Road trip 2012 - Day 4: Argilite, KY - Alexandria, VA

 

So, Strider drove and drove and drove.  It was such an early start that I worried about his alertness but he did really well.  I just kept giving him food and squeezing his shoulder :)

 

 

The Maryland border.  We're getting close!

 

 

 

The kids spent half the day recovering from the fitful sleep at the KOA.

 

 

 

Maryland welcome center and rest stop for breakfast.

 

 

 

 

 

We had been traveling in fog for hours and hours.  While eating and cleaning out the van the fog lifted.  I almost passed out from the beauty.

 

 

 

A couple more hours and we were traveling on the outskirts of D.C. Driving in large cities is so stressful.  Thanks to my mom's GPS we found the hotel, Hawthorne Suites in Alexandria.  It's just 20 min outside the city and MUCH more affordable than hotels there.  The hotel had lots of free parking and provided a shuttle to the nearest Metro station.

via trip advisor

via trip advisor

It was truly home away from home.  These are stock photos but they are exactly what we found there.  The place was so nice.  We had a whole apartment, with a full kitchen end everything.  It was so great to have a large fridge for all the drinks and some food.  They provided a huge breakfast each morning which made our whole day go easier.  The kids were in heaven.

We thought we might drive over to Annapolis that first day, but with hubby's lack of sleep we decided to swim, chill, and enjoy an evening in. 

Besides, the Olympics were on :)

2,204 miles in 3.5 days.  Yeah!