One of the new spring tours for 2009 takes you to the beautiful “Delmarva” area of the eastern seaboard. (That’s Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, for those not familiar with the term). Also added are New Jersey destinations to comprise a beautiful rail and ocean-themed circle from Baltimore.

Rail-oriented travel includes the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, the steam-powered Wilmington & Western Railroad, SEPTA, New Jersey Transit’s Atlantic City Line, two rides on Amtrak (including one on the 135mph Acela Express) and dinner on the new Bay Creek Railway. On the water, you'll cruise the harbor at Annapolis, MD, ride the Lewes ferry from Cape May, NJ to Delaware’s Delmarva Peninsula, cruise the Miles River in St. Michaels, MD and travel by boat to famed Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay.

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Call 877-929-7245 for air and rail fares and schedules from your city to and from Baltimore.

• Sightseeing in Baltimore, Annapolis and Cape May
• A visit to The Hagley Museum
• Longwood Gardens
• The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, MD
• Visits to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis; Nauticus; and the Mariner’s Museum in Norfolk/Newport News, VA

• All hotels
• Tour manager services
• Attractions admissions
• Meals noted as included below
• Rail, boat, motorcoach and ferry transportation
• Luggage handling from arrival at the hotel on Day One to drop-offs at BWI Amtrak on Day Eleven.
• Not included are connecting transportation to/from Baltimore, other meals, alcoholic beverages and items of a personal nature.

Day One: Arrivals in Baltimore
The program begins with independent arrivals into Baltimore, MD. No activities are planned today, as participants will be arriving throughout the day. An overnight at the Days Inn Inner Harbor in the downtown area is included.

Day Two: (D) Fort McHenry; Baltimore & Ohio RR Museum; into Annapolis; Welcome Dinner.
This morning you first visit Fort McHenry, where the words to “The Star Spangled Banner” were composed by Francis Scott Key while observing the fort under fire during the War of 1812.

Then return to downtown Baltimore and visit the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. The B&O Museum houses what may be the most significant railway collection in the United States, as the B&O was the first long-distance railroad built on the continent. A company with a true sense of history, the B&O saved equipment from the earliest years of the company to the 1960s. Indeed, the B&O Museum is now affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution!

Treasures include a rare “Camelback” steam engine, the streamlined observation car from the “Columbian” (complete with its art-deco interior furnishings), and the first diesel engine used on a Class One railroad in the late 1920s. While many of the trains in the collection come from the B&O, other exhibits come from lines that later merged with the B&O (eventually forming today’s CSX railway) including such wonders as a huge Chesapeake and Ohio “Allegheny” articulated steam engine, the most powerful steamer ever built. Enjoy a ride on the historic “First Mile” of the B&O and explore the elegant 1850s round-house that is the center-piece of the collection. This National Historic Landmark was severely damaged by a record wet snowfall a few years ago, but has been exquisitely restored.

The museum visit ends about lunch time, when you return to the Inner Harbor area for free time to visit the restaurants, shops and museums in this lovely area. Sightseeing possibilities include the Baltimore Maritime Museum, Maryland Science Center and IMAX Theatre, National Aquarium, or the USS Constellation Museum. The USS Cconstellation is the only Civil War era ship still afloat and was the last all-sail warship built by the U.S. Navy. In late afternoon, you will depart for Annapolis and a Welcome Dinner. Stay two nights at the Country Inns &Suites by Carlson in Annapolis.

Day Three: (B,D) Annapolis sightseeing city tour; U.S. Naval Academy; William Paca House; harbor cruise.
The morning begins with a sightseeing tour of Annapolis, followed by visits to the U.S. Naval Academy (walking tour) and a visit to the William Paca House and Gardens nearby. Paca was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Maryland; and his Georgian style home (built in the mid-eighteenth century and surrounded by lovely gardens) is a showplace. Following these visits, you have free time to enjoy an independent lunch on the inner harbor, visit other historic sites, shop, or simply sit in the sun enjoying the views until your late afternoon boat cruise encompassing the harbor, Severn River and views of Annapolis from the water. Dinner is again included at one of the fine restaurants in town.

