Kentucky
NASCARS and New Cars
Learn about the automotive industry, particularly the high performance,
or racing business, as you tour assembly and parts plants and a race
track in Kentucky. Then enjoy a ride in a miniature Nascar to get
the feel of it all.
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Cars, Caves & Country
Visit the Corvette car plant, take a boat ride through an underground
cave, and explore a Civil War era mansion. Dine in a New Orleans style
restaurant. If there's time, learn about the Shakers. Visit an Australian
animal sanctuary and sample a taste of Aussie life.
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Bumpers, Bourbon, and Bridals
Enjoy special behind-the-scenes tours of some of Kentucky's horse
farms and race courses; as well as a visit to a car plant...two types
of horse power!! Learn about another local tradition, the making of
Bourbon, and about the Shakers, who didn't partake in the local beverage.
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Racing and Riverboats - Racing Season
Fall—October 29-November 25 / Spring—April 27- July 4
Enjoy the thundering hooves of the world's fastest thoroughbreds and
the pageantry of Churchill Downs. But it isn't just horseracing that
Louisville, Kentucky is known for...it's also the 16 th largest city
in the United States. Riverboats, gambling and bourbon make this city
a tourism destination!!
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A day of racing at Churchill Downs
Live thoroughbred horse racing and home of the Kentucky Derby. Enjoy
reserved seats in Millionaires' Row Six , hot luncheon buffet, six
free $2.00 bets, and racing program. Guests will also enjoy a Churchill
Downs walking tour and Backstretch Breakfast tour .
The Kentucky Derby Museum , one of Kentucky's premier attractions,
captures the pride, tradition and excitement of the “greatest
two minutes in sports.” Three floors of exciting exhibits grant
visitors an in-depth look at the Kentucky Derby.
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Caesars, Indiana offers world-class
fun and gaming action.
Dinner Cruise on the Belle of Louisville — No other steamboat
in American has lasted as long or traveled as many miles as the Belle
of Louisville, commissioned in 1914.
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Extra add-on's available:
Joe Huber Family Farm, Winery and Restaurant offers a wide
variety of just-picked fruits and vegetables.
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Louisville Slugger Museum
See the world's biggest bat! Exhibits at the interactive museum honors
baseball's greatest hitters. The fun and fascinating tour includes
a walk through of an underground locker room into a full-size dugout
and a virtual home plate where guests can test their skill against
a fastball.
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Nestled in Bardstown, the “Bourbon
Capital of the World"® sits the Heaven Hill Distilleries
Bourbon Heritage Center . Explore the interactive exhibits of the
birth of Bourbon on a guided tasting of fine Bourbons and create your
own personalized bottle to take home.
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Frazier Arms Museum
Take a journey through 1,000 years of history! At no other museum
in the world will you find the ceremonial sword of Founding Father
Josiah Bartlett, the family bible of legendary pioneer Daniel Boone,
the "Big Stick" of President Theodore Roosevelt, or the
bow attributed to the great Apache warrior Geronimo.
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Ontario
Nature's Natural Beauty
The Bruce Peninsula – one of the most beautiful places you've
never visited! See salmon climb up the fish ladder, enjoy waterfalls,
take a glass bottom boat ride, and enjoy beautiful sunsets. Relax
on the deserted beaches in the quaint towns, and enjoy the wonderful
hospitality of our Canadian neighbors.
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Pennsylvania
Gone with the Wind
Be swept away as you tour, dine and stay in a mansion reminiscent
of “Tara” complete with Civil War era memorabilia. Visit
a candy factory and tour the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Shop for a
pair of snazzy sneakers at the world 's largest shoe store! Entertainment
includes a Sock Hop and a Hawaiian Luau.
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South
Carolina
The Grand Ladies of the South
Enjoy Charleston and Beaufort in the Palmetto State, before slipping
across the Georgia border to Savannah. Experience the grace and grandeur
of the old coastal South. Enjoy historic homes, fine dining, relaxing
cruises, plus out of the way and lesser known attractions.
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Southern Charm
Enjoy a leisurely tour to the Myrtle
Beach and Charleston areas. Take a boat cruise and a safari jeep tour.
Go back in history to a gracious southern plantation, experience fine
dining and entertainment, and time to relax on the beach.
