As long as we've owned our homes we've always had a project list a mile long. Some of those projects are things we are going to work on in the near term, and some of those projects are things we dream about eventually tackling, but have no real concept if we'll actually get to that point. But if there's one thing you need to know about Wendy and me, when we set our minds to something, we don't like to stop driving toward that goal until we can make it happen.

Over the course of the summer, and now into this fall and winter, we've been planning and working on one of those projects we've always really wanted to take on, but weren't sure would ever happen. That project? A complete overhaul of our row house's dark, musty, dirty, crowded, and inefficient basement. You remember this gross space, right? The room in our house that could most easily pass for that of a hoarder's hideaway.

Back when we purchased our home we didn't have any sort of budget to put into the unfinished basement. The walls were covered in failing waterproofing paint, portions of exposed mortar were crumbling, and the ceiling height of the basement ranged from 6'11" at its tallest point in the center, to 6'3" at its shortest at the back wall. 

In order to get ourselves set up and working, we quickly built some shelves out of plywood and two by fours, and a workbench out of the same. Ever since, our basement has played triple duty as a storage area, laundry area, and our workshop. This triple play was less than ideal, essentially making the space fight over all three, doing none of the three particularly well. Not to mention that due to the shared space with the workshop, the storage and laundry areas were perpetually covered in a layer of saw dust. Needless to say, it was less than ideal.

Over this summer we needed to address some of the issues that have been impacting our basement, which included installing a French drain and sump pump to resolve periodic water infiltration following heavy rains, and correcting the out of level floor by working with a contractor to remove the old slab and pour the new. 

While we're at it, we're also removing the old and horribly inefficient forced air furnace. We're replacing it with a high efficiency boiler that will heat the first floor of our house with below floor radiant heat, and the second floor with a hydronic coil on our attic heat pump. We're looking forward to having a more efficient heating system, and the bonus is that switching over to radiant heat will free up a lot of space in the basement because the bulky ductwork is no longer needed. This is another project I've wanted to take on for about 10 years or so, and we're finally doing it! 

If you've been following us on Instagram, you've seen a few of our in progress shots that involve the restoration and repointing of the 130+ year old beautiful masonry walls. This is a tall task that involves stripping old Drylok waterproofing paint, removing some cement mortar from an old (and bad) repointing job, removing what appears to be plaster from other attempts at repointing, and generally trying to clean up all of the masonry.

Basement wall in 2003

This whole project has been a tremendously time consuming and exhausting undertaking. This, coupled with other projects and a very busy work schedule, have kept us pretty quiet on the blog the last several months. We're also working with a few contractors on this project, which is a bit outside of our norm. But if we want to get this done in a semi-reasonable amount of time, we've had to figure out what we should hire out vs. what we should take on ourselves. It wasn't an easy decision by any means, but working with a few good contractors that we know and trust certainly makes things much easier.

So, what's the plan? We're turning the basement into two truly separate areas. One third of the space will be a laundry and storage area for bulk grocery and cleaning supplies, a few of Wendy's real estate staging items and signs, and other household items that we want to keep clean. It will be separate from the workshop, away from the dust and grime that is unavoidable when working on projects. The other two thirds of the basement will be a real, actual workshop. The workshop space will be about 20'x14' and will house several moveable cabinet and workbench components that I plan on building over the next several months. 

The whole project is major and will take a good while to complete. Our goal is to keep you all updated as portions of the project progress. So, are you ready for the fun? While it's not your typical fancy Pinterest-worthy before and after kitchen or bath makeover, we can't wait for this project to come together. After all, this is a project we weren't sure would ever actually happen, so seeing it in the middle of the chaos is truly exciting! 

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As we continue our Old Town walking tour series we'll focus on this important northeast section of Alexandria where the city's original center was situated, and where Alexandria's most famous families, the Washingtons, Lees, and Carlyles, all ate, slept, and lived.

This walking tour is 2.2 miles and should take between an hour and one hour 20 minutes to complete (more if you opt for a tour at any of the museum stops). The terrain is easy and there are no hills or tricky footing.

We'll once again start this tour at the central intersection of Alexandria's four quadrants, Washington and King Streets, directly in front of the Alfriend Building, also known as the John Gordon house, on the northeast corner of the street. This beautiful building is a row end building with a Georgian facade, one of the few remaining in Alexandria.

This building is one of so many that could so easily be lost among the crowd of historic buildings. But upon closer look, it's the only remaining historic building on the four corners of this main intersection of King Street, having been originally constructed in 1799 (though the plaque states 1796). Today it houses a women's clothing and accessory shop, but in its past life it was corner to everything from a private home to an auto parts store.

Walking east on King Street towards the river you'll approach and turn left onto North St. Asaph Street. Along this corridor of shopping and dining take a moment to notice the various stores and businesses that line North St. Asaph. It's a testament to how this area of Old Town has remained a commercial section of town throughout Alexandria's history.

When you reach Cameron Street, just a block off of King, turn right and begin heading east again. (Don't worry, we'll be back here later to see the houses the other direction, so you aren't missing anything.) As you turn right onto Cameron look across the street at a collection of unique 18th and early 19th century houses. This is just a taste of what makes Cameron one of our favorite streets in town.

Make sure you pay attention to the various markers and plaques on buildings along this walk. This portion of town has the most varied markers. If you want to learn more about what you're seeing, check out our blog post all about markers in Old Town. We won't be pointing out specific markers, but you will surely notice them all over this walking tour.

You may have caught on already, but the streets of Old Town, much like many street layouts in towns established while under British rule, are named for the various levels of the monarchy. Centered around King Street, you'll see Prince, Queen, Duke and Princess, but why Cameron as the first street off of King?

Interestingly enough, Cameron Street was named after Thomas, Sixth Lord Fairfax, Baron Cameron, who just happened to be the wealthiest person in the county. It would seem that not only was a major street in Alexandria named with intent to flatter an influential individual, but it just happens to be the street that was originally supposed to be the main street in the town. King street wasn't originally the central street in the geographic town, but instead Cameron and Fairfax Street was to be the town's original hub. Keep this in mind as we continue on our walk.

Just a few houses down on the right hand side of the street keep your eyes peeled for a small clapboard and cedar shake roof house with elevated entry stair and two dormers with fish scale siding. This house is George Washington's townhome...sorta.

Actually, this house is a 1960 replica version of what is believed to be roughly what George Washington's townhome that once stood on this site looked like when it was constructed in 1769 and unfortunately torn down in 1855. In the previous blog post about historic markers I mentioned how Alexandria's history is so extensively centered around George Washington that you almost can't throw a stone without hitting a plaque that mentions him, and this home is no exception. Take a moment to picture what this block looked like when Washington built this small townhome on the very edge of Alexandria. The townhome, along with a stable, kitchen, and other necessary buildings, were pretty much all that existed on the block. Washington owned 1/2 of the block and likely preferred the location due to the close proximity to his family church, Christ Church, just up the street. He would occasionally stay in this house when a trek back to Mt. Vernon (8 miles away) was too difficult. Washington also offered this home to people making the journey down to Mt. Vernon who had arrive in town too late to make the additional 8 mile trip from Alexandria in the same day.