Day Four: (B,L,D) Ride Acela Express; Hagley Museum; Delaware Toy & Miniature Museum; Read House and Gardens; into Chadds Ford PA.
The motorcoach drops us at the BWI Amtrak station for a fast Acela Express ride to Wilmington, Delaware. These are North America’s fastest trains. On Amtrak’s superbly engineered ex-Pennsylvania RR mainline, you cruise at speeds up to 135mph as you cross coastal estuaries, the Susquehanna River and follow the northern shores of the Chesapeake Bay.

You re-board the coach at Wilmington for a visit to the Brandywine Valley’s Hagley Museum and an included luncheon. Hagley was the original location of the great Du Pont gunpowder mills, estate and gardens and is both a scenic, historic and scientific adventure. Nearby, you visit the Delaware Toy & Miniature Museum, which includes both antique and contemporary miniatures, dollhouses, toy trains, boats and planes dating from the 18th century to the present.

In later afternoon you drive to New Castle Delaware, which was settled by the Dutch in the 17th century. The village still retains a treasure of historic 18th and 19th century buildings. Visit Read House and Gardens, built at the beginning of the 19th century by a son of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. A Victorian garden surrounds the house. You also make a photo stop at the 1832 ticket office of the New Castle and Frenchtown Railway and view wooden rails on stone sleepers (ties) reconstructed nearby. The included dinner is in the historic area and features foods with an early American, Dutch and Swedish flavor. You stay two nights at the charming Brandywine River Hotel in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Day Five: (B,L,D) Longwood Gardens; Wilmington & Western RR.
The morning is spent at famed Longwood Gardens, which should be in beautiful spring bloom at this time of year. Pierre S. du Pont originally bought this property as a country estate. It now contains numerous fountains, two lakes, 11,000 types of plants, a 3.5 acre conservatory, a formal rose garden, and woodlands. Lunch is included on site.

Drive to the outskirts of Wilmington to board the Wilmington & Western Railroad’s normally steam-powered “Mt. Cuba Express” for a 1-1/2 hour ride through the Red Clay Valley. The W&W line was nearly destroyed four years ago by a hurricane-type storm but has been completely rebuilt and offers a very scenic ride with repeated crossings of the Red Clay River. Dinner is included this evening at the Brandywine Prime restaurant next to the inn.

Day Six: (B) Ride SEPTA; NJ Transit; Smithville; into Cape May NJ.
You make a short transfer from your hotel to Elwyn and board SEPTA for the ride into Philadelphia. You ride on an electrified former Pennsylvania RR route through the prosperous suburbs southwest of Philadelphia. Enroute your tracks pass directly through the campus of the renowned Swarthmore College. You detrain to explore the magnificent 30th Street Station, one of the last true “palaces of travel” to be completed in the United States. The building was opened by the Pennsylvania RR in 1934 and has been stunningly restored.

You continue on New Jersey Transit’s Atlantic City Line to Absecon NJ. The Atlantic City route was the joint speedway of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines and is famous for being featured in the game of “Monopoly”. NJ Transit trains reach 80mph speeds as they fly across the forests and farmlands of southern New Jersey.

At Absecon re-board the motorcoach for a short drive to Smithville NJ. Historic Smithville is a quaint destination shopping village with restaurants and dozens of shops to enjoy. And yes, there is a miniature train and carousel to enjoy as well! You have time here for independent lunches and browsing before continuing on to the famous Victorian resort of Cape May, New Jersey, where you stay two nights at the beautiful, historic Congress Hall Hotel across the street from the beach. Congress Hall has hosted guests since the 19th century and has been lovingly restored.

Day Seven: (B) Cape May.
This morning you take a guided tour of the village of Cape May and visit the Emlen Physick Estate. The rest of the day is ours to enjoy as you wish. Swimming would not be in high season at this time of year (although the beaches are open and you can walk along the beautiful sandy beach). Cape May is full of other possible activities. Numerous tours operate by rubber tire trolley, or you can enjoy the town by walking. The entire village of Cape May is a National Historic Site, and the display of restored Victoriana is unmatched! You could visit Victorian homes for tours or tea, go shopping, tour Fisherman’s Wharf or the World War II historic sites, or visit the lighthouse and Cape May Point. Or you could just stroll and photograph the beautiful surroundings.

