Continuing with our family reunion in Lewisburg, West Virginia, our home-base for the trip was the historic
General Lewis Inn.
Built in 1834 with additions completed in 1928, the Inn has 24 rooms and suites. My brother and I shared a double/double room.
I loved the spindle beds. They reminded me of my granny's. And there were comfy comforters but I had to let the Queen Bed Tester, Amelie, try out my mattress. She clearly approved.
All rooms have flatscreen TVs and free Wi-Fi.
Everything was meticulously clean and what you see on the table below, in the orange bottle, is complementary West Virginia Spring Water. Very refreshing.
Plus they offered super soft bathrobes and slippers. Nice touch!
There's fresh coffee waiting for us early in the morning out in the hallway and downstairs...
... we have the Thistle Lounge and...
...The
The Jefferson Dining Room, where we happily had breakfast every morning. But we'll get into the restaurant later in the blog. Outside we had a front porch perfect for drinks and catching up.
And in the back there are gardens...
...a reflection pool...
...rocking chairs...
...and a patio...
with flowers!
So who was General Andrew Lewis? (Info lifted from the Inn's website) - "Andrew Lewis, for whom this historic Inn and the town of Lewisburg are named, served as one of George Washington's
principal officers in the Virginia Regiment during the French &
Indian War and, in the words of George Washington biographer Douglas
Southall Freeman, was unquestionably the hardest-working officer of the
Regiment."
 |
| General Andrew Lewis |
Once settled in, one of the many side trips we went on during our long weekend stay was a visit to the Greenbrier River Trails. 78 miles of former railroad winds through several towns in West Virginia offering hiking, biking and horseback riding. We chose to walk along the Greenbrier River. It was a great opportunity to connect with nature in peaceful and beautiful surroundings.
The Greenbrier River Trail is rated one of the top 10 hiking trails in the country by Backpacker Magazine.
One evening, we also experienced the candle lit
Lewisburg Ghost Tour. Although not as spooky as I was expecting, it actually turned out to be a fascinating historical expedition of the town.
And to get a taste (or sip) of the local nightlife, we slipped into
The Irish Pub. Here I am in deep discussion with Josh. I had asked him, "What is the name of this Irish Pub?" and he answered, "The Irish Pub." Easy enough.
 |
| Josh and I |
Actually, Lewisburg is Josh's hometown and he was kind enough to put together our amazing itinerary. And although he was hoping we'd get a taste of the traditional Irish folk songs, often being sung by its quirky owner, the night we dropped in there was a game of Medical Trivia being played by the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine students. But we did get to experience local brews by both Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company and the Mountain State Brewing Company.
And on the last night of our visit, we decided to have dinner in the General Lewis' restaurant, the
Jefferson Dining Room. But first, we ordered smart cocktails at the Thistle Bar...
...and enjoyed them out on the front porch...
...till our table was ready.
 |
| A table for two in the Jefferson Dining Room. |
The Jefferson Dining Room prides itself in running an ethical restaurant that is good for their farmers, their staff and the world. They serve fair trade organic coffee, real butter, real maple syrup and prepare everything from scratch. On their menu you will find locally sourced meats, eggs and vegetables.
After placing our orders, each of us were presented with our own little cast iron skillet filled with delicious homemade cornbread. Not too sweet, just right. For the entire table we ordered delicious Smoked Bacon Wrapped Dates. Sweet dates covered with crispy pork belly, served with fresh made toasted baguettes topped with goat cheese. And they were brought to the table on slabs of slate. Can you spell H-E-A-V-E-N?
 |
| Bacon Wrapped Dates |
Highlights of the dinner were the hand cut Certified Angus Beef Prime
Rib-Eye with the General Lewis Inn's french fries topped with fried
onion rings and served with mashed potatoes and succotash that both Josh
and John ordered. Josh's comment was, "It was melt in your mouth good.
And the succotash was a great side to help slide into Fall." (I like that play on words.)
 |
| Rib-Eye |
Janet ordered the WV Mountain Rainbow Trout - raised in spring water with no hormones or antibiotics.
 |
| Rainbow Trout |
And I had the Heritage Pork Chop - Vernal Vibe Rise pastured pork with a port reduction. These chops were absolutely divine. And the added spice of cumin in the succotash really made the fall vegetables sing. Somehow we're missing a pic of Leigh-Anne's hand cut Filet Mignon, perfectly cooked and seasoned.
 |
| Pork Chops |
And a fine bottle of medium-bodied Montepulciano completed a wonderful final dinner for the family reunion.
Family feedback in regards to the General Lewis Inn? We'd all come back and stay again...in a heartbeat. As for Lewisburg and everything that Josh put together?...Fantastic trip!
good
ReplyDelete