You want me to pay what?!

In my quest to do some traveling before I head back to school in the fall, I've been considering lots of options: Ireland, Washington D.C., Canada (we are almost out of Cheezies), and Mexico. Alas, the thought of a 14+ hour international flight overseas with infant scares the bejesus out of me. What do you do when hour eight rolls around and said infant goes nuts? Jumping out of the plane might seem like the way to go but I don't think anyone on the plane would actually let you open that door. Canada is great but I've been to Vancouver B.C. so many times it would feel like I was cheating. So I buy a book (Fodor's Washington D.C. 2008) and start researching a trip back east. I've never been to D.C. and there would be lots to see. But holy Christ, the costs of hotels are prohibitive. The folks at Fodor's must have much higher traveling budgets than me because they recommend The Four Seasons, by all rights a fine hotel - I hope to stay at their hotel in the Maldives when Darr and I celebrate our 10-year anniversary, only I can't spend $970 a night for a room. I scroll through the book looking for less extravagant hotels with a price range that is more to my liking - that's a no to the Fairmont, no to Hotel George, no to Hotel Monaco, no to the Ritz-Carlton, and no to Swann House. Which brings me to the Marriott. Wait, Courtyard Marriott - read: cheaper than the real Marriott - and I'm thinking that I'll finally get a reasonable quote. Wrong. The Courtyard Marriott is charging upwards of $360 per night and that is at the hotel closest to the airport. (Note to travelers: It is always enjoyable to vacation at airports. <insert sarcasm here>) For that price, I'd rather stay here. Google Maps estimates it would be just over 1100 miles and approximately 17 hours to drive there. Sounds doable to me.