Continue east on Cameron Street and as you pass Pitt Street you'll feel like you've stepped from the early 19th century right into the 1970s. After the previous buildings in this first half of the block were razed in the 1960s, the large office on the right was built in 1968 and the garage townhouses on the left were built during Old Town's urban revival in 1977. I feel like this half block is a little bittersweet as Old Town lost a good deal of beautiful historic buildings, but at the same time it represents the steps taken to turn Old Town's fortunes around, replacing dilapidated and abandoned buildings with a focus on the future of this town we now love.

Just a half block after you're faced with all of the "new," you're immediately back amongst the old and historic. On the right side of the street keep your eyes to the ground and you'll happen upon the historic ice well. This nicely preserved and recently restored ice well is an example of 18th century luxury. It was built in 1793 and supplied ice to Gadsby's Tavern, which is connected to the ice well by an underground tunnel.

The ice well is one of those historic treasures that Old Town has retained over the years and we're truly fortunate to have an opportunity to look back through time due to the dedicated efforts of those that have worked tirelessly to restore and preserve our charming town.

Speaking of George Washington...Gadsby's Tavern is another one of Alexandria's infamous "Washington Slept Here" locations. The beautiful building on the corner of Cameron and Royal Street is one of the most historically significant in the area. The museum and restaurant has been a fixture in Old Town for over 200 years, and each year hosts various tours and events to help you get in touch with Alexandria's history through period dress reenactments. And of course...Washington ate and slept there. If you're looking for a museum tour on your walk, this is certainly a good option for a stop.

As you cross Royal Street you will reach what was the original edge of town when Alexandria was established in 1749. Pause for a second and take a look back over your left shoulder at the building on the corner of Royal and the first few houses on the block.

The large unpainted brick building just recently underwent an extensive multi year renovation that has helped revive the once tired building. Period appropriate materials and methods were used when restoring the exterior, which is so important when dealing with a structure in this part of town. Interestingly enough, this large building, along with those to the left of it up Cameron Street, were liquor distributors over a century ago. A specialty that likely helped keep shipping costs at bay for Gadsby's Tavern.

Also note the three houses to the right of the photo. All are nearly identical in overall style and built at the same time in 1840, but each has a different window sash style configuration. 12 over 12, two over two, and nine over nine. Notice just how significantly this single change in style impacts the overall aesthetic of the homes.

As we continue to move east on Cameron Street we're going to reach the "center" of town and Alexandria's city hall on the right. While most are familiar with the Market Square side of City Hall, that view is a more recent addition. The Cameron Street side is the original view of the rather large building.

City Hall was originally built in 1817 and was rebuilt as a replica in 1871 after the original structure was destroyed by fire. This is a bit ironic as the original building housed a court, Masonic lodge, and principal police station, in addition to its role as the primary fire station. The original building is in a U shape covering part of Fairfax and Royal streets and the length of this block of Cameron.

If you're on this walking tour during business hours for City Hall, do yourself a favor and walk in through the main doors and into the lobby. There is a photo display of historic photos around Old Town that will give you a glimpse into the city and how it once looked.

Across the street from City Hall is another of our favorite blocks in the city. The shops that line this portion of the town all exist within beautiful historic buildings. From the storefronts with amazing architecture on the west end of the block...

...to the historic alley courtyard and historic tavern on the east end of the block. There's always something to find that's new and interesting when looking at this string of houses. The houses in this block were built anywhere from about 1770 to 1900, so there's certainly a significant mix of architectural styles.

One of our absolute favorite elements is the alley that looks like something right out of New Orleans. There's something so welcoming about this carriageway lined with gas lamps. At the end of the alley is a collection of boutique shops.

Immediately to the right of the covered alley is the historic Duvall Tavern. Today it's an antique dealer's location and a venue available for small events. It recently underwent a massive exterior effort to remove all of the white paint and restore the original historic masonry. But in a previous life it was another "Washington dined here" location, operating as a tavern. A party and celebration for Washington was held following his resignation/retirement from the Continental Army, so this is truly a place that can lay the Washington claim. If you'd like to see what it looked like when painted white, check out the open housing post we did on the house when it was on the market.

In the next block on the corner of Fairfax and Cameron Street is a building originally known as the Bank of Alexandria. In 1807 it was only the second building in the United States built specifically to be a bank. If you're a fan of the PBS drama, Mercy Street, this building is also a remaining portion of the Mansion House Hotel, the building commandeered during the Civil War to act as a Union hospital.

Taking a right onto Fairfax Street we'll take a very short detour to take a look at one of Alexandria's most significant historic residences, Carlyle House. This grand home was built from 1751-1753, before a rule was in place that stated homes had to be in line with the street. It was built by John Carlyle, one of Alexandria's original land owners, and was also the mansion where the main character family of Mercy Street lived. This house is historically significant for so many reasons, which is why it survived over the years where it might have otherwise been torn down. This is another great stop if you're in the mood for a museum house tour. 

Let's head back to Cameron Street and turn right. Here you'll see some of the very first lots sold to original landowners of Alexandria. As you walk east notice that you're walking downhill a bit. You're heading toward North Lee Street, but this wasn't always Lee Street, since the Lee family was still living in Alexandria at the time it was formed. In fact, this street was previously known as Water Street, primarily because it's where the river used to come up to. The Carlyle House was waterfront property at the time it was built. In the years since, infill has extended Alexandria by several blocks, and Water Street was renamed once it was no longer on the water.

This particular home, with wide lot and side entry, has a Colonial style more like something you might see lining the streets of Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood.

Continue walking down Cameron Street toward the river. When you reach Union Street cross over toward the pier and head on out toward the river. You'll be walking past the Torpedo Factory, which was an actual Torpedo Factory during World War II. Today it's a gallery and collection of artists' studios.

When you reach the end of the pier turn left where you'll see the paddleboat named Cherry Blossom, which is a reproduction of a 19th century Victorian riverboat and a fully functional split sternwheeler.

Continue along the pier and you'll come to a small floating building that's actually one of my personal favorites in all of Old Town. You'll be looking at the building of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation.

This isn't just any floating building, it's actually a complete wood shop. The Alexandria Seaport Foundation is a non-profit organization that helps at-risk youths between the ages of 17 and 22 to build career, social, and life skills in an effort to help them build their lives as an adult. They focus on boat construction in a nod to Alexandria's maritime past, and do it all out of this floating building. Some of their craftsmanship is usually on display and docked immediately next to the building.

