Afternoon: Arrive at Quality Inn in Lewisburg, WV. (Phone: 304-645-7722) You may begin checking in at 3 p.m. We will not have a formal check-in for Road Scholar, but will meet in the dining room of the Quality Inn at 6:00 p.m. for dinner, introductions and an overview of the week.

Dinner: We will meet for dinner in the dining room at 6 p.m.

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast will be at the hotel.

Morning: Tour the Greenbrier Cold War Bunker...code name "Greek Island." This was to be a relocation facility for the Congress of the United States in the event of a nuclear attack. .

Lunch: Lunch will be included.

Afternoon: Visit the City of Lewisburg. A former mayor was fond of saying, "Only two kinds of people ever leave Lewisburg - those who will return and those who wish they could." In 1978, a 236-acre area in the heart of Lewisburg was designated a National Register Historic District. This 221-year-old town with many 18th- and 19th-century buildings is set amid the Allegheny Mountains and is where the steeple clock still tolls the hour and the church bells ring out on Sunday mornings. Old structures, converted to new purposes, are still in use, and antebellum homes (often remaining in the same families for generations) are still occupied..

Dinner: Dinner will be included.

Evening: Free time

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

We will travel to Beckley for a performance of "Coal Camp Memories" and study of coal mining.

Note: Due to traveling out of town for the experiences of the day, we will be unable to return to the motel before we return for the evening around 8 p.m

Breakfast: Breakfast will be at the hotel.

Morning: Travel to Beckley WV for Karen Vuranch's presentation of "Coal Camp Memories" and then on to the Canyon Rim Visitor Center to view a portion of the New River Gorge and the New River Gorge Bridge. The New River is a rugged, white water river, flowing northward through deep canyons, the New River is among the oldest rivers on the continent. Located in southern West Virginia, New River Gorge National River was established in 1978 to conserve and protect 53 miles of the New River as a free-flowing waterway. This unit of the National Park System encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along the New River between the towns of Hinton and Fayetteville. The park and surrounding area are rich in cultural and natural history, with an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities

Lunch: Lunch is included.

Afternoon: We will visit the Beckley Exhibition Coal mine and learn of the day to day work of a coal miner through riding in a "man car" through the mine. Also enjoy various buildings that have been recovered and restored from various mine sites, such as the superintendent's home, miner's shanty, church and schoolhouse. We will also visit the Whipple Company Store. This store served the coal camp of Whipple, and will give insight into the very vital role the company store played in coal camps. Visit Tamarack - Tamarack is the nation's first and only statewide collection of handmade craft, art and cuisine showcasing "The Best of West Virginia." From hand-carved furniture to glass and pottery to Appalachian quilts, Tamarack offers only the best. You will also find an array of regional specialty foods and products

Dinner: Dinner will at Tamarack.

Evening: Free Time

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Tour the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and Visit Cass Scenic Railroad

Note: Due to the location of Cass and the National Astronomy Observatory, we will be travel approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes by bus. If you tend toward motion sickness and take medication for that, please bring that with you. Also, due to the location of these sites, we will not be able to return to the motel until we return for the evening which will be around 7 p.m

Breakfast: Breakfast will be at the hotel.

Morning: We will depart for Pocahontas County to visit the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. The Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is one of the world's premier research facilities for radio astronomy. NRAO operates powerful, advanced radio telescopes spanning the western hemisphere. Scientists from around the world use these instruments to probe fundamental questions in astronomy and physics. Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory is home to the largest fully steerable dish in the world. Simple film cameras are welcome all over the site, however, digital cameras, 35mm cameras with advanced electronics or video recorders are not permitted near the telescopes. The electronic devices create radio pollution which can ruin astronomers’ data. Feel free to bring your digital cameras, but there will be an area that they must be turned off. If you would want close up pictures of the telescopes, feel free to bring a simple film camera .

Lunch: Lunch will be included.

Afternoon: Visit Cass Scenic Railroad, learn about the history of logging in the town of Cass. Enjoy a ride on the train that is powered by the steam engine previously used to haul logs off the mountain.

Dinner: Dinner is included.

Evening: Free time

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Visit a 300-year-old Grist Mill in Monroe County and the Greenbier Valley Theater

Breakfast: Breakfast will be at the hotel.

Morning: Travel to Monroe County to visit a Grist mill that has been in operation since the 1700s.

Lunch: Lunch will be included.

Afternoon: We will visit an orchard that specialized in various fruits and berries. We will enjoy a lecture at this site.

Dinner: Dinner will be included.

Evening: At Greenbrier Valley Theater - Lewisburg, WV. The Greenbrier Valley Theater, a performance venue that used to be a downtown department store.

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast will be at the hotel.

Morning: Study the history, customs, and way of life of the Native Americans as presented by a Native American from the Cherokee tribe.

Lunch: Lunch will be included.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch