Afternoon: Arrivals and transfer to hotel.

Dinner: Welcome reception and Dinner at hotel.

Evening: Free time to explore Chattanooga on your own.

Lodging: Delta Queen Hotel

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: At the hotel

Morning: An exploration of the history of Chattanooga as it relates to its Native American culture. The “Passage” at Ross’s landing commemorates the river crossing that signaled the point of no return for the journey to Oklahoma. A visit to the Chattanooga History Center will further expand our topic with local historians. We will also visit Lookout Mountain and Point Park with its magnificent views and rich history both Native American and Civil War.

Lunch: At a local restuarant

Afternoon: Embark on the American Queen. Your home for the week.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy evening activites and performances, and buffet aboard the American Queen.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen

Morning: This morning we will take a tour of the American Queen to get acquainted and meet some of our crew members. Then we will have our first exclusive Road Scholar lecture with David Heidler. “The Trail of Tears: Policy, Problems, and Pathos” in which he will discuss the impact of Indian Removal on the Cherokee Tribe."

Lunch: Onboard the American Queen.

Afternoon: Free time to enjoy some of the ship activities. Consult your River Times daily ship newsletter for the day's offerings. Then joing in the Captain's Champagne Welcome Reception.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy a performance onboard the ship.

Lodging: American Queen

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen.

Morning: Visit the Florence Indian Mound, located near the banks of the Tennessee River. It is the Tennessee Valley's largest domiciliary mound. It is a typical example of the work of the early Native Americans who lived in Alabama before the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Creek nations inhabited this region. It is a 42 foot high quadrilateral mound with a summit measuring 145 x 94 feet. Early settlers in the region found steps on the east side and evidence that the mound had been enclosed by a semi-circular earthen wall.

Lunch: Onboard the American Queen.

Afternoon: Enjoy another lecture by David Heidler entitled: “The Creek Wars In the Saga of Indian Removal” focusing on the Creek Confederation." Then spend some quality time with your fellow participants at the Road Scholar Cocktail Party.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy a performance onboard the ship.

Evening: Participate in the ship's evening activities or catch a performance.

Lodging: American Queen

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen.

Morning: Savannah is the port stop for Shiloh, one of the first battles in the Western Theater of the Civil War. Known for being one of the bloodiest battles of the war, it was named for the small church near Pittsburgh Landing, named Shiloh (meaning peace). Our field trip today will take us to this significant site to learn about the battle and walk these hallowed grounds.

Lunch: Onboard the American Queen.

Afternoon: Spend some free time on the ship's Front Porch of America, cozy up with a book in the Mark Twain Gallery, or try your hand at some card's in Ladies' Parlor or Gentleman's Card Room.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy an evening performance aboard the American Queen.

Lodging: American Queen

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen.

Morning: This morning we meet our lecturer, David, whose subject today is “ They Wanted My Land and I was in Trouble Defending It: Differing Views of Stewardship and Ownership in the Age of Removal”. The subject matter includes the Indian concepts of land ownership and the United States civilization program from Washington to Jackson.

Lunch: Onboard the American Queen.

Afternoon: Paducah was once the hunting grounds of the Chicksaw Indians and was purchased by Andrew Jackson in 1818. In 1827, General William Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark, surveyed a new town and named it Paducah in honor of the “Padouca” nation of Indians. Local folklore tells of the legendary Chief Paduke, who symbolizes this great nation. See the Floodwall that protects historic downtown Paducah from the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers overflowing their banks includes three city blocks of painted murals that capture important moments in Paducah's history on a guided walk. The murals were designed & painted by Robert Dafford and the Dafford Muralists of Lafayette, Louisiana. The project began in 1996; the last panel was completed in 2007. Each mural panel has an interpretative plaque with a short history lesson on the scene depicted in the panel. Each panel also has its own spotlight making the mural walk an enjoyable evening stroll and tourist attraction. After the guided walk you can explore the Paducah Quilt Museum and/or the River Museum on your own.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy a performance onboard the ship.

Lodging: American Queen

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen.

Morning: Visit the American Queen Pilot House.

Lunch: Onboard the American Queen.

Afternoon: Exclusive Road Scholar field trip to Trail of Tears Park in Jackson, MO with a local historian. Trail of Tears State Park commemorates one of the greatest tragedies in American history. The pristine 3,415-acre setting creates a peaceful memorial to the 3,000-4,000 Cherokee who died on the forced march through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky. Trail of Tears State Park features an Interpretive Center designed to retrace the steps of the Cherokee through a series of interpretive panels. Paintings, maps and other memorabilia depict the crossing of the Mississippi River.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy a performance aboard the ship.

Lodging: American Queen

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen.

Morning: Samuel Smith built the first home in Chester, established a ferry system, and began the construction of a mill in 1829. He is said to be the town's founder. It was his wife Jane Thomas, a native of Chester, England, who gave Chester its name as a tribute to her home town. The Chester area includes a number of state parks and historic sites. The Fort Kaskaskia State Historic Site has a beautiful overlook of the Mississippi River. Down the hill from the park is the Pierre Menard Home, an unusually fine example of French Creole-style architecture, which was built around 1815 and was the home of the first lieutenant governor of Illinois. We continue to Fort De Chartres, the location of the last of three successive forts named “de Chartres” built by the French during their eighteenth-century colonial occupation of what is today Illinois. The first two forts were erected in the 1720s and were square palisaded wooden structures with corner bastions. The third fort, erected in the 1750s, was a massive square stone structure enclosing six buildings, including a still-standing powder magazine that may be the oldest building in Illinois. This fort served as the French seat of government and its chief military installation in the Illinois Country. In 1763 France ceded much of its territory in North America, including Illinois, to Great Britain. British troops occupied the fort from 1765 until 1772, when encroachment by the Mississippi River caused a collapse of the south wall.

Lunch: Onboard the American Queen.

Afternoon: Our final talk with historian David Heidler is “Manifest Destiny: Tales of Progress and Tragedy in the Age of Expansion” with focus on political debate, the War with Mexico, and the lasting legacy.

Dinner: Onboard the American Queen.

Evening: Enjoy a performance aboard the ship.

Lodging: American Queen

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Disembark the American Queen.

Breakfast: Onboard the American Queen.

Morning: This morning we disembark in St. Louis and include a visit to the historical sites of St. Louis including Lacledes Landing, historic Soulard District and Forest Park, site of the 1904 World’s Fair and some time to spend at the Jefferson National Expansion Museum located in the famous Gateway Arch with time to see the exhibits and to view the film “Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West”.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: Check into our hotel and enjoy a reception before dinner.

Dinner: Farewell dinner at Lombardo's, the hotel's onsite restaurant.

Lodging: Drury Inn Airport St. Louis

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: At the hotel.

Morning: Arrange a free shuttle with the hotel staff to get to the airport for your departure.

Meals Included: Breakfast