We ended up staying at Hotel Fauchere twice last month, once on the drive down to DC and once more on the trip home. The second stay came out of some rather unfortunate circumstances – our car window was smashed and broken into on our final morning in DC, just before we were supposed to start the drive back up to Maine. Thankfully, Orvis, who was in the car during the time of the break-in and miraculously stayed put, was unharmed, but we were so shaken up thinking about all that could have happened to him. (I’ll be honest here – I was an absolute wreck the whole day, tearing up every time I thought about how different the outcome could have been for Orvis. We were so thankful that he was alright.)

After spending most of the day at a window repair shop in Virginia, we didn’t start driving until five or six hours after we’d hoped to begin the drive back up to Maine, so we knew we’d be breaking up the trip, and we barely thought twice as to where we’d aim to rest our heads that night – our favorite dog-friendly corner room at Hotel Fauchere in Milford, PA. Under different circumstances, we would have felt that it was maybe a little indulgent to stay at the same nice hotel, a mere three days after we’d checked out, but when we arrived at Hotel Fauchere after a long day of travel and emotion, it felt almost as comforting as if we’d made it back to our own home that night. Having stayed at Hotel Fauchere a dozen or so times (more than anywhere else from our travels), we knew exactly what to expect – a hot shower in the marble bathroom, nighttime chocolate chip cookies, a comfy bed, and our favorite hotel breakfast the next morning. After such an emotionally draining day, it felt like a gift to be able to retreat to a place so familiar and comforting that night.

Photos by Meredith Perdue for Map & Menu.