October 22-24 (Friday-Sunday)

Day 1: Welcome Aboard! Travel in comfort aboard our deluxe motor coach to the southern seacoast of Connecticut. Upon our arrival we will visit the Mystic Seaport Museum. The maritime museum is the nation’s largest and includes a re-creation of a 19^th-century seafaring community. Climb aboard a tall ship, visit period homes and shops, view the collections of marine art and artifacts, and enjoy demonstrations daily. After checking into the Best Western Sovereign for the next two nights, we are treated to a delicious dinner at the Seamen’s Inne.

Day 2: After a hearty continental breakfast we meet our step-on guide, and depart for a narrated driving tour of the area. Included on our tour are Stonington Village where you will see the commercial fishing fleet and Stonington Point where you can view three states. Next we depart for Groton, Connecticut, the home of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum and the USS Nautilus. Take a self-guided tour through the museum and peer into the lives of the men and women who bravely serve our nation traveling the ocean depths in “sharks of steel.” Aboard the retired USS Nautilus, explore the spaces where the crew of this amazing submarine worked, ate, slept, and entertained themselves on their long voyages far beneath the ocean’s waves. We cross the river to New London, Connecticut next to drive through the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Our final stops will be on board the Essex Steam Train for a ride along the picturesque Connecticut River Valley, followed by a riverboat cruise on the Connecticut River. After returning to our hotel you will have leisure time to sit, relax and enjoy dinner on your own at the hotel’s restaurant at your leisure.

Day 3: After a hearty continental breakfast we depart for New Haven, Connecticut, the home of the highly esteemed Yale University. Upon our arrival at the Visitor Center, we meet our student guide and depart on a walking tour of this university that will feature major campus highlights, and provide you with a historical and social overview of life at the university. After our tour we depart for home with fond memories of our New England get-away and it’s rich maritime history.

Gunther 6:00 AM 8:15 PM