As you continue along this path you'll come to Alexandria's Founder's Park. If you're in the mood for a little stroll around one of Alexandria's beautiful waterfront parks, this is your chance. You'll be sure to see a good number of dogs, people having a relaxing time, and quite a few people enjoying this wonderful space. As you walk this area you'll actually be walking the land that gave Alexandria its start. The original settlement in Alexandria was at the base of Oronoco Street (at the far end of the park) in a tobacco warehouse. The street was actually named for the Orinoco sweet tobacco that was stored in this warehouse on this land before Alexandria was settled, and for the Oronoko Creek that was once nearby. Following the royalty named streets Oronoco should have been the street name "Duchess," but it was skipped in a nod to the city's roots. This street has also been called Tobacco Street.

Circle back from Oronoco street heading south along Union Street. When you reach roughly the middle of the park we'll hang a left and start walking toward Quay Street, a small street between Queen and Princess Streets. Now, you won't normally find me gushing over 1970's townhouse architecture when I'm otherwise talking about 18th and 19th century historic homes, but this isn't your everyday collection of 1970's houses.

The homes in this block were built in 1971 during the start of Alexandria's urban revival. After years of neglect, many of Old Town's blocks were full of large warehouses that had nearly fallen into disrepair. This block was home to the Alexandria Chemical and Fertilizer Plant by 1912, so there certainly wasn't an amazing collection of homes lost when this block was cleared. By 1970 Old Town had already been designated an historic district, but it wasn't a particularly desirable place to live for many. At the time they knew there was a significant need for new homes to begin luring people back to the once important port town that had fallen on hard times. These homes represent that early effort that ultimately led Old Town to where we are today. It was a major undertaking and one we, and all of Old Town's visitors, are very glad the dedicated visionaries opted to tackle.

As you reach the corner of Quay Street and North Lee Street turn left, walk about a full block, passing Queen Street, then turn right when you reach Thompson Alley. You'll walk up the cobblestones of Thompson Alley, one of Alexandria's several remaining historic neighborhood allies. Note how the the large houses along this alley seem to have a back portion with separate living area. 

When you reach North Fairfax Street look immediately to the right at the large cream house with green shutters. There's a very interesting feature about this house that's right below your feet. Do you see the basement window on the street side next to the front door? During a renovation several years ago the owners of the house discovered an excavated section under the sidewalk believed to be for ice storage. This is now a part of the home and extends nearly to the street. It sat hidden for many years just waiting for an owner to discover it. Now it acts as the house's wine cellar.

Across the street is another of Alexandria's original cobblestone alleys, and this one likely looks nearly the same today as it did a century or more ago.

Turning left and heading south you'll see a collection of beautiful historic homes. One of the houses has a brick facade, an odd bump-out on the second floor, and two dormer windows. At first glance it looks a little out of place and off balance. 

Looking at the same house from the right side begins to reveal its true identity. What is brick on the front and left is actually clapboard on the right. And if you look closer, you can see that the roof line appears to extend beyond it's natural conclusion on the front of the house. It seems that at some point the front of the house was actually drawn forward several feet and the brick facade changed the entire character of the house. The original house, known as the Dalton House, was built in 1760 and then significantly altered over the years. It may be one of the oldest and most significant original homes in Alexandria, and would you believe it, Washington slept here on several occasions. 

Here's a view of the same house before the left dormer was added to the home. The 19th century brick facade had already been added, but you can get a sense of how dramatically this house has changed over the years.

Photo Credit: Milton Grigg Collection

One of my personal favorite houses is across the street from the Dalton House. It was built in 1790 and is beautiful on the interior with tons of original details like raised panel walls. If you look closely the photo you can see that the left window and front door appears to have been added onto the house after the fact, taking everything a little out of balance.

Let's head back north on Fairfax Street and then hang a left on Queen Street when you reach the corner. Queen Street is one of Old Towns most quaint streets. Where many historic streets are full of grand historic homes, Queen consists of far more modest homes that are simply full of character. This first row of brick homes sets the stage for so much of the next several blocks.

Now, just because I said Queen Street may not be full of grand homes, there are still a handful of pretty breathtaking places. For example, this house at 312 Queen was built in 1800 and looks rather stately in its presentation. As you can likely guess, the garage on the left (and the pool in the back) is a newer addition.

Across the street is a collection of very interesting 1880 Victorian homes. In the following photo you can see the arch of the "horse pass" tunnel on the left house. While they may not have had stables or even horses, this was an architectural holdover in city living from the days where such a feature was a necessity.  

As we continue up Queen Street just glance around at all of the various eclectic styles in each and every block. The streets grew organically over two centuries, often two or three houses at a time. This natural brick home on the corner was once covered in paint, but back in 2011 the owners undertook a massive effort to strip all of the pain and repoint the brick. Today it looks amazing!

On the opposite side of Queen you'll find a collection of clapboard Colonial homes. This is a good example of what much of Old Town looked like for a significant period of time. Over the years many of these clapboard homes were lost to decay or "progress," replaced by masonry structures of the Victorian era. But these homes on Queen Street survived the years.

The bright colors, fluttering flags, and mature trees hanging over brick sidewalks capture Old Town's overall feel and appeal so completely.

Queen Street also has an incredible mix of architectural styles. Each block is a stunning combination of angles, details, and colors.

Every roof line is a little different than the last, and houses seem to have grown organically from one to the next. Flounders, gable ends, classic row houses, all coexist as neighbors and partners along Queen Street. 

And we'd be remiss if we didn't mention Queen Street's biggest attraction...all because of how small it happens to be. Yes, we're talking about that little blue hiccup between the white and red houses, otherwise known as the "Spite House."

The Spite House has been the subject of many magazine articles, tour guide talks, and even television shows. Hey, we even have a blog post that gives several stories as to the origin of the Spite House. If you're having a hard time seeing seeing the tiny home beyond that utility pole, don't worry, we have better angle for you.

Just beyond the Spite House turn right onto North St. Asaph Street and begin heading North.

Almost as soon as you're on this street you'll see a wonderful renovation to turn a carriage house into a home. We watched for months as this utilitarian space was transformed into someone's lovely and unexpected home. This is the kind of architecture you'd be hard pressed to fine in many other places in the country.

Continue north on St Asaph street several more blocks and you'll run into one of Wendy's favorite houses in Old Town at 402 N. St. Asaph Street. It was built in 1860 and has been lovingly restored and maintained in every way possible. From the gas lamp to the landscaping, the exterior of the house is simply amazing. It was recently on the market, and Wendy tried to convince me it was time for us to move.

Across the street from the home above is the large grey house on the right with the large red arched door. This building, which is now a home, once served as Alexandria's jail. 

When you reach the corner of N. St. Asaph Street and Oronoco turn right and head west. Looking back at the corner you'll see the homes below. The house on the corner is a beautiful example of how many homes in Alexandria were altered from their original styles. The home's first two floors are decidedly Federal, but the ornate mansard roof with cast iron details and slate roof is a decidedly Victorian addition. The small white house to the right was built at nearly the same time, but its roof was never popped in favor of Victorian styles.

