Grand olde time.

I'm writing to you live from the Hotel Monaco in the Olde Towne of Alexandria, Virginia. This is really my kind of place - free wifi, iPod doc and Late July crackers and cookies in the honor bar. What more could a person need? Oh yes, a refrigerator would be nice, especially when traveling with a toddler who likes her milk. At least our room is close to the ice machine. Anyway, the decor here is supposed to inspired by the uniform of the Union soldiers because the hotel was built on the site where the Civil War began. Mark keeps making fun of it because all the furniture was made in China.





I've been really wanting to visit here, and for once, my expectations have been exceeded. Alexandria is clean, quiet and very pretty. The streets are lined with actual gas lights! There is lots of shopping and what appears to be some great restaurants. With Lauren in tow, there will be no sampling of pecan crusted mahimahi, but at least we can smell it as we walk by.



Time to hit the hay - tomorrow we're headed to Mount Vernon, the estate that once belonged to Lauren's favorite (and the only one she can identify) president, George Washington.