250th Anniversary Tour of our First Constitution

9 Day Tour: September 2-10, 2027

Pricing for 250th Anniversary Tour

Tour Highlights

• Independence National Historic Site
• Philadelphia
• Valley Forge
• Penn Museum
• Bethlehem, PA
• Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
• Lancaster County
• National Christmas Center
• Gettysburg Battlefield
• Hershey
• Fallingwater House
• Heinz Museum
• LIMIT 14

Tour Includes

• Round trip airfare from Chicago
• First Class Hotel Accommodations
• All Breakfasts and 5 Dinners
• Deluxe Motorcoach Transportation
• Admissions to all listed Attractions
• Round trip airport transfers in the Chicagoland area
• Guided by Bill Ball
• Baggage Handling
• All Gratuities

Tour Itinerary

Day One The City of Brotherly Love awaits us today. We fly into Philadelphia and tour the city. The Independence National Historic Site contains the buildings associated with our early government including the first Congress Hall, the room where Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and the early federal bank. The highlight, though, may be seeing The Liberty Bell firsthand.

Day Two We continue to explore the city that gave us 250 years ago the Articles of Confederation—our first Constitution. To help honor that, we begin the day at the Constitution Center which has many of the artifacts that make our nation special including Justice O’Connor’s robe, Roosevelt’s microphone from his fireplace chats, a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln and life size bronzes of all of the signers of the Constitution.  This is the best collection of American historic items. We next head to the famous steps Rocky ran up. You will have the option to do the same (or just watch the nerds that do, like me). The city tower was, by law, (until recently) to be the highest point in the city. It is still the largest free-standing masonry building in the world and the largest city hall in the world. Our final stop is the fabulous Penn Museum—one of the leading institutions featuring Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Central American and Asian masterpieces. University of Pennsylvania collected these items on over 400 expeditions. The ancient world in place!

Day Three We journey outside of Philadelphia today to visit Valley Forge, one of the most famous sites of the Revolutionary War. We will tour the battlefield, see the house that Washington occupied during the long winter, the officers’ quarters, fortifications and more. We continue on to Bethlehem, where it is Christmas all year long, but there is also much more. Built by Moravian settlers more than three centuries ago, there is much history to explore. We see the 1740 Gemein Haus—a five story log cabin, the industrial quarter (where we learn about Bethlehem’s early entry into the steel industry) and the Star of Bethlehem.

Day Four We begin our day looking back 250 years at the Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site. This is one of the most comprehensive historic sites in the US. It includes the furnaces that furnished the iron for the Revolutionary War, the mansion of the owners, blacksmith shop, boarding houses for workers and the stables. A great glimpse into an essential component of US independence. We follow this by visiting the Amish territory around Lancaster. We’ll examine lifestyle, religion and future of one of America’s most interesting groups.

Day Five We start the day with one more Lancaster County essential—the National Christmas Center. This has the largest collection of Christmas decorations, items and models of Christmas past. From there we change eras in American history and visit the famous battlefield in the Civil War.  Gettysburg was the South’s biggest advance into the north and was the beginning of the end for the successionists. We have a chance to reflect on the battle, the war and the “Four score and seven years” from our beginning. We end the day in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Day Six We visit two incredible sites in Hershey. One you know and one you don’t—but should. The one you should know is the beautiful Hershey Gardens. One of the largest botanical gardens in the world—it features 11 themed gardens, a butterfly house, a small animal collection, a giant tropical conservancy and a rose garden to die for. This is a photographer’s dream and a highlight of your trip. Now the site you could have anticipated is of course Hershey World. This part education center, part entertainment complex and all delicious will enchant you. This “World” includes a factory tour, history of chocolate from its earliest uses and a 4D theater among many other zones. Best of all, you get free chocolate! Overnight in Hershey.

Day Seven Today we visit the most iconic private home in America—Fallingwater House. This is Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece and rated as the most important house architecturally by the Society of Architects. The grounds are magnificent and the house is just plain amazing. We head on to Pittsburgh—a city with a steel past and a high-tech future. It has rejuvenated itself from a dirty industrial city to one of the most beautiful, interesting destinations in the US.

Day Eight There is so much to see and do in Pittsburgh that Bill had to choose the best of the best. That includes the most extensive collection of Andy Warhol art from Brillo Pads to Campbell Soup to Princess Diana his work is creative, commercial and sometimes just plain odd. We take the famous Duquesne Incline up to a panorama point overlooking this reborn city. We follow that with a visit to Point State Park where the Mongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers meet. We end the day at the Heinz Museum, voted #1 history museum in the US with its collection that includes the world’s oldest jeep, Westinghouse’s Tiffany china, John Cigna Harley and best of all, Mr. Roger’s original neighborhood set for PBS.

Day Nine We have one last very special surprise for you before you head home with memories and reflection on the last 250 years since our first Constitution.