As you begin west on Oronoco Street you'll have a hard time missing the extremely stately twin homes, one of which is the officially recognized and on the National Register of Historic Places, Lee Boyhood Home. We've been inside on a tour and the home's interior retains many of the original details, such as plaster crown moulding and casings. It is beyond impressive.

Across the street from the Lee Boyhood Home is the Lee-Fendall House. Built in 1785, home to 37 Lee family members, used as a Civil War hospital for the Union, and currently a museum, it is absolutely worth a stop if you have time for a tour. And would you believe it, this was home to Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, who gave Washington's famous eulogy. 

When you reach Washington Street turn left and begin walking toward the back of the house. As stunning as the front of the Lee-Fendall house is, the back is my favorite part. The beautiful grounds and the amazing lines of the home from all of the additions is awe inspiring.

Directly across the street (technically in the Northwest Quadrant, but that's okay) is the Edmond Jennings Lee House. Yes, another Lee house, and an absolutely beautiful home built in 1797 to boot. The Lees bought these lots as they wanted to live on the main street going through town. Today it's a busy intersection, but back when the click clack of horse drawn carriages was the extent of the noise, it was far easier to be more centrally located than to trek through town to where you were trying to go.

As we continue south on Washington Street, glance around at some of the beautiful buildings that line this street. This major thoroughfare had some impressive buildings constructed over the years.

When you reach the cobblestones of Princess street, check out the large brick home on the corner. This home has been a private residence for some time, but is currently embroiled in a controversy as a restaurant owner would like to turn it into a restaurant. We'll have to see how this shakes out over the upcoming years. 

Turn left on Princess street and begin walking east on Princess along Old Town's second of two cobblestone streets. These twin Victorian homes hold a bit of a secret. I'm not positive but I believe the facade is a Victorian addition. These homes were built in 1820, but the front suggests they're more likely from about 1880-1890. 

When you reach North St. Asaph Street turn right and begin walking east back towards King Street. On the way you'll walk back by Queen street and the house in the photo below. As you pass, take a look at the three level sleeping porch on the back of the house.

Also take a moment to check out the pastel Victorian ladies on the opposite corner. On the pink house look up at the corner to see one of Old Town's original early 20th century ceramic and metal street markers for Queen Street. 

When you reach the corner of St. Asaph Street and Cameron Street take a right and begin walking west. Here you'll see this quadrant's grandest home, the impressive Lord Fairfax home. We wrote a blog post about the Lord Fairfax House a few years ago, so if you'd like to see some interior photos and learn more about the home's history, be sure to check it out.

Just beyond the Lord Fairfax House is another of Robert E. Lee's childhood homes. This one is far more modest than the massive one on Oronoco, but still none too shabby. It was recently converted from an office back to a private residence and the interior is extremely well intact.

Across the street on Cameron is an example of a home that does double duty as an antique store. This is a relatively new store in the area but is certainly worth a stop. Some of the tall case clocks they have in their shop are simply stunning.

As we reach Washington Street near the conclusion of our tour, look back at the corner for a glimpse at the stunning Delaney Realty Co. home. Today it's a multi unit apartment but this grand Victorian has played many roles in its life. 

Continue south on Washington Street until you reach King where our Northeast Quadrant walking tour will conclude.

As you can see, this quadrant of Old Town is nothing short of spectacular. Dripping with history, full of interesting details, a mix of old and new, and waterfront city parks, it pretty much has it all. We hope you enjoyed this tour and learned something new you didn't previously know about Old Town. And we really hope you'll be able to experience this walking tour in person on your own at some point. 

Now that we've got two quadrants down, we still have two to go. I can't wait two share the next two simply because they will be so completely different than our first two tours. 

So what did you think? Are you familiar with this part of town? Do you think we did a good job covering the best parts? And if you're not familiar, are you now itching to take the walking tour yourself? 

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Having lived in Alexandria since 2000, and in historic Old Town since 2003, we never tire of Old Town. It's not unusual to find us going on walks several times per week just to enjoy this place we call home. 

Now that we're solidly into the beautiful fall weather, we want to share some of our favorite Old Town Alexandria walking paths with you. Best of all, these are all tours from the perspective of locals.

If you're not familiar with Old Town Alexandria, it's divided into four primary quadrants, Southeast, Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest. These four quadrants are based around the central intersection of King and Washington Streets, and each quadrant has its own unique and interesting elements that set it apart from the others. 

We'll be doing this series of blog posts on walking tours of Old Town with each post focusing on an individual quadrant. It's our hope that these guides will offer you a tour of Old Town from a local's vantage point. While I wouldn't really call it "off the beaten path," I think it's fair to consider these walking tours a deviation from the typical tourist guides offered online. So if you find yourself in Old Town, either because you live here or are visiting, we hope you can use our guide to glimpse something interesting and new. And if you're just reading from afar, we hope our photos and descriptions will help paint a picture of our amazing city.

This first tour will focus on Old Town's Southeast Quadrant. This area is home to some of Old Town's oldest and most significant historic dwellings. 

This walking tour is 1.9 miles and should take between 40 minutes and an hour to complete. The terrain is easy and there are no hills or tricky footing.

We'll start our walking tour on the Southeast corner of the Washington and King Street intersection, right in front of the Banana Republic. Facing east, walk towards the water along King Street for one block.

If you're going on this walk and take any photos along the way, be sure to share them in Instagram with #OTHWalkingTour. We'd love to see what you find interesting along the way.

This block of King Street retains some of the old and historic buildings that still line this main thoroughfare. Though King Street is where you'll find the vast majority of people visiting Alexandria, we'll only be on King Street for a minute before deviating to the path less travelled. But while we're here, notice the shops and restaurants that now inhabit these historic buildings. Several blocks beyond this one have lost their old buildings a favor of modern development in the 1970s and 1980s, but King Street was once completely lined with these 18th and 19th century buildings.

When we reach St. Asaph street, just one block from where we started, turn right and begin heading south.

As you walk south in the 100 block you'll pass by several historic buildings, including a restaurant called Columbia Firehouse at 109 S. St. Asaph. 

Aptly named, it was a 19th century firehouse that's been transformed into a good restaurant while retaining many of the historic elements of its life helping to fight fires.

As you continue walking, note the other historic buildings on the right side of the street. These are largely occupied by local businesses with a few apartments nestled among the alleys. Businesses are common along King Street, Washington Street, and in the first blocks off of King, but beyond that first block, most houses you'll pass are private residences. 

A little further down on the left hand side of the street, at the end of the 100 block, you'll see one of Old Town's oldest dwellings, the Fawcett-Reeder House. While the front of the house faces Prince Street, you'll be able to gain a glimpse into the house's side yard over the fence. Personally, I think this is actually a much more interesting view of the house given the view of the many additions the house has seen.

Continue walking South on S. St. Asaph street along the 200 block. The houses you see in this block represent some of the most grand and impressive in all of historic Old Town.

