HotelTonight – Alexandria Hotels Near You
I drive for work every day. There are certain parts of the map where I have to admit that I basically zone out, thinking only about my destination and what's ahead. That's just part of being a traveling worker – you focus on your next town, your next meeting, etc. Over the years I've gotten pretty good and making sure I'm ready for whatever I encounter when I do arrive somewhere, which means that I never paid attention to the town and cities I was passing on the highway. In central Minnesota, one of the communities that I had always zoomed past without giving it much thought is known as Alexandria. I had seen signs for it and I think I even stopped there for gas once, but that was it. One day, I was driving near the city when I encountered some car trouble. I managed to get it towed to a garage there, but the mechanic told me it'd be about 24 hours before I could get moving. I would spend the day exploring this place. I'd book an Alexandria hotel room instantly with my HotelTonight app and head out to see what life is like in Alexandria.
Downtown
I started my day downtown, and it took all of about one second to realize that I had found myself in a classic Midwestern community. Only about 13,000 people live here, and the center of town looked like something out of a movie set. The buildings were all seemingly classic brick and very clean and orderly. The streets were lined with small businesses and locals walking around, talking to each other with a degree of familiarity that made it obvious that people are born here and stay here. I spoke to a few of them, and they could not have been nicer.
The Stone
As I talked to people, I kept hearing about some mysterious stone. I decided to check it out. It turns out that there is an entire museum dedicated to it. I walked into the Runestone Museum to take a look at a runestone that was discovered on a farm not far from Alexandria towards the end of the 19th century. The artifact is dated 1362, and it's believed to have been from Viking origins. The stone was quite a sight, and apparently it's the topic of much debate even today with regards to how it got there and if it's really more than 600 years old.
The Dining
After a day of walking around and talking to people, I became quite hungry. I heard about a local brewpub that served great beer and seafood, and that sounded perfect to me. I walked into a classic pub setting with wooden furniture and a brick backsplash behind the bar. The beer was excellent and the grilled walleye they serve is delicious. The fish flaked right off of my fork when I poked it, and the side fries were crunchy and seasoned perfectly.
HotelTonight – Alexandria Hotels Around the Corner
I got a call just then from the mechanic that my car would be ready the next morning. I was happy about that and decided it was time to book my Alexandria hotel room. I opened HotelTonight on my phone and did just that. Despite the vehicle setback, I wound up having a very nice day in a very nice community.
