The Book Lover's Getaway

Stay somewhere with a story.

Check into The Black Hawk Hotel, a historic boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Cedar Falls. Take a slow wander through the hotel. Find the library, settle into a chair for a few minutes and look through the old journals, photographs, artifacts and pieces of the past displayed throughout the property.

For a weekend devoted to stories, some of the most interesting ones aren’t bound between two covers.

Leave the car parked and start your weekend among the shelves downtown. Browse new books and thoughtful gifts at The Nook, then look for an unexpected thrift-price find at Books On Main or the Book Nook inside the Cedar Falls Public Library.

Take your new book to Reader’s Cup. Order a drink, find a comfortable spot and flip the pages of your newest purchase.

Lingering is part of the itinerary.

Spend the rest of the afternoon following whatever catches your attention downtown. Pop into Pretty Good Co. for stationery, notebooks and thoughtfully designed goods. Browse Worlds Window for fair-trade artisan pieces and gifts with stories behind them. Then keep wandering through locally owned shops along the way.

Leave yourself enough time to go back for the book you decided you "didn’t need.”

Keep the car parked and enjoy one of the best parts of staying downtown: dinner is just a short walk away. Choose a locally owned restaurant nearby, such as Montage, known for its warm, moody atmosphere, cozy lounge, seasonal rooftop patio, and dishes from award-winning Chef Jackie Gonzalez.

Return to your hotel and settle into its Prohibition-era lobby bar for a well-crafted cocktail or mocktail. Then head upstairs, get comfortable, and see how many pages you can read before the new book wins out over bedtime.

Ask the mixologists about the bar’s history or stories from the hotel’s past.

No alarm-clock today.

Start with coffee and locally sourced treats at the hotel, then give yourself some unhurried reading time. Claim a comfortable chair in the hotel library and enjoy a chapter before heading out for the day.

Walk beneath the tree-lined canopy that helped inspire Cedar Falls author Nancy Price. A longtime Cedar Falls resident with strong ties to the University of Northern Iowa, Price included scenes set in Seerley Park in her best-selling novel Sleeping with the Enemy. The book was later adapted into the 1991 film starring Julia Roberts.

Cedar Falls also shaped the work of author Robert James Waller, who taught at UNI. Best known for The Bridges of Madison County, Waller drew on the community for his novel Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend.

Head back downtown for a relaxed brunch. Choose Tata Yaya for sweet or savory crêpes and waffles, or stop by Cup of Joe, a Cedar Falls favorite that has been serving coffee and treats for more than 30 years.

Now for one of the most important stops on the itinerary:

Nothing.

Go back to a shop you discovered yesterday. Grab another coffee. Take a walk along the river. Find a place to sit with your book. Wander the gallery at The Hearst Center for the Arts. Or head back to the hotel, settle into a comfortable spot, and read.

Have dinner downtown, then walk to the Oster Regent Theatre. Check what’s playing when you plan your trip and, if the timing is right, spend Saturday night with a play, musical or other live performance. After the curtain falls, your hotel is only a few steps away.

Have coffee, pack your bags, and take your time checking out. If you have time, visit a local gallery, or visit the Goodwill on the Hill Bookstore. Or keep it simple: brunch, a walk, and coffee for the road. Your bag may be a little heavier when you leave. Blame the bookstores.