This collection of 18th and 19th century houses are both impressive individually and combined as eclectic mixture of styles and era. While we're looking at the exterior on this walk, as an Alexandria Realtor, Wendy has been fortunate to have seen many of these homes' interiors. What we've found is that some of the homes that look somewhat small from the outside are almost never particularly small on the inside. So these homes that look quite large from the outside, have extremely large interiors.  

As you cross Duke Street take a moment to notice the house on the north west corner of the block. While all of the houses on each corner are amazing, this particular house, known as the Benjamin Dulaney House is well documented as one of the most significant and unaltered 18th century houses in the area and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Continuing down the block you'll run into one of our absolute favorite houses at 311 S. St. Asaph Street. 

Not only does it look like it's straight out of a Scooby Doo script as the spooky mansion, but it is architecturally stunning, has several 200 year old family headstones in the backyard, sports a pool, and played a role in the Kevin Bacon 2000 movie, "Hollow Man".

Next door to the Scooby Doo Mansion of our dreams is an historically significant house because of its style. If it looks peculiar to you it's because it's a flounder house. 

A flounder style house is a style of home that only has windows on one side and was often built as the first smaller dwelling on a lot before a larger, more stately home could be built later. This was often done to meet a requirement for land owners to build their purchased lot within the first two years of ownership. There are several examples of flounders around Old Town, but this one is significant as it is one of Old Town's few remaining free-standing flounders. This means that the original owners, for one reason or another, were never able to build the more stately home and stuck with the flounder alone.

Once we reach Wolfe Street look to the right and you will see a true gem in Old Town, the Little Theater of Alexandria. The LTA is a community theater and has an ever changing list of shows that are always worth checking out. If you're coming into town for a weekend and are looking for something fun, take a look at the list at the time of your visit to see if they have a show you'd like see.

Turning left and heading east on Wolfe Street it will be near impossible to miss the largest home in Old Town Alexandria. This stately mansion, the Vowell-Smith House, was built in 1854 and is simply massive. We love to think about the parties we could throw if living here.

When you reach Pitt Street turn left and begin walking up the east side of the street. As you near the center of the block between Pitt Street and Royal Street look to the left for Holland House at 415 Wolfe Street. You'll see a specially commissioned bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson reading on a bench. Until recently this property was considered the most intact in Alexandria, but it was recently subdivided and the construction of a new home on the corner of Royal and Wolfe began. The following photo was taken inside of the large walled garden of the house before the property was split.

When you reach Royal Street cross to the east side of the street and turn left, headed north. As soon as you start walking keep your eyes to the right and look for the metal gate on the right just before you reach St. Mary's church. You'll be looking for an entrance that looks like this. 

Turn right into these gates and you'll find yourself in the Old Presbyterian Meeting House's graveyard. 

Here you'll find headstones for many prominent Alexandrians, including that of John Carlyle, a founder of Alexandria, and Dr. James Craik, Physician General of the Continental Army and George Washington's personal physician. (We'll also walk by Dr. Craik's house a little later.)

In addition to the headstones, notice the large memorial on the left next to an American flag. That is the Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier. It's the only unknown soldier from United States conflict not buried in Arlington Cemetery. And as the story goes, when they were burying him his religion was unknown, but he was assumed to be either Presbyterian or Catholic. While he's buried in the Presbyterian graveyard, he's right up against the wall of St Mary's, the Catholic church. So if he happened to be Catholic, all he'd need to do to feel at home is to reach out and he'd be right where he belonged.

Continue around the left side of the Presbyterian meeting house and to the front of the building on Fairfax Street. There you'll be able to read the plaques on the front of the structure explaining the significance of the building. 

Most notably, when George Washington died in 1799, they were intending to take him to his family church, Christ Church, but it was snowing and that church was another eight blocks away, considered to be well outside of town. Therefore, Washington's eulogy was delivered here at the Presbyterian Meeting House. This is where Harry "Lighthorse" Lee delivered the famous quote of Washington, he was "First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen."

Turning right onto S. Fairfax street and begin to head south. As you walk take in all of the historic homes along one of Old Town's quiet and very historic residential streets.

This street is a great example of how Old Town was built slowly over a long period of time. As a result you'll see pockets of 18th and 19th century homes of various styles all mixed together.

As you continue south keep an eye out for Wilkes Street, where you'll turn right for a small detour. Here you'll see the Wilkes Street train tunnel, which was amazingly dug in 1851 after many of the houses on the street had already been built. This means that at one point in time the residents had to deal with their street turning into a rail line and tunnel before their very eyes! We did an Open Housing post on one of these houses several years ago.

Today it's a great bike path that takes you down to the Potomac, to a sand volleyball court, and a great waterfront playground.

Let's head east up Wilkes Street and back to Fairfax Street where we came from. When you get back to Fairfax look diagonal across the street and you'll see one of the houses that's a more recent addition to the neighborhood. 

Though the old house fans may be able to tell these houses aren't 100 plus years old, you can see that the builders have done a good job embracing the style of the area for consistency and assimilation. In this part of town you can start to see more newer construction mixed with the old since it was less developed in the late 19th and early 20th century. It wasn't until Alexandria's revival in the late 1900s that some of these houses filled in the gaps of land.

Heading right and continuing south down South Fairfax Street you'll see more of the eclectic mix of Victorian and Federal style row houses.

On the west side of the street look for the Four Painted Ladies of Old Town. They may not be part of an intro to a sitcom, but these narrow little Victorians are just as attractive. 

In the next block on the right side of the street you'll see one of the more unexpected houses in Old Town. While row houses are the norm near the center of town, keep in mind that you're starting to get to the "outskirts" of town back in the mid 19th century. Here you'll see a large home built in 1830 and recently completely renovated to breathe historically accurate life into the previously tired home. A few years ago we watched the extensive renovation on this home and our mouths dropped open almost every time we passed. 

When you reach Franklin Street turn left and begin heading toward the river. Pay particular attention to the larger and beautifully manicured lot on the corner.

Over the last few years this garden transformed from a dilapidated and closed laundromat and corner store into what you see today. During the transformation the owners had Alexandria Archeology set up several digs for artifacts. It was very interesting to pass by and see what they'd found listed on printouts on the fence.

Once you're on Franklin take a moment to enjoy the quaint row of houses, ending in a carriage house. This small row of houses feels completely different than the rest of Old Town. It has always reminded us of something you might see in the UK rather than in Alexandria.

When you reach South Lee Street turn left and begin heading north. Here you'll see one of our absolute favorite houses. This beautiful home sits on a full 3/4 of an acre and takes up close to half of the city block. Behind their fence is a tennis court, pool, and the carriage house on the right in the photo above.

South Lee Street is home to one of the most picturesque blocks in Old Town

The best part of living in one of these homes is the view you're afforded overlooking the Windmill Park and the Potomac River. This is also a notable place in our lives as it's where I proposed to Wendy while on a horse drawn carriage ride back on May 2, 2001. If you're familiar with Old Town around that time, you'll likely know of the horse named Hobo in charge of the carriage that day.

