|
Michigan and More
Date: September 17-28, 2010 Click Here To Download Brochure (PDF) Meals: 12B, 1L, 8D Day 1
Day 2Today will find us headed for St. Louis, Missouri. We will visit the Joplin Museum Complex. This museum emphasizes the growth and development as the result of the mining in the Tri-State District. On display are assorted historical items from Joplin's mining era. We will arrive at our hotel and get ready for the evening events. Tonight we will enjoy a dinner cruise on the Mississippi River on a 19th century replica steamboat. Day 3This day starts with a visit to the famous Gateway Arch Riverfront. Explore the Museum of Westward Expansion. See how mountain men lived in the 1800's and take a peak into a covered wagon. If you are so inclined ride to the Top of the Arch on a tram, this will be on your own. The arch was completed in 1965 and is 630 feet high. Next we will stop at Shea's Gas Station Museum, and a favorite photo stop. It is an eclectic collection of over half a century of gas station memorabilia. Day 4Our first stop of the day is the unique House on the Rock. During the 1940's, a man named Alex Jordon discovered a 60 foot chimney of rock. It was here he decided to build a house. He built it as a week-end retreat and never intended it to be a tourist attraction. However, people kept coming to see this amazing house. Alex was a collector and he filled his home with all the many things he had collected, some rare and one of a kind. The House on the Rock is a trip through one man's wild and fantastic imagination. From here we will head on over to Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the Green Bay Packers. We will visit the Atrium at the Packer's Lambeau Field. We will visit the Prop Shop, see the Hall of Fame, tour the stadium, and visit Curly's Pub. Day 5Today we are headed to Sault Ste Marie, "The Place Where Michigan was Born." There are magical places on this planet that still speak to us, places so gorgeous. That is Sault Ste Marie. It is filled with rushing waterfalls, majestic forests, rocky coastlines and picturesque lighthouse. While here we will visit the Seul Choix Point Lighthouse and Museum. In 1886 Congress appropriated $15,000 to build a light and fog signal on the point. The museum and gift shop should be one of a kind experience. We will check into our hotel and get ready for the evening. We are going to go locking. The Soo Locks have been referred to as one of the great wonders of the world and it is still the largest waterway traffic system in the world. We are taking a scenic dinner cruise through the Soo Locks. Day 6Today should be awe inspiring. We are going to take the Agawa Canyon Scenic Railroad. This one day wilderness excursion will take us 114 miles north, over towering trestles, alongside pristine lakes and rivers, through awesome granite rock formations, and beautiful forests. It should be spectacular. Day 7Today is what we came so far to experience, Mackinaw Island. We will depart by ferry for the island. It is an island without cars, where horses and bicycles are still the favored modes of transportation. It's the slower, more leisurely pace of the past. We will have lunch at the Grand Hotel, opened in 1887. There is no place quite like it. Its front porch is the longest in the world and is what the Grand is famous for. After dinner we will enjoy a horse drawn carriage ride of the island. Day 8: Today we will turn around and head south down the other side of Michigan. We are headed for Frankenmuth, "Michigan's Little Bavaria." We will visit Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. In 1945 when Wally Bronner opened his little shop, little did he dream that it would one day become the world's largest Christmas Store. It is five acres of Christmas decorations and collectibles. Their Silent Night Memorial Chapel is open for viewing. We will check into our hotel and then have dinner at Zehnder's. It's tradition of good taste began 150 years ago. It is America's largest family restaurant featuring world famous family-style chicken dinners. Day 9This day will find us in Dearborn Michigan. We will visit the Henry Ford Museum or Greenfield Village, the nation's largest indoor-outdoor history complex. The collection contains many rare exhibits such as JFK's presidential limousine and President Lincoln's chair from the Ford Theatre. What a wonderful Museum this will be. After lunch we will head to Wapakoneta to visit Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum. This museum honors hometown hero Neil Armstrong. Included in the displays are a Gemini 8 Spacecraft, space suits, and a moon rock. The infinity Room gives visitors the feeling of being in space. We will check into our hotel and get ready for a visit and dinner at the Famous Old Time Music Company. It is dedicated to Bluegrass music. Learn the history of the music in an hour long program as it is played by local musicians. Day 10This morning we hard headed to Dayton, Ohio. We are going to visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. It is the largest of it type in the world. It traces the history of flight. Included in its exhibits are U.S. military planes, space capsules and early Presidential planes. After lunch it is on to Louisville, Kentucky. We are going to visit the Muhammad Ali Center. It is both a cultural attraction and an international education center that is inspired by the ideals of its founder. We will check into our hotel and get ready for a great dinner. We are having dinner at the Claudia Sanders Dinner House. This is the site of the original Kentucky Friend Chicken headquarters, started by Miss Claudia's husband, the Colonel. We will enjoy some Southern Hospitality and cooking combined with old fashioned family style service. Day 11: Our first stop of the day is at the National Corvette Museum. We will experience the succeeding generations and changes over the past 50 years of an American Classic, the Corvette. After lunch we will visit the Lost River Cave. This is Kentucky's only underground boat tour. It and the enchanting Butterfly Habitat await us. Ripley's Believe It or Not claims this rive is the shortest and deepest in the world. It is a true Kentucky Natural Wonder. Tonight we will be in Memphis. Day 12You know what today is? It is the end of the road for this trip. We can now say we have seen all that Michigan has to over and More. |
 |
Destination Trips
|
Today we hope on board and head north toward Michigan. Our first stop will be at Tulsa, Oklahoma, where we will visit the Gilcrease Museum. It houses the world's largest, most comprehensive collection of art and artifacts of the American West.
