around here was actually enjoyable back then. Rush hour would peter out by 8 and you could move. From ’74 to ’78 I had a circuit I’d take, (with an occasional variation). Zig-zagging into Old Town, one could breeze down the Parkway to Mt. Vernon, (but not too fast – an occasional speed trap would pop up along Belle Haven or Ft. Hunt. Then, a quick jaunt over to Route 1 and heading back North, jostling for position with pwt, truckers, military fodder looking for a night of trouble, and the rest of the halt and the lame. You could go pretty fast then, the cops wouldn’t stray far from the Krispy Kreme; just traffic and lights to challenge someone looking to move.
From there you’d hit the Beltway to Braddock, and after a few miles and passing Ox Road, you’d be free. The road was just a two lane blacktop, with a few twists and turns to keep things interesting. 70 mph was just about right. An occasional farmhouse light provided enough warning for anything tricky, you could go for 6 or 7 miles at midnight without seeing a soul. I’d have the tape player blasting out Stoned Love, Layla, and LA Woman – a very cool evening. The old Omega really hummed along – I still miss that car. It always got me home.
Just above Clifton, I’d turn North and head back in by way of 50. The traffic would return, the lights would brighten, the cops would be out. But for a few minutes, one could get past it all.
Now, Braddock is as built up as everything else. The road has been widened and straightened, houses are everywhere there and beyond. I’m not sure there’s anywhere within fifty miles that one can now to get a proper appreciation of clipping a turn in the dark while listening to Steely Dan or Aretha. It probably doesn’t matter. But shuffling along Braddock was fun back then…
About ten days ago I was driving home one evening from a night of wargaming. I was coming in from the West, past Ox Road and Fairfax City – along Braddock Road. There was something yanking away at my brain – the ride just wasn’t right - Too many people, too many lanes, too many lights.
Thirty years ago, it was much cooler. Oh, you’d have some traffic all the way from
Eastern Annandale all the way to Ox, but after that it was clear sailin’. Driving around here was actually enjoyable back then. Rush hour would peter out by 8 and you could move. From ’74 to ’78 I had a circuit I’d take, (with an occasional variation). Zig-zagging into Old Town, one could breeze down the Parkway to Mt. Vernon, (but not too fast – an occasional speed trap would pop up along Belle Haven or Ft. Hunt. Then, a quick jaunt over to Route 1 and heading back North, jostling for position with pwt, truckers, military fodder looking for a night of trouble, and the rest of the halt and the lame. You could go pretty fast then, the cops wouldn’t stray far from the Krispy Kreme; just traffic and lights to challenge someone looking to move.
From there you’d hit the Beltway to Braddock, and after a few miles and passing Ox Road, you’d be free. The road was just a two lane blacktop, with a few twists and turns to keep things interesting. 70 mph was just about right. An occasional farmhouse light provided enough warning for anything tricky, you could go for 6 or 7 miles at midnight without seeing a soul. I’d have the tape player blasting out Stoned Love, Layla, and LA Woman – a very cool evening. The old Omega really hummed along – I still miss that car. It always got me home.
Just above Clifton, I’d turn North and head back in by way of 50. The traffic would return, the lights would brighten, the cops would be out. But for a few minutes, one could get past it all.
Now, Braddock is as built up as everything else. The road has been widened and straightened, houses are everywhere there and beyond. I’m not sure there’s anywhere within fifty miles that one can now to get a proper appreciation of clipping a turn in the dark while listening to Steely Dan or Aretha. It probably doesn’t matter. But shuffling along Braddock was fun back then…
posted by mendip at
4:37 PM
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