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Tennessee
Biscuits, Bluegrass and Blackhawks Clarksville, Tennessee: A Culinary Tour and More
Enjoy a private dinner and cooking demonstration at Tennessee's second
largest general history museum— Customs House Museum and Cultural
Center. It was built in 1898 for the flourishing tobacco trade as a
federal post office.
Tour Fort Campbell Military Base, home of the 101st Airborne Division's
Screaming Eagles. Guided tour of the post and surprise demonstrations.
Enjoy a delicious schnitzel buffet lunch
at the Sportsman's Lodge.
Visit the state's largest winery, Beachaven
Winery and Vineyard. It is one of a handful of wineries that produce
French Method Champagne. Learn about the champagne making process and
even taste test in the champagne cellar. Return to the hotel for "
The Great Biscuit Bake Off "—Biscuit Making 101. Prepare a
biscuit by a different method or recipe and the next morning we will
do a taste test to choose the winner.
Continue the patriotic day with a USO Dinner
Show by the sounds of the "Andrews Sisters" and the "Glenn
Miller Orchestra." Of course, dancing and participation will be
encouraged.
Stop with our guide at a Tobacco Farm.
Learn about Clarksville type 22 tobacco and the influence it had on
this area. Talk with farmers, view the process and learn the importance
it had on the economy.
Take a driving tour of the Clarksville
historic district—one of Tennessee's best collections of period
architecture.
Lunch at the Rose Garden Tea Room. Built
in 1886 as the home of Clarksville Mayor, MC Northington. Since 1997,
the downstairs portion has been a Tea Room.
Travel to the countryside to visit Historic
Collinsville . This restored log pioneer settlement dates from 1830
to 1870. Tour the 12 log structures and see demonstrations about life
in the 1800's. Enjoy a private candlelight dinner of southern specialties
in an antebellum home, the Smith-Trahern Mansion . Bluegrass favorites,
Stringed Legacy, will perform and enjoy a Civil War Ball.
**Each passenger or couple will receive a gift bag that includes
a cookbook from several of the meals served on the trip and a bag of
White Lily Flour.
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Choo Choo's of Chattanooga
Three nights/four days
Pardon me group travelers…is that
the Chattanooga Choo Choo???
Stay at the Chattanooga's Terminal Station.
Dinner one evening will be at the Station House where singing waiters
entertain with songs from the era.
The next morning visit the hotel's Model
Railroad exhibit , one of the world's largest, followed by a ride on
the New Orleans Trolley.
Then, enjoy the Tennessee Valley Railroad
in a comfortable antique coach car with a visit to Chickamauga, GA.
Then return to the city and enjoy a great dinner with beautiful scenery
onboard the Southern Belle Riverboat.
The following day begins with a trip on
the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway , where trolley cars take you up
Lookout Mountain on the steepest passenger railway in America. Inside
Lookout Mountain visit Ruby Falls —the world's tallest underground
waterfall.
Then, take a ride on the Missionary Ridge
Local . Enjoy an hour long ride on this historic train.
By late afternoon your group will be on
the Chattanooga Riverfront . Visit the Tennessee Aquarium or the Hunter
Museum of American Art (on own). Dinner will be at 212 Market Street
Restaurant offering a great meal overlooking the river .
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Fools & Tall Tales
Experience the Story-Telling Capital of the World! Enjoy the Farmhouse
Gallery &Gardens. Take a scenic barge ride and visit the Wolf
Habitat. Visit the Dickinson-Williams Mansion. Take an adventurous
Lanterns and Legends tour of Jonesborough, and view the world's largest
natural rhododendron garden. Visit beautiful Lake Watauga and have
fun with an “inside-out ” meal. Great for a Mystery Tour!
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History, Horses, & a Hoedown
Enjoy a little out of the way Volunteer State hospitality. Explore
the area around Nashville, some of the rural homes of country music
notables, and meet a “Star” at his winery. Explore frontier
and Civil War history, visit a horse farm, and hear a little bluegrass
and gospel music that will keep your feet movin'.
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Indiana
Put a Little Spring in
your Step
Enjoy the area around French Lick Springs
Resort. Tour Spring Mill Pioneer Village and Stream Cliff Herb Farm.
