That’s why I put “state” in quotation marks. For bike travel purposes, I’m treating it like a state. It also makes the sentence simpler: three states, instead of two states and a unique, constitutionally-created, jurisdiction (which doesn’t even appear to be named correctly). [People call it Washington or Washington, D.C., but according to the secretary of the District of Columbia, there is no current official reference to a city of Washington in D.C. any longer. Just D.C.]
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/45361/what-is-washington/