As Michael and I begin to plan our road trip to North Carolina  for the holiday season, I’m reminded of our last drive down South. Stopping for a night at Hotel Fauchère in Milford, PA, is our preferred way to break up the long journey. It’s a charming, dog-friendly establishment, with a great restaurant downstairs, but if you’ve read any of our posts about the hotel, you already know that the breakfast is easily what we look forward to the most during every stay. On this last trip of ours, we spent the night in Milford on the way down, but tried something entirely new on our return trip. Wanting to get on the road after attending our nephew’s afternoon birthday party, we knew that checking into Hotel Fauchère well after midnight was not the brightest of ideas, so instead, we opted to break up the trip by staying in a roadside hotel in Hagerstown, MD, and then woke up early the next morning to get back on the road in order to make it to our beloved Hotel Fauchère in time for the ultimate road trip breakfast.

We laughed with anticipation as we took the exit toward Milford that morning, eager for the meal to come. The taste of the homemade yogurt was fresh in our minds after the previous week’s stay, and we knew that this little excursion of ours was by no means necessary, but would prove to be more than worth the extra travel time. Having driven a couple of hours to get there, we took Orvis for a walk around town and stretched our legs before we sat down for breakfast on the porch. The staff had a good chuckle to hear that we were back only for breakfast and proceeded to bring us the usual spread – the famous yogurt and granola, a couple of scones, and a pair of brûléed grapefruits. I think it’s fair to say that it’s hard to imagine finding a tastier roadside meal, no?

Afterwards, we took another walk with Orvis and even had a chance to stop by our favorite shop in town, Upriver Home. When we returned to the car, it felt like we were just starting our drive for the day – an invaluable feeling for such a long trip, even if it was far from true. Stopping at a lovely inn for a leisurely breakfast is hardly something most people think to treat themselves to, but we found it to be a worthy excursion, not only for our stomachs, but also for our minds.

Has anyone ever done something similar? We’d love to hear any road trip rituals or ideas on how you all break up long drives in the comments below! Also, in case anyone is wondering, we almost always book our stays at Hotel Fauchère through Jetsetter, as it tends to come up for sale on the travel flash sale site every few months. Keep an eye on Jetsetter and similar sites, they have proven to be such valuable travel resources for us!

All photos taken by Meredith Perdue for Map & Menu.