Day 1: With great anticipation we depart Kansas headed east to Virginia and North Carolina. Today we travel through Kansas and Missouri and spend the night in Fairview Heights, IL.

2: We continue east today traveling through Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky to get to Barboursville, WV, for the night.

3: A short drive this morning brings us to Beckley and the Exhibition Coal Mine and Museum. Here we take an underground tour with a veteran miner who gives firsthand accounts of working in the mines. There is also time to visit the buildings to better understand what life was like in an early 20th-century coal camp. While still in Beckley we visit Tamarack, an artisan center featuring the works by West Virginians. Later we travel into Virginia to Richmond for the night.

4: Just down the road from Richmond is Colonial Williamsburg, the largest outdoor educational living museum in the country. We spend the day immersed in the 18th-century life of Williamsburg. We experience re-enactments of pivotal events in history, walk the streets and visit the restored buildings which helps us understand Williamsburg’s place in American history. Night in Williamsburg.

5: This morning we visit the Norfolk Botanical Garden. The 175-acre garden features over 50 themed and natural gardens. A box lunch is included. This afternoon we visit the Virginia Beach Aquarium before we check into our oceanfront hotel in Virginia Beach which will be our home for the next three nights. Dinner is included this evening.

6: This morning we visit Virginia’s Eastern Shore by way of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. There is time to explore and have lunch on your own in the quaint bayside village of Cape Charles. Next we stop at the Chatham Vineyards and Winery. This evening we go to Scope Arena in downtown Norfolk to attend the Virginia International Tattoo Festival. Blending tradition and entertainment, including bagpipers, military bands, fife and drum corps, and drill teams are just some of the over 1,000 performers who come to Virginia once a year for the festival. Dinner this evening is included at Waterman’s Surfside Grille, an oceanfront favorite for decades.

7: Our first stop today is at the Virginia Surf and Rescue Museum. The museum honors and preserves the history of Virginia's maritime heritage, coastal communities, the United States Lifesaving Service, and the United States Coast Guard along the Atlantic coast. Next we head into Norfolk for a narrated Norfolk Harbor/Naval Base tour. Step aboard the Victory Rover Cruise for a front row seat to the naval fleet. We’ll tour one of the world’s busiest seaports including the world’s largest naval base, home of the Atlantic Fleet. Next we visit the Nauticus Museum, featuring the Battleship Wisconsin. There is time to visit the museum which showcases our naval history and to walk on board the USS Wisconsin. Later this afternoon we return to our hotel to relax or explore the boardwalk. This evening we visit the Virginia Beach Military Aviation Museum. With over 70 planes from the WWI and WWII era many stories of brave men and women come to life in the museum. Dinner is included with USO style singers to entertain us.

8: This morning we are headed south to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. “Banker” horses roam free across the northern stretches of the Outer Banks. Today we hear about this unique breed whose history in the Outer Banks dates back to the 1500’s. As we continue south we encounter the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, the first of many we see on the Outer Banks. After we check into our hotel for the next three nights, dinner is included at the Sugarcreek Restaurant.

9: We continue our time on the Outer Banks with a stop at the Wright Brothers Memorial. Wind, sand, and a dream of flight brought Wilbur and Orville Wright to Kitty Hawk, NC, where, after four years of scientific experimentation, they achieved the first successful airplane flights on December 17, 1903. We visit the monument to the Wright Brothers near where they had their historic first flight. At Roanoke Island Festival Park we visit a replica of Sir Walter Raleigh’s merchant ship, Elizabeth II. There are also demonstrations of woodworking, blacksmithing and leatherworking. We also view the film “The Legend of Two-Path” about the impact of the colonists’ arrival on Native American life. Dinner this evening is included at Captain George’s Seafood Buffet. Night in Nags Head.

10: Traveling south from Nags Head we visit Bodie Island Lighthouse and Cape Hatteras Lighthouse as we travel along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The National Seashore is one of the most extensive linear stretches of undeveloped coastline on the Atlantic coast. A one hour ferry ride gives time to enjoy our box lunch before bringing us to Ocracoke Island considered the pearl of the outer banks. Once home to legendary pirate, Blackbeard, the island enchants visitors with 13 miles of pristine beaches and quaint fishing villages. We have a chance to stop at a beach before getting back on the ferry and heading back to Nags Head. Dinner tonight is included at Lone Cedar Cafe. Night in Nags Head.

11: This morning we depart the Outer Banks and begin our journey back to the midwest. A stop near Creswell at Somerset Place offers a comprehensive and realistic view of 19th century life on a large North Carolina Plantation. In the afternoon we make a stop in Raleigh to see the North Carolina State Capitol before continuing to Statesville for the night.

12: Today we visit Chimney Rock a giant granite monolith that rises 315 feet above the foot of the gorge in which it stands. An elevator brings us to the top allowing exceptional views of the surrounding hills. Lunch is included before we continue to Cookeville, TN, for the night.

13: We depart the Volunteer State and are headed to Paducah, KY, this morning. After an included lunch you have a choice to visit the National Quilt Museum OR take a tour of Paducah including the Flood Wall Murals. Later we continue to St. Peters, MO, for the night.

14: Our final day of travel brings us through Missouri and into Kansas as we think about the memories we have made along the way.