Take train and trolley rides, visit the simplicity of Indiana's second
largest Amish community ,and the grandeur of the historic West Badin
Springs Hotel. Gamble at a NEW Riverboat casino.
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Bridges, Boats and Beauty
Enjoy a relaxing Lake excursion cruise.
Take a ride in a horse-drawn wagon, visit Indiana's largest waterfall,
and enjoy a luncheon on a covered bridge. Then view our nation's only
publicly displayed WWII German Buzz Bomb.
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The Other Columbus
Visit Columbus, Indiana, smaller than Columbus, Ohio, but equally
as interesting. Architects consider it a national gem with plenty
of unique attractions, shopping, and scenery to enjoy.
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A Simpler Way of Life
Explore the Amish way of life in northern Indiana. Visit a baker,
noodle maker, weaver and buggy maker, or an RV manufacturer if you
want a little of the modern world. For dining, try the Dutch Essenhaus
or dine in an Amish home.
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A Time to Remember
Participate in an 1890's wedding with an authentic 19th century dinner
reception. Tour Conner Prairie, an auto museum, Opalescent Glass Factory,
James Dean Museum, and enjoy a sock hop as well.
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Georgia
Southern Delights with Harbor Lights
Visit lighthouses of the south. Tour Jekyll, St.Simon's, and Tybee
Islands, as well as Darien, Brunswick, and Savannah. Enjoy a dolphin
cruise, great seafood, and learn all about sea turtles.
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West
Virginia
Cruising Down the River
Cruise to and tour the beautiful Blennerhasset Island and Plantation.
Tour the mansion, take a wagon ride, and visit the on shore Blennerhasset
Museum. Tour a doll factory, stay in a historic hotel, and visit local
museums while enjoying fine riverside dining along the banks of the
Ohio River.
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New
York
Fruit of the Vines winding through the
Finger Lakes Region
Available March - December 2007 Suggested
3 days/2 nights
Welcome to the Finger Lakes region! Visit the newly opened New York
Wine & Culinary Center where guests will taste everything New York
has to offer —from the finest dining to hundreds of first-rate
vineyards and wine makers, plus a rich agricultural heritage.
Enjoy a special evening of food and wine
pairing at your hotel with top chef at Steamboat Landing.
Visit Weaver-View Farms an Amish Country
Store with history and old fashioned shopping on a 220 acre working
dairy farm. Special gift included.
Visit the Red Jacket Orchard located in
Geneva, N.Y. along the hills of Seneca Lake. Tour the facility for an
inside look at the workings of the largest growers of summer fruits
on the East Coast.
Stop for wine tasting at a Widmer Wine
Cellars on the Canandaigua Wine Trail. Sample one of the region's best
kept secrets and most talked about desserts— the Grape Pie!
Tour the facility and canning process at
Arbor Hill Grapery . Many of their products are open and available for
tasting. Also, sample the best of New York Cheese and award-winning
wines.
Enjoy a short presentation and food and
wine parings from a top chef at the Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty.
Dinner at Belhurst Castle , overlooking
the beautiful Seneca Lake. Construction began in 1885 and it took four
years and 50 people to build the castle.
New York Agricultural Experiment Station
—T our and learn about the wide variety of programs this organization
offers. Their mission is to strengthen the state's fruit and vegetable
industries— from 'the farm to the fork'.
Depart for home or add on another day of
excitement!
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Culinary Delights and Historic Sites
Hudson Valley New York - Available May
through October
Historic Hudson Valley is a network of
historic sites in Sleepy Hollow Country
Guided tour of West Point. A tour of the
academy and its museum offers insight into the history of American warfare,
while the grounds afford fine views.
Board the historic ship “The Commander
” , the last operating vessel that served in World War I, for a
cruise on the Hudson River with a boxed lunch.
Visit Boscobel Restoration, said to be
the most beautiful Federal Mansion in the country situated on the Hudson
River.
A visit to the lifelong home of Franklin
D. Roosevelt with interactive exhibits about the lives of Franklin and
Eleanor.
Lunch and tour at one of five award-winning,
student staffed restaurants of The Culinary Institute of America.
Enjoy a glimpse of the “Gilded Age”
at the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site and formal gardens.