Continuing north on Lee Street take in all of the varying styles of houses along the street. You'll see everything from small and narrow clapboard houses to grand 18th century Federal mansions. 

Some of my absolute favorite houses are the row of small colonial homes just before you reach Wolfe Street. I've been obsessed with these houses since we first saw them 16 years ago. We've been through several of them over the year and each is typically two rooms deep and three floors tall. More importantly, each must make effective use of the limited space available, but each is very livable.

Just before you reach Wolfe Street take a look across the street at this beautiful Federal style home that is quintessentially "Old Town." This home dates from the late 18th century and has likely looked almost as it does today since it was originally built.

Take a quick detour right down Wolfe Street to take a look at some of the quaint homes on either side of the street. Legend has it that most of these small homes belonged to sailors that worked from the seaports that made Alexandria famous.

Turn back to Lee Street and take a right to continue walking north. Pay particular attention to the following collection of homes on the west side of South Lee Street. 

The brick flounder on the left is the infamous home of the Lee Street Rats. If you want to see what the rats are up to today just glance down at the small black basement window at ground level. Also note the white house next door to the flounder. While it looks like a stone house, it's actually a wood sided house made to look like stone. Wendy and I refer to this house as "the mini Mount Vernon" since it's the same siding treatment that was done on a much larger scale for Mt. Vernon. If you look closely the faux stone is beveled at the edges and the white paint has sand added to make it appear textured like stone.

As we approach Duke Street we'll take a quick left to walk half way up the block. Pay attention to the four story grand Federal home on the left. This imposing structure is the home and physician's office of Dr. James Craik (who I mentioned earlier). If you'll noticed the small arched doorway on the left side of the main part of the house, that's what's known as a "Horse Pass." It's essentially a cut through to allow the owners of the house to walk their horses back to the stables behind the house without having to take a long trip around the house. Many other houses in Alexandria have these cut throughs. Though not all houses had horses or stables, these little alleys are often generically referred to as horse passes in all cases.

Head back to South Lee Street and turn left to begin heading north again. Take a moment to find the Johnston-Vowell house on the east side of the street at 224 South Lee Street. It was built in 1757 by George Johnston of Stamp Act fame. 

As you approach Prince Street take note of the very large house on the corner of South Lee and Prince. This home was divided into two homes many years ago, but recently the owner of one side purchased the other half of the house and undertook a large renovation to rejoin the home as one impressive residence. In the background across the street you can see the Athenaeum, home to the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Association.

When you reach Prince Street take a look to the right and look over the cobblestone street of Captain's Row. The cobblestones are one of two streets in Alexandria which are still covered in cobblestones, and is an example of how most of Alexandria likely looked in the early 1800s. Though most assume the name Captain's Row means that many sea captains lived on this block, it is actually a reference to Captain John Harper. Harper owned many of the lots on this street and would build homes for his children so they could all live on the same block.

Turning west begin walking up Prince Street and away from the water. Here you'll see many of the homes that once belonged to Alexandria's most prominent families, business people, and citizens. Many friends of George Washington lived in this several block stretch of houses, and at the time of Washington's passing, many mourned his death by painting their fireplace mantels black. In at least one of these houses that black paint still remains. 

In the next block you'll see both an historic firehouse turned residence and one of Alexandria's active fire houses. Given the close proximity of the houses in Old Town, these old fire houses with their crew of men at the ready to knock down flames with their pump trucks was imperative to the safety of the town residents. Today you can take a glimpse into the past by looking in the left bay of the active firehouse. There you'll be able to see one of the antique pump engines that would have been in use next door during the heyday of that building's fire fighting days.

Across the street from the firehouse is an old Elks Club building that's been more recently converted to luxury condos. The building does retain the large elk statue watching over the entrance of the structure.

As you continue up the street notice the extremely large house on the right side of the street at 415 Prince Street. The house, known as the Bank of the Potomac has two large arched front doors. Throughout the years this home has worn many hats  and was active as a residence, apartments, bank, wartime government building, and a statehouse. My favorite story about the two front doors was when the building acted as the statehouse for the newly formed West Virginia. Supposedly the governor of West Virginia stated that the left or western door was reserved strictly for West Virginians, the other door was for everyone else.

As you approach Pitt Street glance further up the street at the amazing set of windows overlooking Prince Street. The house is practically hidden by trees but the entire place is spectacular.

When you reach Pitt Street turn right and head back towards King Street. Take a moment to notice the small yellow house on the left side of the street. This home is one of Washington's Tenement Houses and the newest owners of the home have lovingly restored the home since purchasing it a few years ago. Stop by the plaque on the front of the house to read more about its history.

If you're like us and have a dog in tow during your journey, now's a good chance to let them stop for a drink on Old Town's very pooch friendly sidewalks. Lulu likes to stop at the McEnearney office door for a little refresh. She knows this is Wendy's office and just might see someone she knows coming and going, ready to shower her with attention.

As you make your way back to King Street you can either head back to the left and where you started your walk, or head to the right to enjoy the fountain at Market Square about a block away from the Pitt and King Street intersection. 

We hope you've enjoyed our guided tour of our lovely city. We've tried to touch on the true highlights of the Southeast Quadrant, though it would be near impossible to hit everything without making you walk six or more miles. It's also worth considering that each of the homes you pass along the way likely have a rich and storied past in one way or another. The points of interest that we recognized along the way only scratch the surface of what 250 years of history can bring to a town. I mean, we didn't even make it along the waterfront during our walk, and that will be changing tremendously over the next few years.

Keep your eyes peeled for more Alexandria walking paths that we'll do in the future. We plan to do one for each of Old Town's quadrants before we're done. And if there's anything you feel we've omitted from Old Town's southeast quadrant, please let us know in the comments.

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I've posted the full timelapse that takes us from the start through everyone shoveling out their cars in particularly futile efforts.

I have to believe that snow etiquette dictates those who dig out their car have the right to reserve their hard earned spot with an orange code or garbage can, right? I would assume so. Otherwise I'm sure we'll see fisticuffs and a Mad Max Fury Road fight to the death over parking when someone decides to snake someone else's spot.

The other day just before sunset I took Lulu around town for a little stroll. She loves playing in the snow when it isn't an active blizzard, but it was taller than she is in most places, so it made it a little tough. At certain points she looked like she was walking around in the Hoth Rebel Base. (High five if you get this reference.)

We also had to walk carefully, always making sure we weren't walking beneath potentially treacherous icicles.

The streets were full of people in almost every direction. The walking in the street was much easier than on the sidewalks that had yet to be cleared. For anyone who knows the area, the photo below is looking down North St. Asaph Street towards Trader Joe's.

The Government was closed yesterday and today, so I'm working from home during this time. But this also means I was able to take my lunch break and join a giant neighborhood dig out in our back parking area. It was a lot of fun to see everyone chipping in. 

This effort included Ace, our friendly neighborhood beagle.

