I go to Tyson’s to shop just because the parking is such a pleasure: plentiful, free, safe, clean. Even if the traffic on Route 7 leaves something to be desired (I usually approach from 123, which isn’t all that bad), it is worth it. It would never occur to me to go to downtown DC to shop. I would prefer to have pointy sticks poked in my eyes. Sounds to me like our Overlords at the Taj Mahal want us all to be as miserable as district residents. They, of course, will continue to tool around in their county-provided Navigators and Escalades, with their parking provided free at taxpayer expense, while we schlep around on buses and Metro. Question: do they pay to park at the Taj? Or do they have spaces reserved with their names on them? Three guesses.
We shop at Tysons perhaps two or three times a year - my wife has her fur put away for summer storage at one of the Tysons II furriers and that accounts for two of the trips. Otherwise, it’s Fair Oaks which is just down the road for us. (When I moved to Fairfax in 1976, Fair Oaks was a large cornfield.)
I worked for 20 years in the District and I do not miss that trip one bit.
The Taj has special parking in the underground, secured garage for the upper echelon. You wouldn’t want them to get wet in the rain or accidentally rub elbows with a taxpayer, would you?
I particularly like the moat around the Taj, or at least it would be a moat if we had more rain. Reminds me of the defensive ditches one finds around European castles to keep the peasants with pitchforks at bay. Perhaps that was in the architect’s mind.
For one reason or another it seems that we visit the Taj at least once a year. It’s nice to see the walnut paneling and the artwork on the walls that I’ve paid for. Plusher than most of the “for profit” places I’ve worked. I suppose it helps the county workers think big thoughts.
We paid off the mortgage some years ago and the 6-month tax bill arrived a few days ago - $4,040. That has really set me off (not that it takes much) on how Fairfax County has zero concept of how to do anything other than spend money.
Jack