A Surprise From My Handsome Boy

I have successfully made it to Washington DC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =] But to pick up where I left off...

I had a wonderful last day with Sean's parents and we got to spend it hanging out with his folks. Of course we spent a lot of time playing with Mason, it is so hard not to.

We all went on a walk to stretch out and admire a stretch of the neighborhood,

although Mason seemed to want to do the walking bit rather than be walked!

After the walk but before we headed out to Greenville we took the little guy out to the playground, he loved the slide. We left for Greenville amidst a slight shower with excitement at seeing our friends the Andersons.

We hung out for the night in Greenville and enjoyed wonderfully cooked food, and great company. 

 Mr. Anderson

 Mitchem

 Shocked Sean

 My new friend Kate!

The party was wonderful and the visit all too short. Early the next morning Sean and I were on our way to Raleigh, but not before we consumed copious amounts of Mitchem's home made B's and G's (biscuits and gravy). It rained a little bit as we made our way into North Carolina but we filled the tank up at $3.05 which brightened our moods. 

We were distracted as we crossed the state line into North Carolina so Sean turned around so that I could get my picture. 

 oops, there it is.

 going back to SC for a moment

 and we are back again NC, and this time we are prepared!!!!

We continued on to Raleigh and had a minute before we met up with Sean's old room mate David so we got out of the car to stretch our legs. The Magnolia trees up and down the East coast all seem to be in bloom and they are so so so beautiful!

David arrived shortly and took us out to one of the top 200 bars in the nation. We had some great food! The boys got burgers, while I had fish and chips but Sean's nachos win in the most tasty for our midday meal. Pulled pork nachos, yum! 

It was really good to see an old friend. It's nice to see a friend and pick up right where you left off. Thanks for having lunch with us.

As we were leaving Raleigh I realized that I of course needed to pee. I did my best to wait it out but 35 miles later I needed to stop badly. We get off at the next exit and drive into a very small town/ populated intersection. We pull into the only gas station and relieve ourselves, then fill up the gas tank. On our way back out to the interstate we pass a group of girls who are raising money for their family vacation by selling lemonade and kool-aid. 

I have sold some lemonade in my day so of course I have Sean pull over so that I can purchase some of their watery, too sweet lemon flavored beverages.  

We are headed to Fairfax to stay with a family friend of Sean's and had a bit of a drive left from Raleigh. We proceeded to begin another audio book called "The Lost Boys" by Orson Scott Card. I realized a bit through disc one that I have already heard this story but it is nonetheless still a good book. We eventually cross into Virginia.

We have been in the car for hours and hours. The book is good but eye lids are drooping and my temper is quick to surface as the bad drivers increase around us. We are going on very busy roads with so many loops and turns and confusion. 

Sean pulls off the interstate and we pull into a small downtown area. I quickly realize that we are in downtown Alexandria. The city looks very quaint and brick. Everything is clean, and the sidewalks are bustling. We go past a fancy looking hotel, The Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, when Sean leans over and informs me that is where we are staying for the next four nights. I laugh it off thinking it's a joke. He smiles over at me and asks "What you don't believe me?"

We park underneath the hotel and go upstairs where we check in to our reservations. The lobby is blue and has sunflowers, I love it already! Apparently his family friend wanted to give him a gift, I cannot say that I mind all too much.

We go up to our room, which happens to be next to the maid's quarters/ laundry area. It is loud and has heavy traffic. I took the keys to the room went down stairs and had our room switched. It went smoothly, I knew that staying in a 4 star hotel means you can be picky without remorse. They moved us up tot he third floor with a good street view and nowhere near the laundry room or elevators.

As you can tell I claimed my bed rather quickly =]

After setting all of our stuff down we went out walking and walked down to the waterfront. It was so beautiful with a clean breeze coming in from the bay. There was a fantastic bridge that we had a foreign old man take a picture of us. He did not speak any English but he got the point. Sean and I figure talking to people who cannot speak English is quickly going to become a part of our lives so we were not bothered by the language barrier at all.

We walked back up past the hotel and then found an Asian Bistro place that had all sorts of food. I got a yellow curry soup from Malaysia while Sean had a Vietnamese soup called "Pho" with noodles and beef in it.

After eating a bunch of good food, we went back to the hotel to plan out tomorrow. It looks like an early, long, ridiculously exciting day plan. I can't wait!