 |
Inn at Eagle's Nest: Eat, Drink
|
The Inn at Eagle's Nest stands out because it is neither a hotel nor a typical bed & breakfast.
It's true, you do get a room ... with a bed ... and breakfast is served the next morning. However, the inn's rooms are not in a restored Victorian mansion. They are on the second floor of a series of storefronts in the heart of downtown Louisiana, Missouri.
Below the sleeping rooms are the Eagle's Nest Bistro and dining room, and the Eagle's Nest Winery and wine garden. All are part of a four-storefront complex on Missouri 79, the Little Dixie Highway of the Great River Road, at its intersection with Georgia Street in Louisiana, just three blocks off the Mississippi River.
The Inn has its own private entrance on the west side of the corner storefront. Lodgers must climb the stairs leading to the second floor and walk down a long hallway over a wooden floor to their room.
Hot Tubs and Cattle Drives. Huh?
If not for the "Solarium Room" and its hot tub at the top of the stairs, one could easily believe he was walking down a hallway in a late 1800s inn. (If I had on boots and a 10-gallon hat, rather than my tennis shoes and baseball cap, I could have easily passed for John Wayne, ambling down the hallway to his room after driving that herd of cattle across the state. Really.)
Our room overlooking the downtown area was comfortable, the furnishings simple. If there had been a pitcher and wash basin in the room, you could have easily believed you had stepped into the 1880s again.
On the other hand, the modern Jacuzzi and complementary robes ere wrefreshing after a long day on the trail ... I mean road, pardner.
Might as Well Try 'em All
We chose to stay at the Inn at Eagle's Nest mainly because we knew there was a winery on the first floor.
Before dinner, we enjoyed a delightful wine tasting with two other couples in the Eagle's Nest Winery tasting room and gift shop.
After tasting all six Eagle's Nest wines, our choice: a bottle of Red Bud, a semi-sweet red made from Catawba and French-American hybrid grapes.
I'll Have a Cheeseburger in Paradise
The Eagle's Nest Bistro offers a tempting lunch menu six days a week while dinner is served in the dining room or the wine garden, a fully-enclosed patio behind the main buildings.
We dined in the wine garden on our visit and were treated to live music by a Jimmy Buffet-like one-man band. Calls himself Panama Jim. Even had a couple of groupies at the first table.
I ordered a steak; Susan chose a seafood pasta dish. And we washed the meal down with glasses of Red Bud, of course.
Overall, dinner in the Eagle's Nest wine garden was one of the most relaxing times of the trip.
The Eagle's Nest offers a brunch starting at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday, allowing us plenty of time to get out and explore before we ate the next morning.
Historic 1927 bridge: The Champ Clark Bridge over the Mississippi River is silhouetted against a Missouri sunset. The photo was taken in Louisiana's Riverfront Park.
Sunday Morning Stroll
We strolled around downtown, walked the three blocks to the Mississippi and lapped up the serenity of the mighty river, with only a few fishermen around unloading their boats into the water at that hour.
The spread for brunch was outstanding. In addition to the usual breakfast buffet fare, omelets made to order at the buffet table and biscuits with spicy sausage gravy (The chef was a little concerned he made it too spicy that morning. Not possible, I assured him.) were just two of the highlights of the morning feast, that included fresh fruit, pastries and quiche. (Hmm ... I wonder if John Wayne, certainly a real man, ever ate quiche ...)
The variety of amenities at the Inn at Eagle's Nest assures travelers of a relaxing stay along Missouri's Great River Road. Its location about 10 miles north of Clarksville and 30 miles south of Hannibal also makes it a good choice for a base from which to explore this scenic and historical area.
Unique lodging | Bypassed, but not forgotten | Geocaching/Letterboxing | E-mail alerts |
About us | Contact us | U.S. travel sites
