September 16 – 22, 2012
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Special Features
- View New River Gorge, WV
- Tamarack, including Dinner
- Driving Tour of Lewisburg, WV including tour of Old Stone Church, Drive by of Carnegie Hall and Confederate Cemetery
- Tour Cold War Bunker and Greenbrier Hotel
- Ride two Railroads into the mountains of West Virginia including lunch and dinner
- American Mountain Theatre
- Cruise to Blennerhassett Island with guided tour of the mansion, wagon ride around the island and the museum with included lunch
- Farewell Lunch
The nostalgia of the steam and coal powered locomotives as they wind their way beside mountain streams, green meadows, and scenic mountains on their way up rocky peaks. Rivers rushing through narrow canyons. Waterfalls tumbling down steep hills into secluded alpine valleys. Vast forests ablaze with autumn color. This is what memories are made of! This is West Virginia!
Prices
Double: $1,165/pp
Single: $1,465/pp
Triple: $1,045/pp
Trip Protection Gold $105/pp
$100/pp if booked by April 30, 2012
Day 1, Sunday, September 16, 2012
Today is a travel day to Louisville, Kentucky. Unless delayed we should arrive in time for Drury’s complimentary drinks and hot hors’ devours buffet.
LODGING: Drury Inn & Suites
Day 2, Monday, September 17, 2012
We continue through Lexington and turn east across the hills of Kentucky into West Virginia. We visit the Canyon Rim Visitor Center for panoramic views of the gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge. We end the day with dinner and free time to visit the craft shops at Tamarack, the showcase for the state’s cultural heritage and traditions.
LODGING: Hampton Inn
MEALS: Breakfast Dinner
Day 3, Tuesday, September 18, 2012
We take a most interesting tour of a Cold War Bunker and a short tour of the elegant Greenbrier Hotel. Next, we do a driving tour of Lewisburg, West Virginia to view a cross shaped cemetery that is a mass grave for 95 unknown confederate soldiers killed in the Battle of Lewisburg. We drive by Carnegie Hall, a gift to the Female Institute by Andrew Carnegie, on our way to visit the Old Stone Church before crossing over into Virginia and a scenic route through the breath taking, beautiful, Shenandoah Valley. We cross over the Shenandoah Mountain back into West Virginia. Our destination is Elkins, West Virginia for 2 nights lodging.
LODGING: Hampton Inn
MEALS: Breakfast
Day 4, Wednesday, September 19, 2012
This is the day we have been waiting for! We are greeted at the depot with Appalachian
music before boarding our first train, The Salamander, waiting to take us to the High Falls of Cheat River. This 150’ wide and 18’tall waterfall is five miles from the closest human habitat. After viewing the falls, we continue on the Cheat Mountain Salamander. Watch for deer, bobcat and bear as this train takes us 21 miles deep into the heart of the wilderness. Lastly, we board the Durbin Rocket, a steam locomotive, for a 10 mile ride along the Greenbrier River. At the conclusion of this train tour we enjoy dinner at the Durbin Depot. We complete our tour day with the show at the American Mountain Theatre which showcases a wide variety of mountain music.
LODGING: Hampton Inn
MEALS: Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Day 5, Thursday, September 20, 2012
We depart for a journey into the past, as we board our riverboat bound for Blennerhassett
Island. Harmon Blennerhassett built a sumptuous mansion on this lovely, peaceful island. We then have a guided tour of the mansion as well as a horse drawn trolley tour around this tiny island. We will also visit the museum. Overnight Parkersburg.
LODGING: Comfort Inn
MEALS: Breakfast
Day 6, Friday, September 21, 2012
We begin our journey back home today with our overnight in Effingham, Illinois.
LODGING: TBD
MEALS: Breakfast
Day 7, Saturday, September 22, 2012
How do you capture a memory? What do you take home from a vacation that brings a smile to your face? If you are one of those arriving in Springfield early this afternoon, you know the answer. It’s West Virginia Mountain Railroads and the Color of Fall!
MEALS: Breakfast Lunch