Guided tour of Locust Grove, an Italianate
villa with 150 acres of romantic 19th century landscaped gardens.
Brotherhood Winery. Tour the original underground
cellars and learn about Champagne making, barrel aging and more. Also,
taste a variety of wines.
Kykuit, a Hudson Valley landmark known
for architecture, gardens, art, history, and spectacular scenery was
home to generations of the Rockefeller's .
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Lakes, Grapes and Gorges— Fall Foliage
Tour
Upper State New York Available September
- October 2007
At least 3 nights/four days
Welcome to the Finger Lakes— Guided
tour of the Corning Museum of Glass—galleries, glassblowing shows,
interactive science exhibits, and a shopping complex all devoted to
glass in its most dazzling and unexpected forms.
Factory tour at MacKenzie-Childs, Ltd .
maker of hand-made & painted home furnishings overlooking beautiful
Cayuga Lake. Tour the new visitor's center for an entertaining and informative
behind-the-scenes video of the production process . May be followed
by an interactive demonstration.
Visit Treleaven King Ferry Winery. Taste
their award winning wines made from selectively hand picked vinifera
grapes.
Lunch on board the Scenic Cayuga Lake cruise
. Enjoy the delightful experience of dining aboard the historic M.V.
Manhattan as it cruises on scenic Cayuga Lake.
Visit Taughannock Falls —part of the
breathtaking Taughannock State Park on Cayuga Lake, the falls cataract
has an incredible drop of 215 feet!
Stop at Sheldrake Point Vineyard &
Cafe , A great time, wonderful wines and fabulous views!
Dinner at Belhurst Castle —Overlooking
the beautiful Seneca Lake. Construction began in 1885 and it took four
years and 50 people to build the castle.
History and Lakes… Depart for a ride
on the Finger Lakes Scenic Railway ! Lunch at the Sherwood In n in Skaneateles
offers award winning fine dining and a breathtaking view of Skaneateles
Lake. Enjoy shopping and a stroll around the delightful village of Skaneateles.
Guided tour at Willard Chapel — The
only known Tiffany Chapel to exist . Louis Comfort Tiffany's work includes:
14 opalescent windows, 1 stained glass memorial window, 9 leaded glass
chandeliers, a mosaic memorial tablet and floor.
Enjoy a guided tour of Seward House in
Auburn, home of William H. Seward, Secretary of State to President Lincoln
and Johnson, and the leading figure in the purchasing of Alaska. Dinner
at the Springside Inn on Owasco Lake in Auburn.
Homeward Bound — Enjoy breakfast and
then depart for your trip home. En route stop at Letchworth State Park.
Renowned as the "Grand Canyon of the East," it's one of the
most scenically magnificent areas in the eastern U.S . The Genesee River
roars through the gorge over three major waterfalls between cliffs--as
high as 600 feet in some places.
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New York Tour
The Gilded Age View the lap of luxury
of the 1870's on a tour through the “turn of the century”
in the Adirondack Region of New York.
Check into the Inn at the Beeches ,
a 52 acre country estate with ponds and walking paths for a two night
stay. Enjoy a buffet dinner and take a trip down memory lane with
a Broadway styled show.
After a peaceful night and breakfast, take a trip into the Adirondacks.
Arrive at Great Camp Sagamore in Old Forge—the national historic
landmark has been a summer retreat of the Vanderbilt family for over
50 years. Take a guided walking tour and enjoy the “illusion
of roughing it” while experiencing luxurious amenities enjoyed
by all as early as 1914. Visit the Adirondack Museum and explore culture,
environment and history of the region. Then, board the W.W. Durant
for cocktails on the open upper deck. Enjoy a gourmet dinner as the
captain provides fascinating commentary.
After another peaceful night and breakfast,
travel to Sonnenberg Castle and Gardens —the mansion has forty
rooms and three floors. The gardens are incredible and can be explored
via tram. Enjoy a plated lunch at the Canandaigua Inn on the lake
and stroll along the waterfront.
Additional activities available to extend your tour include: a ride
up Gore Mountain, garnet mine treasure hunt, a “diamond”
treasure hunt, train rides through the region, The International Thousand
Islands, a day trip to Ottawa, or a visit to Cooperstown.
