Imagine this: We have been pondering how and what we will be eating on this trip.

Our goal: Good, healthy food all along the way coming from one of three sources: 1) Food fed to us by those who derive the same deep pleasure we do from feeding others. 2) Food we prepare for those who know how much pleasure we derive from preparing food and feeding folks. 3) Amazing food at off-the-beaten-path, family-run eateries.

So far, Days 1 – 4, we are batting 1,000.

Our first stop: Thanksgiving leftovers with the Schachters (Allie’s in-laws, our machatunim*) in Westboro. The food and company were great on Thursday; they were equally good on Saturday.

For those of you who know Allie and Joanna, it will come as no surprise to hear that Joanna needed a snack a few hours later. The matzo ball soup at the Vernon (CT) Diner was so good, she forgot to share.

When we told the Duffy’s they would be our first overnight stop, Jim started planning the menu. Watching 12-year-old twin girls devour cheese fondue is sublime! (Sometime I will write about the rib cook-off Jim and I waged at the lake in Vermont a few years ago, where we both cooked ribs all day, blindfolded the girls, dressed them in giant t-shirt smocks, and made them choose their favorites without knowing which were Daddy’s and which were Uncle Kenny’s. Need I say who won?????)

Joanna planned our first restaurant meal – Fetoosh, in Arlington, VA ­– an amazing Moroccan-Lebanese joint where the owner, Asiz, told us exactly what to order (in my case, lamb tagine with prunes) and hovered to be sure we loved every bite. (http://www.fettoosh.com)

Yesterday, Rebecca and I planned to eat in Spotsylvania, but we followed our instincts and decided that none of the places we found looked interesting enough. (We have plenty of munchies in the car if we get hungry, so restaurants are not just for food, they are for memories and adventures!) We passed a sort-of interesting joint with a 1950’s style gift shop at the intersection of Routes 17 and 301, but again, just not interesting enough. So we forged on to Tappahanock. Paydirt! Lowery’s has been serving seafood in Tappahanock since 1938. The oysters were fresh and plump; the oyster stew was, as Rebecca put it, “exactly like my mother’s.” Next time you are in Tappahanock, Virginia, don’t miss it!

Last night, Rebecca and I made a chicken saag for her sister and brother-in-law. What a thrill watching them both devour it with relish then fill their plates with seconds and devour that plateful too!

Today’s lunch, yet another homerun. Anne wanted stuffed grape leaves for supper. You try finding grape leaves in the Tidewater! We located them at a market in Newport News, 1.25 hours away. So we picked up R’s brother Gregory at his “school,” and headed east. Thirty minutes before Newport News, we passed a brand new organic grocery near Gloucester that had grape leaves! (No way!) As we pulled out of the lot, the sign at the far end of the strip mall reading “Soul Food” grabbed my eye. Hell, we were right there; why not check it out?

Barefoot Soul Food in Hayes, VA rocks! It is 3 weeks old, so no signage, no ads, no Yelp (until today, that is). Being the southern type that I am, I couldn’t decide between fried chicken and fried gizzards, so I asked if they could make a plate with both. They couldn’t. But if I ordered a fried chicken plate ($7.95, including 2 sides), they would just give me an order of gizzards. Sounded good to me, so I went to pee. By the time I returned, there were also 3 containers of dessert sitting on the table. They thought we should try them.   Maybe dining with an effusive, huggy 60-year-old Down’s Syndrome man helps, but whatever it was, we definitely brought out the best in the owner and staff.   Not only were they nice, but the food was terrific. This thought might become a cliché, but the next time you find yourself driving past the strip mall on Route 17 in Hayes, Virginia, you really ought to stop at Barefoot Soul Food.

Oh, and tonight’s stuffed grape leaves, quinoa taboolah, and yogurt went over well too. Of course, even the Patriots lose one once in a while, but so far so good.

*Definitions: Machitunim (Yiddish) Simply translated as the parents — and extended family — of your child’s spouse. English ain’t got no equivalents, so the Schachters would just be our daughter’s in-laws. In Yiddish, we all get to be family!