Potomac Shores Living 2.0: Putting down roots

So it occurred to my wife and I that we had not written in our blog for quite some time. A quick log-in revealed our "bloggin" had been idle for almost one year since we first moved in. So we thought, what better time to update our readers out there, prospective homebuyers in Potomac Shores, of the latest and greatest developments in the neighborhood, since we built our house in June 2015.

First, we made it through the Winter of 2015. After some epic snowstorms, I was really glad I cleaned out the garage enough to fit both cars inside.

Then came the Spring. I don't have any pictures, but basically, it rained. Alot. At one point it rained for 15 straight days and shattered the previous record; it was approaching biblical proportions.

Okay, so I have one picture of our house this Spring..

Come the summer, the long-awaited Shores Club finally debuted. The rain was responsible for a modest delay. Here is a link to the Potomac Shores webpage! The Shores Club.

Here is a link to a great 3-D simulation video of the Shores Club: Shores Club 3D Simulation. It's about 5 mins long, but well worth watching!

One of our favorite features of our new community is the extensive system of hiking trails that weave their way throughout the different neighborhood sections. I am a member of the trails committee, an all-resident committee that was formed by the HOA to ensure that the trails are maintained in good working condition for the enjoyment of all the residents. Here are some pictures for more details:

Also, here is a highlight of some new information about the community that you may find interesting and helpful:

The Fitness Barn will open in late June and have state-of-the-art Matrix exercise equipment. Word is, no other private fitness center, gym, etc. in all of Northern VA has equipment quite like this! It will come equipped with:

• personal trainers, 
• virtual aerobic/fitness classes
• a fitness-oriented childcare facility (pending the hiring of certified/licensed childcare staff and other logistics that still need to be worked out)

The Pool has a grand opening that is planned for June 25, 2016. They plan to have a Potomac Shores swim team staring next summer. Here are some other very cool things come soon to Potomac Shores:

• Social Barn - opening in July (with a state-of-the-art kitchen for cooking demonstrations). 
• Greenhouse and Community Gardens - opening in August
• A Tot lot - the location is still under review. We were originally told it would be open by the end of the summer but I have a feeling that it will not be ready by then. The wireless telecom tower that may be built is affecting this and causing delays (I will write more about this tower in another post).
• Fishing pier - it has received approval and they are now working on the site permits. This is something that has caused some confusion. I had asked someone at the greeting house just the other day if this was still on the table and her response was "it is already built. It is right by Tim's River Shore" Uh, no....that one has nothing to do with Potomac Shores and is in pretty bad shape. So I started to worry that it wasn't happening but then at our next HOA meeting it was confirmed that it is indeed happening, I had personally suggested that it have a gate for private access for Potomac Shore Residents, using our key card (the same card we got for the Shores club) so we have some exclusivity. This is something that concerns many residents. Why move to Potomac Shores if the surrounding neighborhoods can reap all the same benefits? (For example....the VRE, town center and new school will obviously be open to the public. We have no control over that nor do we want the burden of that resting squarely on our HOA's shoulders (and more importantly our fees) BUT we do want some things that are exclusive. Right now, the Shores club (pool, fitness barn, social barn, and community gardens) is exclusive to just us but the trails are open to the public. If you are a current resident please comment below and let your voice be heard on whether or not you think the fishing pier should be exclusive or open to the public. 

If you are a prospective future resident and have a question, please feel free to write it in the comments section below. If I don't know the answer, I will do my best to find it for you and post about it.