Pennsylvania Treasures

Today we meet our fellow travelers and journey through Illinois and Indiana, and on to our destination in Dayton, Ohio.

Breakfast is included this morning at the hotel before we drive to the National Museum of the Air Force. We have lunch on our own in the Valkyrie Cafeteria at the museum before departing for Columbus, Ohio, where we meet our local guide at the German Village Society. This evening, we enjoy an included German dinner and entertainment at Schmidt’s Restaurant and Sausage Haus. (B,D)

After breakfast at the hotel, we make our way into Pennsylvania. We stop in Somerset at the Quecreek Mine rescue site. Arriving in Gettysburg, we check into our hotel before we enjoy an included dinner at the 1776 Dobbins House Tavern. (B,D)

We are off to the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitor’s Center and time to take in the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. We also see the Gettysburg Cyclorama. We’re joined by a local battlefield guide who takes us through the battlefield, including a stop at the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, where President Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address. After lunch on our own in the Visitor’s Center cafeteria, we tour the Eisenhower National Historic Site, the home and farm of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie Doud Eisenhower. Later this afternoon, we drive through the beautiful countryside of Lancaster County on our way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our first stop is at the Rocky Statue and the “Rocky Steps.” We check into the Hampton Inn Center City Hotel, our home for the next 2 nights. (B)

After breakfast at the hotel, our motor coach drops us off for a tour of the Philadelphia US Mint, the first U.S. Mint. Our day continues in the Independence Mall area. Stops and visits are included at the National Constitution Center, Betsy Ross Home, Liberty Bell, Franklin Court, and the Franklin burial site. This evening we gather at City Tavern for an included dinner, where servers in period dress serve up old-fashioned fare. After dinner, we are accompanied by a “colonial visitor” to Independence Hall, where we enjoy an after-hours tour. We are entertained by eavesdropping on Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin as they discuss the Declaration of Independence. (B,D)

We enjoy an included breakfast at the hotel before traveling across Pennsylvania to the Flight 93 National Memorial, located at the site of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, which was hijacked on September 11, 2001. Later in the afternoon, we continue on toward Columbus, Ohio, where our rooms await us at the Hampton Inn East. (B)

Breakfast is included at the hotel before we continue our journey across Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois toward home. (B)