Afternoon: Arrive at the 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 hotel dining room at 6 p.m.

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Dinner

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 in 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 and enjoy a ride on the steam engine.

Dinner: Dinner will be included.

Evening: Free time

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast will be in 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

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

Breakfast: Breakfast will be in the hotel.

Morning: We will travel to Beckley where we will enjoy a dramatic presentation of "Coal Camp Memories". "Coal Camp Memories" is a one-act play, written and performed by Karen Vuranch. Karen researched life in the West Virginia coal fields by talking to those who lived in the coal camps. Hallie Marie's story is a composite of many people who shared their memories. Vuranch ages in front of the audience, growing from an exuberant ten-year-old to a demure teenager, then a young wife, and finally an old woman wise with years. During scene changes, a musician plays traditional Appalachian music.

Lunch: Lunch will be 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 coal camps such as the Superintendent's house, miner's shanty, church and schoolhouse. Also, visit a display of a Mountain homestead. We will travel through a portion of the coalfields to talk about the history and culture of coal mining and also touch on mining today. We will also visit the historic Whipple Company Store which was a company store in one of the coal camps. We will visit Tamarack. Tamarack is the nation's first and only statewide collection of homemade craft, art and cuisine showcasing the "Best of West Virginia". From hand-carved furniture to glass and pottery to Appalachain Quilts. Tamarack offers only the best. You will also find an array of regional specialty foods and products.

Dinner: We will enjoy dinner at Tamarack.

Evening: Free time

Lodging: Quality Inn

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast will be in the hotel.

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

Lunch: Lunch will be included.

Afternoon: Visit an orchard that specialized in various fruits and berries. While there we will get a "behind the scenes" picture of the workings of an orchard.

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 in 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