West Virginia Heritage Tour

Dates
October 8- 11, 2011

Costs

• Early Bird Registration by June 9: $490.00 per person based on double occupancy; $640.00 single occupancy
• Registration after June 9: $530.00 per person based on double occupancy; $680.00 single occupancy
• Tour includes: travel by coach bus, three nights lodging, four breakfasts, one lunch, two dinners, sternwheeler trip and tour fees

Description

Activity Level: Easy to moderate

The Heritage Tour will feature some of West Virginia’s finest arts and crafts, such as the art of blowing glass, quilting and rug hooking, as well as some history of the western frontier.

Our bus will depart from Charleston in the early afternoon on Saturday, October 8, and arrive in Parkersburg for check-in at the Blennerhassett Hotel. We’ll leave the hotel and travel by bus to board a sternwheeler and enjoy a relaxing twenty minute ride on the Ohio River to Blennerhassett Island. Once on the island, we will tour the reconstructed mansion where Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett resided in 1805. The island will be illuminated with candlelight and costumed guides will lead us on tours of the mansion. A “harvest dinner” will be provided in the covered shelter on the island before we board the boat and head back to shore. (Sorry, there are no options for dietary restrictions).

Two nights will be spent at the Blennerhassett Hotel, a lovely restored hotel run by the Clarion chain, in Parkersburg, West Virginia. After breakfast on Sunday we will hear a local Master Gardener’s presentation “Blennerhassett Gardens, Then and Now.” This will be followed by a walking tour through the historic district of Juliana Square with its beautiful Victorian homes and well-kept gardens. Several churches are within walking distance of the hotel, as well.

At noon we will board our bus for the short ride to Fort Boreman. Rich with civil war history, Fort Boreman is strategically located at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. After enjoying a box lunch, we will continue our bus trip to the Edison Arboretum, a Wood Count Master Gardeners project. The Arboretum is not only an outdoor classroom, but a training area for local athletes. A local Master Gardener will be on hand to answer questions and provide information about the project. From there we continue on to the Coldwater Creek Outlet and Distribution Center at Mineral Springs for a shopping excursion.

After shopping, we return to the hotel for dinner and a visit from “Margaret Blennerhassett.” Afterward, sleep well and be ready for another day of touring!

After breakfast and check-out on Monday, we will head to Fenton Art Glass in Williamstown. Here we will tour the factory and watch the glass blowers and artists at work. Our next stop will be The Woolen Willow, a charming quilt shop, and The Painted Cupboard, next door, for crafts, antiques and primitives. Quilt fabric, yarns and woolens for rug hooking and appliqué are available for all you fabriholics!

Next, we will travel over the bridge to Marietta, Ohio, for lunch and check-in at the Lafayette Hotel. This quaint river front hotel is within walking distance of boutique type shopping and several options for dinner (on your own).

Tuesday morning after a complimentary breakfast at the Lafayette, we board the bus and go back to Williamstown for a visit to the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. We will hear a presentation explaining the project to restore the islands to their natural state following years of farming and industry. There is also a walking trail bordered by butterfly attracting plants and a rain garden that has been established to control run-off from the building.

On our return trip, we will stop at the Williamstown Wetland Trail to see what can be done with an area which is unfit for construction. Adjacent to this area is DaVinci’s, a popular lunch spot where we will have lunch (on your own). After lunch, we’ll stop briefly at another Master Gardener project, The Armstrong Garden. A vacant lot has been turned into a restful area containing a native plant garden, rose garden and butterfly attracting plants. The bus will then depart for the trip back to Charleston in time to check-in at your hotel and attend the conference’s opening reception, The Taste of West Virginia!

Schedule

Saturday, October 8

2 p.m. – Depart from Charleston for Blennerhassett Hotel and check-in

5:45 p.m. Leave the hotel for evening events, including:

• Sternwheeler trip to Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park
• Candlelight tour of mansion
• Harvest dinner
• Transportation back to the hotel

Sunday, October 9

Breakfast at the hotel

Activities for the day include:

• “ Blennerhassett Gardens, Then and Now,” lecture presented by Linda Watkins, Wood County Master Gardener
• Morning walking tour of Juliana Square gardens
• Bus trip from hotel (departure 12:00 noon) for Fort Boreman (box lunch)
• Edison Arboretum Tour (Wood County Master Gardener Project)
• Coldwater Creek Outlet and Distribution Center
• Dinner with entertainment

Monday, October 10

Breakfast at the hotel and check-out

9 a.m.- Depart for day’s activities which include:

• Fenton Art Glass tour and shopping
• Woolen Willow and Painted Cupboard – quilting, rug hooking, yarns, crafts, antiques and primitives
• Travel to Marietta for lunch on your own
• Check-in at Lafayette Hotel with dinner on your own

Tuesday, October 11

Continental breakfast at the hotel

9:30 a.m. – Depart for day’s activities which include:

• Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge
• Williamstown Wetland Trail
• Lunch at DaVinci’s (on your own)
• Visit Armstrong Garden, a Wood County Master Gardener Project
• Arrive in Charleston for check-in and the 2011 IMG Conference opening reception, The Taste of West Virginia