This Is Us - Mike and Melissa Visit Alexandria

Every year we try to slip away for a couple days for some US time. We may not be able to do this forever but it's always nice to be able to spend quality time together over a date weekend. Last year we went to Alexandria in April and it rained a good bit of the time. So this year I suggested we wait until May and.... it rain a good bit of the time. It was POURING when we packed the car Friday morning and continued to rain as we made our way to Virginia. However as we pulled into our destination Friday afternoon the skies cleared and it turned into a beautiful afternoon and evening. Our first stop was lunch at Mount Vernon. We visited here last year and enjoyed the restaurant and tour. Since we did the tour last year we skipped that part and solely focused on stuffing ourselves!

You can tell how much we hated the cornbread that came in the skillet and was served with a vanilla bean honey butter. Delicious!! I went with the cob salad while Mike ordered the fish of the day stuffed with crab meat. Dessert was delicious. I don't remember what Mike had (maybe pineapple upside down cake) because I was too busy stuffing my face with enjoying pie! Go ahead and drool!

Next up we decided to head over to Woodlawn where we wanted to do a home tour as well as see Frank Lloyd Wrights Pope-Leighey house. Unfortunately we only had time to do one so we picked Woodlawn which at one time (the land) was part of George Washington's Mount Vernon before he gifted it to his nephew. 

After our tour ended we checked into our hotel and then headed off to do some shopping at nearby outlets and then spent the evening at National Harbor. Beautiful weather, more food, an awesome view from a Ferris wheel and ice cream was a perfect way to end the day. 

Saturday morning we slept in until 8:00 (!!!!) and then leisurely got ready to head out to Jackson 20 for breakfast (brunch?!) where I of course chose french toast. It's always my go-to when we eat breakfast out. I love it so but always feel semi-guilty for the carb overload! You wish you could dig in, don't you?!

The rest of the day was spent wandering around Old Town. In and out of shops (The Lucky Knot and Torpedo Factory Art Center) and walking along the water, ending the afternoon with lunch at the Chart House. It was a lot more rainy on Saturday so our umbrellas were out most of the time. We still enjoyed ourselves though!! Love spending time together and a welcome break away from work. 

Of course when you go away and leave your kiddo behind it's always nice to bring back a cookie as big as his head. Apparently eating it was quite the challenge and exhausting enough to put him to sleep on the drive home!! Thanks Aunt Lizzy for watching our little man!!