Yes, the farms and the county's former rural character are practically gone, and the vast majority of historic landmarks have been obliterated by development, but what is the nation about if not rejuvenation?
As in any growing area, there are many diversions. Music lovers can enjoy the Prince William Symphony and the Woodbridge Flute Choir. There are theater groups performing classic and contemporary plays. There is the Manassas National Battlefield Park to explore and the unusual Weems-Botts Museum in Dumfries, named for Mason Locke Weems, who popularized fictitious anecdotes about George Washington, and Benjamin Botts, noted for defending Aaron Burr.
For the sports-minded, there are fields, pools and opportunities galore. For exercise, try the slick new Freedom Aquatic and Fitness Center in Manassas. If you prefer golf, fairways abound.
For shopping, there is the singular experience of grabbing an Orange Julius and shuffling through the cavernous Potomac Mills Mall, a vast, warehouse-scale labyrinth of outlet stores in Woodbridge, home to $9.99 sweaters.
The most interesting thing about the county is the county itself, taken all together -- its odd juxtapositions and varied worlds. So grab some pupusas, drive around and just look through the windshield.
Go to the western end of the county, where sweeping developments such as Dominion Valley Country Club feel like so many theme parks and golf resorts out in the middle of nowhere.
Keep going west and enjoy the farmscape while you still can. Note the leftover scraps of older, rural communities without feeling nostalgic or sorry for people who have probably happily sold their land for a small fortune.
Then head to some neighborhood near Manassas and revel in the cultural diversity brought to this old Virginia burg by its new residents, who might hail from Mexico, El Salvador or Peru.
Drive east down Dumfries Road and into the massive Quantico Marine Corps Base, then up Route 1 to Cherry Hill Road, a shaded lane that winds alongside slanted and low-slung houses to the Potomac. Consider the river. Then go back to Route 1 and consider the river of cars -- and the wild and mighty landscape of strip malls and gas stations alongside it.
Much has been written about the image of Prince William County and how it's changing. Politicians like to emphasize such things as the $56 million performing arts center at George Mason University's Manassas campus. The center, styled after a famous European opera house, will surely be splendid and offer lots of cultural events.
Amid all these changes, the culture of Prince William County is broader and more dynamic than stages, restaurants or a sentimental version of history.
That culture includes the faux cupolas of Dominion Valley, which have their own authenticity in that they are an expression of the desires of people who live there. It includes the stuffed otter head in the shop next to Panino Ristorante and the man from Durango, Mexico, walking by in a white cowboy hat. There is much to do here, and much to see.
Related:
- Va
- LAKE MANASSAS - Real Estate Market Report for Friday, October 19, 2007
- Foreclosures for sale in Prince William County, VA, banked owned