As I said on Instagram, our neighborhood is a great one. Everyone knows everyone, and we're pretty much all friends. When you live so close that you can touch your neighbor's house while standing inside of your own house (yes, we can, and it's a little weird sometimes), it makes a world of difference when everyone works together. After a little over an hour of digging we'd cleared the whole back parking area and the alley all of the way through the plow line and into the street. This is a major accomplishment. I think that's why everyone is standing there admiring our work.

The other thing we took care of, or rather our HVAC contractor took care of, was the heat at the other house. This is another situation where we ended up very fortunate. The HVAC contractor we hired to install our geothermal is Southern Pride Service. The owner, Steve Welch, has been tremendously helpful throughout the whole process since we met him last year after the big freeze. 

After our power went out and came back up at the other house, I logged in to see if the heater was warming the house back up. Unfortunately, the remote thermostat showed a problem connecting to the unit. I feared the heat was out, but since we couldn't get out to the house I got in touch with Steve and he offered to swing by to check it out. Long story short, Steve was able to determine that the breaker for the unit tripped after the power came back up, was able to determine why, and was able to fix it for us. As I write this, the house is back up to temperature and everything is looking good. This is just another example of being quite fortunate to find a contractor that knows their stuff and you can trust! I also am glad I had the tools in place to discover the heat was out without actually being there. That's technology!

Now, as the rest of the DC region digs out, we can look back on this amazing snow storm blizzard and look forward to the next opportunity when we'll get to experience Alexandria in "winter wonderland" form. Until then, here are a few more photos from my stroll during the blizzard that make me happy we're able to experience the occasional blanket of snow in our town.

Virtue and the alley in the midst of the hardest snow of the storm.

Even in the worst of it, King Street was a social hub where everyone seemed in awe of the storm.

My favorite part of the storm is how the roads, sidewalks, and houses look like they've stepped back in time, like these on lower Captain's Row.

I also just like how some of my favorite houses look in the snow. It tends to add so much depth and detail to the already intricate architectural items of the houses, like the doors and windows.

In some cases the silence and vacant roads were downright eerie, such as when I was looking down Washington Street with no cars in view. This is usually one of the busiest streets and intersections in town.

The waterfront was completely frozen over and almost completely devoid of people.

By the next day the melt and plowing had begun, and the beautiful blue sky was a welcome transition.

But evidence that we'll be a while until we're back to business as usual is everywhere. Won't be riding these bikes anytime soon.

The sunset behind Christ Church added a coolness to the trees and streets.

And the spite house was sporting a rather large ominous icicle from the roof. That icicle is almost as tall as the house is wide.

The houses of lower Queen street's 300 block were even more beautiful than usual.

But I still think this photo of Columbia Firehouse is my favorite photo from the storm. 

We hope you've enjoyed our storm coverage and a glimpse into our experience. And the next time a storm of the century rolls through Old Town, you better believe we'll have a live cam and lots of updates.

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The live feed is still going down below, so be sure to scroll down to catch the latest look out our front window. However, it's been up and down this morning as the power and Internet has been on and off. Fingers crossed our flickers are behind us.

Here's the full timelapse of the storm through 1/24 at 3:29 am. 

This storm was truly no joke. This morning people are trying to dig their cars out under the bright and sun filled blue sky. I'll tell you one thing, things are already getting a little bit testy between some of the diggers and those either looking for parking spots or trying to make some cash by digging people out.

What a difference 24 hours makes. The blowing and drifting in this storm is insane.

While we have power in Old Town, our power at the other house went out this morning at 5:00am. We received an email alert from the security monitoring company letting us know of the outage, which is a great feature of the service. We were also able to check on the power company's website to see that the outage for the area was already reported and they are working to restore the power. Not sure how long it will be out, but glad to know it's not just our house. Fingers crossed it's sooner than later. But I can say that Mel's glad he's here and not there.

Here in Old Town I'll probably venture out for some more photos this afternoon. It's so wonderful and bright out there I definitely don't want to miss it. Also, maybe now that it's not blowing snow my phone won't freeze and I can Periscope something. Yesterday's attempt left the phone frozen. As in, it shut down and wouldn't turn back on due to the cold. It's happened several times when I've been outside over the last few days.

Anyhow, here are a few more of my favorite photos from yesterday.

Here's Columbia Firehouse on South St. Asaph Street during the most blustery part of the storm just before sunset.

This is a photo of two of our favorite houses on Duke Street. They're on our "favorites" list because they are basically our house. The one on the left has an identical interior floorplan to our house. The main difference is the front bump out and double windows that we so wish our house had.

This home is on the upper portion of Captain's Row on Prince Street has a massive wisteria vine that's so huge it wraps up through the large tree and blooms high in the tree's canopy. Yesterday, there's essentially no evidence of the vine, just beautiful home in the midst of a major blizzard. 

The corner of Cameron and Fairfax Streets house some of the oldest buildings in Old Town, including Wise's Tavern. Wise's Tavern was the location where George Washington's election as President was celebrated and he was addressed for the first time as "President."

Lower on Cameron Street is a collection of beautiful homes, including a very lovely place that belongs to a friend of ours. 

And no tour in the snow would be complete without my favorite home on Prince Street. It's been under renovation since it sold last year, but the front facade has been unaltered throughout, keeping it just as amazing as it's always been.

But the final photo I want to leave you with is a man that has ultimate dedication. I found him out on just Saturday jog amidst 35+ mile per hour winds, driving snow, and nearly impassable roads. Sure, why not go for a run. Just gotta throw on some ski goggle and a hat.

This storm has been nothing less than an adventure, and it's been a pretty amazing one. I have no idea how long it will take us to dig out, but I just took a look at our car and I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon. What are the odds we have work tomorrow? I'd say pretty low.

1/23/2016 - 10:30 PM Update

Man, what a crazy storm this has been. We had a lot of snow on the ground when we woke up this morning, but it seemed like it wouldn't be a crazy storm, just a lot of snow. But by about 3:30pm, everything really picked up. 

The wind started blowing, snow was really driving, and it seemed like a pretty great time to venture out for a walk with Lulu. I put on about eight layers and all my ski gear to head out. This is a blizzard, not a fashion show. And while it may look like I'm scowling, my heart is jumping with joy from all of this snow.

The first thing I did was shovel the snow around our tankless water heater's vent. This needs to stay clear or we could have a major problem (and no hot water).

Unfortunately, Lulu is not a fan of the snow that's deeper than she is, and we only made it to the corner before she wanted to head back inside. I figured I was already bundled up, so why not head out for a long walk. I spent about two hours walking all over Old Town and took some photos I really love. Here are a handful of my favorites.

Carlyle House

I saw a lot of crazy things while walking around. People out for a run, many stuck cars, armies of people shoveling, and lots of wide open roads where it was easier to walk than the sidewalks. 

The firehouse on Prince Street was fully shoveled, and one of the firefighters was actively shoveling to stay ahead of the rapidly falling snow.

King Street was pretty much dead, and there were no cars parked along King. I think it's a snow emergency route, so no cars are allowed to be there, but it was a strange sight to see when the street is normally lined with parked cars.

