Day 1 – Saturday, September 9 2023 - MBS, DWe will depart Grand Rapids this morning and enjoy our breakfast snacks and coffee as we head through Canada toward New England. We will make a stop for lunch on your own, and take a stretch break at Niagara Falls. We will enjoy a buffet dinner at The Retreat before we head to our hotel in Newport for the night.Day 2 – Sunday, September 10, 2023 - CB, DToday we will we will meet “Mrs. Caroline Astor”, the Grand Dame of Newport Society and head of the “400”, who will give us a 19th Century City Tour. After we check into our hotel, we will enjoy an interactive Gilded Age Murder Mystery performed by local performers from The Marley Bridges Theater Company.Day 3 – Monday, September 11, 2023 - CB, DThis morning we will visit The Marble House, the “summer cottage” of Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt and a social and architectural landmark of Newport. Our guide will point out some shops along Belleview Ave, whose boutiques were built for the mansion owners. We will end the day with a narrated harbor cruise aboard the Gansett, followed by dinner at LaForge Casino where Gilded Age society played croquet and tennis. Following dinner, there will be a Gilded Age Cotillion with live music and easy dance steps.Day 4 – Tuesday, September 12, 2023 - CB, DWe will head to Salem today, meet our guide, and visit the House of the Seven Gables, made famous by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1851 novel. Lunch will be on your own at Pickering Wharf, then we will continue to Gloucester, where we will be greeted by the iconic “The Man at the Wheel”, a statue commissioned in memory of of the thousands of fishermen lost at sea. Gloucester is America’s oldest seaport. We will discover Cape Ann’s maritime history, and see where many films have been made, including The Perfect Storm and Captains Courageous. Dinner is once again included.Day 5 - Wednesday, September 13, 2023- CB, DAfter breakfast, we will continue our tour of Cape Ann, including a harbor cruise where we will learn about lobsters and lobstering on board the King Eider. We’ll also enjoy a narrated tour of Gloucester Harbor, including the fishing fleet, Ten Pound Island, Rocky Neck Art Colony, Norman’s Woe and much more. Next we will head to Essex, home to some of the best clam flats in the world. Lunch will be on your own in Rockport, with its Bearskin Neck art colony and famous “Motif #1” fishing shack off the main pier. You will have some time to shop in the enticing gift shops, galleries, clothing stores, candy stores, and boutiques. Dinner will be included.Day 6 - Thursday, September 14, 2023- CB, DWe will check out of our hotel this morning and head north into Maine. We will take a picture stop at Cape Neddick Light, fondly know as “The Nubble”. After a stop at Stonewall Kitchen, a specialty food producer based in York, ME we will have lunch on our own at Perkings Cove, Ogunquit, a picturesque seaside resort. Along the way, you can shoot pictures of the jagged rocks, lobster boats, and lighthouses as we continue north to Kennebunkport, driving by Walkers Point, home of former President George Bush, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. This evening we will return to Ogunquit and check into our hotel before enjoying a traditional lobster bake.
Day 7- Friday, September 15, 2023- CB, DToday we travel the coastline to beautiful Boothbay Harbor, where you will be captivated by quiet coves, rocky shores and island lighthouses. We will enjoy a harbor cruise to Seal Rocks, passing lighthouses and seabirds on the way. In the afternoon you will have time to browse the shops and boutiques. As we head south, we will stop in Portland, described by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow as “the beautiful town by the sea”. This evening we will enjoy dinner at Jonathon’s restaurant, a local favorite.Day 8- Saturday, September 16, 2023- CB, DWe say goodbye to lovely New England and start our journey home. We will have a farewell dinner at our hotel, 41 Lakefront in Geneva New York.Day 9- Sunday, September 17, 2023- CBAfter we check out of our hotel this morning, we will make the last stretch of our trip home. Approximate arrival time in Grand Rapids is 7:00 pm. We will not be making a dinner stop.
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