Day Eight: (L) Lewes Ferry; Biggs Museum; Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum; into Salisbury, MD.
This morning you ride the Lewes Ferry from Cape May to Lewes, DE, crossing the Delaware Bay as it outlets to the Atlantic. Upon arrival on the rural Delmarva Peninsula, you drive to Dover, where you visit the Biggs Museum of American Art in the capital city. The museum is based on the personal art collection of Sewell Biggs and contains incredible American art, including works by Albert Bierstadt and George Inness of the Hudson River School; William Merritt Chase; the Impressionist Childe Hassam; Charles Wilson Peale and Gilbert Stuart. Modern art also is represented, as well as fine furniture of the Colonial and Federal periods.

You then drive to the lovely village of St. Michaels, MD, which was a major port and ship-building center in the colonial period. Now it serves as the yachting center for the area. Following an included luncheon, you visit the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, seeing various bay craft, ship models, ship paintings, and the Hooper Strait Lighthouse (ca 1879) on the museum grounds. A history of the vitally important Chesapeake Bay oystering industry also is depicted here. During your visit, a cruise on the Miles River on the Patriot of St. Michaels is included. The hotel tonight is the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson in Salisbury, Maryland.

Day Nine: (B,D) Cruise to Tangier Island; Bay Creek Railway dinner train; into Newport News, VA.
Drive to Onancock this morning, located on the eastern shore of Virginia. Your boat cruise is on the Captain Eulice, which takes us to the Chesapeake Bay’s car-free Tangier Island in time for an independent lunch. The island was settled in the 18th century, although legend has it that the famous Captain John Smith of Jamestown first sighted it in 1608. Here you can watch the watermen as they prepare to go fishing for seafood found in the Chesapeake Bay: soft shell crab, clams, shrimp, and flounder. Today this area is a major center for the provision of seafood to U.S. markets.

You return from the island in mid-afternoon and drive on to Cape Charles to ride one of the newest dinner trains in the U. S., the Bay Creek Railway dinner train. This line uses a restored 1913 former Interurban car, converted to a self-propelled “Doodlebug”. The ride travels on the former Pennsylvania RR Delmarva Line, which provided the Pennsy with a short route from Wilmington to Norfolk, although trains had to cross the outlet of the Chesapeake Bay on a ferry!

Following your ride, you cross through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel and the Hampton Roads Bridge and Tunnel to the Hampton Roads area. You quite literally “go to sea” for over 20 miles on these remarkable highway crossings! The final two hotel nights are spent at the colorful Marriott Newport News at City Center.

Day Ten: Norfolk Botanical Garden; Nauticus; Mariners’ Museum.
The Norfolk Botanical Garden is one of the largest in the U.S. and is filled with roses, azaleas and rhododendrons as well as tropical plants in a special pavilion. Following your visit, you travel on to Nauticus for touring and independent lunches. This hands-on science center explores the naval and economic uses of the sea and also contains a museum dedicated to the naval history of the Hampton Roads area. Of special interest is the battleship USS Wisconsin, which is open for touring.

Keeping to the maritime theme, you return to Newport News and visit the Mariners’ Museum. This superb museum contains marine art, scrimshaw, navigational instruments, figureheads, a collection of miniature ships, and the Hall of Steam. It also provides a history of the U.S. Navy and, of special interest, an exhibit and relics of the American ironclad USS Monitor, which fought a naval battle with the Confederate ironclad CSS Merrimac during the Civil War.

Day Eleven: To Baltimore on Amtrak; tour ends.
Travel on Amtrak north this morning over routes of the CSX rail system and on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. From Newport News to Richmond you ride the former Chesapeake and Ohio mainline through Williamsburg. You continue on CSX’s former Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac line, which crosses the Rappahannock River and follows the Potomac to Washington. Enroute you actually traverse a bitterly contested portion of the Civil War battlefield at Fredericksburg. Finally, you reach speeds of 125mph on the quick sprint north from Washington to the BWI (Baltimore Airport) station. You will depart Newport News on Amtrak at 9:00 a.m., arriving at the BWI (Baltimore airport) Amtrak station at 1:53 p.m., where this tour ends.

   

   

   

 Departure Dates:

• May 13-23, 2009

 Per Person Rates:

• $2,699 per person (double occupancy)
• $3,299 per person (single occupancy)