In spite of massive snow drifts, many restaurants, bars, and pubs were open, including O'Connells.

Lower King Street had more going on and was pretty well plowed. News crews were setup there for their live shots, and it was generally a gathering place for neighbors.

Major snow moving equipment was out in force in front of City Hall.

But for me, the main attraction was off of King Street and on the side streets. Cameron was looking quite picturesque.

Captain's Row also had no shortage of beautiful snowscapes. It was great to see it all with no cars.

In the snow I like to think Old Town looks a lot like it did 100 years ago. No visible pavement, often no cars, it's just peaceful.

Everywhere I'd turn it was just another wonderful setting that made me appreciate where I am able to spend this storm.

The streets of Old Town are truly a magical place.

And no major storm would be complete without a strong showing from the Old Town Rats on Lee Street. 

They may be a little snow covered, but they are enjoying their basement window show.

1/23/2016 - 1:00 PM Update

In addition to the live feed, I've been grabbing image captures from the camera every minute to assemble a timelapse. Good news, the process worked all of the way until about 4:00am. Bad news, I'll have a gap from 4:00am to 8:00am in my final video. But before we get into the update, here's the first roughly 12 hours of the storm.

So far this storm is going well. Fingers crossed the wind doesn't start to cause havoc later today. Last night we did our best to enjoy the calm and quiet of the storm. And as promised, after finishing up working for the day at about 9:00, Wendy cracked open our favorite bottle of Peju Zinfandel port we bought about 3 years ago and have been saving. Mel tried to get in on the action.

While we're not at the other house, we're trying to keep an eye on things with web cams, temperature monitoring, and general paranoia. But late last night our web cam and remote thermostat went offline and we started to get nervous that we lost power. That's our achilles heel with this storm. I think we're okay as long as we have power, but if we don't have power, the house will get cold quickly. We've tried to prep by shutting off water, releasing pressure, etc., but we're still understandably gun shy after last year's freeze. 

The good news is that while the Internet was down, we could check our security system remotely since it uses cell coverage, and we could see that the power was still up (the security system would alert us to a loss of power as well). Also good news, Comcast now allows you to check status of your service and even remote restart your router. I did this just before bed last night and by the time I woke up this morning the web cams were back online and everything at the house looks good.

We'll certainly be keeping our eye on the water as the wind picks up and storm surge/high tide begins.

Here in Old Town we've certainly gotten our fair share of snow. It's pilled up on all of our window sills and is looking particularly "classic old house". 

The backyard is completely full of snow to the point where we can't even see the pond or plantings. 

I took a tape measure out and measured a few places. While official measure in Alexandria is 17" of snow so far, we seem to only have about 11"-12". I think the drifting in the back yard is uncovering a lot of places.

But my favorite part of the morning was Lulu bounding out through the snow like a deer or a rabbit. She's hysterical, and I can't wait to take her on a good walk later.

It's still coming down out there, and the wind is starting to pick up a little. We hear trucks and shovels hard at work clearing the snow, but I think those are largely private plows or those on snow emergency routes. And with that, I need to get out there and start shoveling too. We'll be back later with more updates. You can also keep up with us on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, or Facebook.

1/22/2016 - 6:40 PM Update

Snow started falling pretty steadily in our neck of the woods at about 1:30pm and began sticking pretty much immediately. By 2:30pm we already had coverage on the sidewalks and around parked cars.

We're just a few hours in and we already have about 4" if snow on the ground. Just before the sun set at 5:00pm the roads are completely covered and cars are few and far between on the road.

Lulu and I decided to talk a little walk around town to see how Old Town is doing so far. What we found...snow...and lots of it.

It is really coming down, easily 1" per hour that they were calling for. We shared a bunch of stuff on our Snapchat account, so be sure to add "oldotwnhome" to catch up on our story. Makes me feel like such a Millennial.

While on our walk we did a lot of walking in the middle of the road, since you can do that around here during snow storms. And we also did a lot of oohing and aaaahhhing at all of the beautiful old houses in Old Town covered in a light and fluffy blanket of snow. 

Walking around in Old Town during a snow of any volume is always a treat. Here's a shot of what's left of the Mansion House Hotel, subject of the new PBS show, Mercy Street.

I am mad that we forgot to order Lulu little dog boots because she always has what we call "blow outs." She'll be walking along and then suddenly starts hopping around with one paw in the air. This is usually caused by either ice or salt getting stuck between her paw pads. When I see it, we stop and I clean her paw, then she's back in business be-bopping along. She loves the snow so much and has so much fun bouncing around, a blow out or two certainly won't deter her. But with all of the salt on the sidewalks it means we have to wash her paws when we get home, and also try to choose routes with hopefully a little less salt on the sidewalks.

One final image I want you leave you with is thanks to the recent trend to name every major snow storm we get. You've likely heard Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, etc, for previous storms, and while some are calling this storm "Jonas," and this year the Capital Weather Gang weather blog has named this storm Snowzilla for the DC area. And they have a pretty awesome image accompanying the popular nickname. Feast your eyes on this beauty.

Photo Credit: Capital Weather Gang

We're hunkering down for the night and trying to pick something great for dinner. Wendy has also declared this snow emergency in need of a bottle of port for after dinner. I have no objection to her emergency plan. Will have to let you know how it turns out. 

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As a kid from Cleveland living on the east coast, I get giddy with excitement when even a chance at a snow storm is predicted.

Earlier this week, I think it was Sunday, when the news weather people started talking about a possibly giant snow storm nearly a week off, my head almost exploded! I thought, "Would we possibly have a legit shot at a large snow storm?" As it turns out, we certainly did...and do.

The looming blizzard is quickly moving into the region and promised to potentially be a "Storm of the Century!" We've seen predictions of 30"+ of snow, blizzard conditions, and nearly 48 hours straight of snow. As a result, we'll be live blogging the whole event. And that includes a YouTube Live Stream from our front window!

As the snow starts you can follow along with the snowfall amounts we're seeing. I'll also be venturing out into the snow to take some photos in and around Old Town. (Unfortunately Wendy will have to hold down the fort as she's on crutches and won't be heading out into the snow and ice.) There's really nothing more peaceful than some great snow shots in our city. I love some of our photos from past storms.

And finally, we'll surely be giving updates on Pat Collins and the Pat Collins Snow Stick! I love that guy. He's a DC Institution. 

I did a bunch of work yesterday to hopefully prepare for worst case scenarios, like adding some additional insulation to pipes. Nothing like spending an evening insulating under your house to get ready for a major snow storm.

And I also stopped at Lowe's and was flabbergasted by the number of shovels they had on hand.

But the snowfall prediction map has me floored with a mix of anticipation, excitement, and paranoia. 

Image Credit: Capital Weather Gang

Stay tuned as thinks take shape! As long as we have power we'll be updating. Check back for updates throughout the day today, tomorrow, and Sunday.

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