From the Goodstone Inn, we took back roads into Purcellville, following along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail for a stretch before turning off onto Loyalty Road, one of Virginia’s scenic byways. In Taylorstown, we took a shortcut, which took us along Furnace Mountain, a firmly packed dirt road that spiraled up—and up and up. It was worth it, though, for the bird’s-eye-like view at the top, and then, of course, the descent down to the Potomac, where we crossed over into Maryland.

In Frederick, our car, French press coffee, and ice cream sandwiches waited for us at Volt, Top Chef Bryan Voltaggio’s restaurant that is well worth leaving Virginia for. From there, it was about an hour’s drive to McLean, where we took hot showers and were treated to dinner at Jeff Tunk’s year-old restaurant, Passionfish in Reston. There were well-dressed leafy green salads, lump crab cakes with an excellent salsa verde, and a chocolate-praline bomb (I believe it’s technically called the Chocolate Mousse Praline Crunch). There were also two bottles of wine, an Austrian pinot gris and the Stag’s Leap Petit Syrah, which we had no trouble polishing off between the three of us.

In Alexandria, our final Virginia destination, we treated ourselves to a room at the Lorien, a newish Kimpton hotel with red brick exteriors and clean, spa-like interiors by Vincente Wolf. It was the first time in two weeks that we spent more than one night in the same place. And after a lunch of mussels and pork belly tart at Brabo, I fully unpacked my bags, changed into my pajamas, and promptly passed out in my very own bed. (It’s not that I don’t love Mollie, but there is something about being able to stretch out beneath a cozy down comforter and not worry about kicking or being kicked by your bedfellow).

The pampering continued with a Vitamin C facial at the subterranean spa, which left me glowing and devoid of the windburn I had developed during the course of the trip. For dinner, the juiciest burger, fries and just-baked oatmeal cookies were just the thing—and reminded us of our first night at the Four Seasons in Philly, where we feasted on a similar supper.

Today, our final day, we have plans to bike—but this time without gear. We’re headed to Mount Vernon, where we’ll explore the former quarters of George and Martha Washington, have a picnic lunch and lazily make our way back to town. We’ve booked a table at Cathal Armstrong’s Restaurant Eve, where we hope to try some of Joe Henderson’s Randall Lineback rose veal and tell war stories of our tour of Virginia.

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