Our 10 Year Renewal – Part 5 of 5 (A Mini Honeymoon)

Please make sure to read to the end of the post, where we’re giving away a one night stay to the most amazing paleo-friendly B&B, The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm!

As the party was winding down, Uncle Andrew swept the kids away, Stacy’s sisters took care of clean-up and we were shooed out the door for our 2 night honeymoon! As Stacy was in no state to drive, I hit the road to head to Lovettsville, Va to the Stone Manor Bed and Breakfast.

We arrived to the vast manor, which has been dusted in snow – it was romantic.  The inside was just as stunning, with original architectural details and pictorial story on the history of the house.

The best part of our stay was the jacuzzi tub, where Matt and I practically lived our entire weekend – accompanied with in-house-made sulfate-free soaps, wine and dark chocolate.
Note: Photos from Stone Manor

We love to visit bed and breakfasts when we get the chance for a night away. Often you’ll find the rates very comparable to good hotels, but the rooms are almost always nicer, with more amenities and a more homey and unique atmosphere. Not to mention the fact that instead of the usual “continental breakfast” found in the lobby of your typical hotel that features such “wholesome” fare as doughnuts and cereal, you get a nice home cooked meal in an actual dining room! We’ve visited many Bed and Breakfasts over the years. Our first was a lovely place in Lovettsville, the sadly defunct Lovettsville Bed and Breakfast. We’ve also stayed in places as far away as Havre de Grace, Md and as close as Washington, DC itself.

The innkeepers are always very accommodating of our late arrival. That’s another thing you’ll get over a hotel: personalized service. I’ve never met the owner of any hotel or motel I’ve stayed at, but I’ve met every single bed and breakfast owner we’ve stayed with.  I also am always asked if there’s anything we don’t like or can’t eat. Since going Paleo, specifically Stacy is highly reactive to gluten (like a Celiac). We’re always able to be clear about absolutely no gluten and simply request bacon and eggs at a B&B.

At quite a few places we’ve stayed, including Stone Manor, the food is of high farm-grown quality. We had fresh eggs from their own backyard and humanely raised local Anise Pork Sausage both mornings. These were just part of a full SIX courses breakfast! The owners went above and beyond in their offerings of gluten-free goodies. The owners were so excited to be able to test out gluten-free recipes with us: scones, crepes, muffins, and tarts – we tried them all and Stacy never got sick. They explained that they love experimenting in the kitchen and see food restrictions as a welcome challenge! They said they had recently acquired a reputation for catering to vegans. We’re here to report that they ought to have a similar reputation in our community!

Seriously, if you want to travel and still be accommodated in your special diet, we can’t recommend staying in a bed and breakfast enough. No one is going to be more willing to accommodate you than a small private business that caters directly to you!

For the day we headed to Leesburg. Specifically, we wanted to go to the Le Creuset outlet there. I’m sure you’ve at least heard of Le Creuset, right? The French cookware company? We are in love with it! It’s all the benefits of cast iron without any of the cleaning and sticking problems. It may seem a little pricey at first, but we go to the outlet and get it half off and it will literally last forever!

Then we meandered downtown and had a terrific lunch at a local restaurant called Lightfoot in the old section of town. You know you’re in a fancy place when you mention gluten-free and the waiter can tell you exactly what you can have on the menu and why without having to ask anyone else! They were very accommodating and even better – the food was fresh and as delicious as promised.

As we walked the streets of Leesburg, we went into a variety of shops and antique dealers. Stacy, being the forward marketer she is, happened to mention the book and site to several shopkeepers who asked why we were there (10 years, yada yada, celebrating a finished book). Every one of them wanted us to come down for a First Friday, the monthly event in downtown where various activities are held, to do signings. Everyone was so extremely helpful and generous!  Looks like we have another trip in our near future, we’ll make sure to let you know – as soon as we do – when and where we might be in the Spring.

After walking the town, holding hands in the cool fog, we headed to a movie theater for a movie without kids!  Then we came back to the B&B, had leftovers from the party in bed and enjoyed another evening in the jacuzzi.

A Paleo Honeymoon For You: The Inn at Mt Vernon Farm

When tweeted that we were staying at a bed and breakfast in the DC area, we were pleasantly surprised to be contacted by another relatively local B&B encouraging us to try them out next time. When we looked into it, it sounded so perfect we couldn’t believe we didn’t know about them before! We’re definitely going to give it a try soon (anyone wanna watch 3 adorable blonde boys?). Thanks to their enormous generosity, perhaps you’ll be the one to visit first?

The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm is a six room bed and breakfast in Sperryville, Va, about 90 minutes west of Washington, DC. It’s located on a gorgeous farm that will be the perfect vista for your enjoyment!  It looks absolutely luxurious.

Best of all? The farm itself is an entirely grass-fed, soy-free, pastured livestock beauty. That means healthy, natural food is served for your stay (they even feature a dinner guests can add-on)! And the farm manager is a contributor to Paleo Magazine! It’s a perfectly paleo place to stay! Included in your stay is breakfast, which features pastured pork and lamb sausage, in-house cured bacon and freshly picked farm eggs. Why not visit, take a relaxing break, and enjoy completely wholesome food?

Gorgeous Photos from The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm taken by Molly M Peterson, farmer & photographer extraordinaire

The Inn at Mount Vernon Farm was generous enough to offer a giveaway to you for a FREE ONE NIGHT STAY WITH BREAKFAST in any of their main house rooms, your choice (cabin not included) – anytime before our next anniversary (1/21/13). Go now and enjoy their 2 new off-season calves or in the Spring when it’s lush and green.  We are so jealous that you’ll be winning it and we won’t! Perhaps you’ll see us there though, because we certainly intend to go as soon as we can get away. If you, too, want to enter (for yourself or someone else that it relatively local) please:

1. Like Mount Vernon Farm on Facebook (if you’re on facebook)
2. Follow Mount Vernon Farm on Twitter (if you’re on twitter)
3. Visit The Inn at Mt Vernon Farm’s website
4. Share this giveaway on your favorite form of social media, please
5. Then, after you’ve done all of that – leave a comment letting us know which room you’d like to stay in!

Giveaway ends 2/10/12 10PM EST! Thank you SO much for the Mount Vernon Farm and Inn at Mt Vernon Farm for their generosity and letting us know about this awesome local resource!

>>>>To see all 5 posts in this 10 Year Renewal Recap, click the links below:

Part 1 of 5

Part 2 of 5 (more on the event) 

Part 3 of 5 (the food)

Part 4 of 5 (the pictures)