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Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Activity note: Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m.
Afternoon: Program Registration: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar table in the lobby to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing your name-tag, up-to-date schedule that reflects any last-minute changes, and to learn when and where the Orientation session will take place. If your arrival is delayed, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone with a warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer any questions you may have. Free time is reserved for your personal independent exploration. Evenings at leisure offer opportunities to make the program more meaningful and memorable through personal independent exploration, engaging in available activities on your own, or simply relaxing and making new friends among fellow participants. The Group Leader will always be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may be changed due to local conditions/circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner: In the hotel restaurant off the lobby.
Evening: Ben Franklin is in town! He wants to greet you and tell you, modestly, about his role in the steps leading up to the revolution.
Breakfast: At the Balcony Café on the Mezzanine, the breakfast buffet offers hot and cold items.
Morning: After breakfast, we will have a lecture on "Founding Fathers". After our lecture we will board our bus. We will visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. The old cracked Bell still proclaims liberty and Independence Hall echoes the words, "We the People". Explore Franklin's Philadelphia and America's continuing struggle to fulfill the Founders' declaration of "all men are created equal". Enjoy a ranger-guided introduction to Independence Hall and a self-guided exploration at Liberty Bell with a park ranger available for questions. Road Scholar has already purchased your ticket for a specified entry time. However, if you arrive a day ahead or stay later and wish to go back to Independence Hall, you will need to acquire a free ticket at the Visitors Center on the day of your visit for a specified time.
Lunch: Lunch is on your own today at the Bourse.
Afternoon: We’ll then go to the new Museum of the American Revolution, the first of its kind to trace the steps that lead to our break with the “Mother Country” of England and eventually to revolutionary war. Led by an educator, we will take a virtual journey through the American Revolution, encountering the events, people, and ideals of the founding of the United States through state-of-the-art design and technology. The collection of thousands of objects includes works of art, manuscripts, and printed pieces from the period. One particularly historic item is the original tent that George Washington used as his command center.
Dinner: We will have dinner at historic City Tavern, enjoying faithful re-creations of 18th Century ambience and cuisine. The original was established by a group of prominent Philadelphians. Completed in 1773, it was one of the city’s most elegant buildings and quickly became the favored meeting place of movers and shakers including those who figured prominently in the American Revolution. The building was demolished in 1854. An authentic replica was constructed in 1976 for America’s Bicentennial.
Evening: At leisure.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: We’ll travel the route General Anthony Wayne took to his farm in Waynesborough. In Waynesborough we will be invited into General Wayne's ancestral home for an expert led exploration.
Lunch: Boxed Lunch at Waynesborough.
Afternoon: After lunch we will depart Waynesborough to travel to Valley Forge. The six-month encampment of General George Washington ’s Continental Army at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-1778 was a major turning point in the American Revolutionary War. Hear from your guide, a revolutionary war solider, the tale he has to tell. We’ll return to the hotel after our field trip.
Dinner: Dinner is on your own this evening.
Evening: At leisure. You might like to experience more of the sights and sound of Philadelphia or perhaps attend a performance at one of the city’s superb arts venues.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: We’ll go for a field trip to visit some of the historic landmarks in Philadelphia’s Old City District — known as America’s most historic square mile — such as the Betsy Ross House, Christ Church, and Elfreth's Alley. While there is no documented evidence that Betsy Ross actually did sew the first American flag, the story that George Washington himself asked her to make it lives on. Christ Church, founded in 1695, has long been called “the Nation's church” due to its associations with notable Revolutionary era leaders. Seven signers of the Declaration of Independence and five signers of the Constitution are buried here. Elfreth’s Alley represents three centuries of American everyday life. As a National Historic Landmark, it preserves 32 structures built from 1728-1836, one of our last remaining early American streetscapes.
Lunch: Lunch will be at the National Constitution Center. Vouchers will be provided.
Afternoon: Afternoon visit to the National Constitution Center. Enjoy a theater presentation by an actor on the importance of freedom and the have time to explore the self guided exhibits explaining the Bill of Rights and each of the Amendments.
Dinner: Dinner will be at a local resturant.
Evening: At leisure.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: After breakfast we’ll have an expert presentation on Washington's strategic battle plan for the American Revolution. We will then visit Clivedon House in Germantown. Built from 1763-64, Cliveden was the country estate of Benjamin Chew, then the Attorney-General of Pennsylvania. The British captured Philadelphia in September 1777. When the Battle of Germantown erupted on October 4, six companies of British soldiers occupied Cliveden. The American forces attacked but, protected by the house’s thick stone walls, the British held out. Although not a military victory, this battle helped persuade France that the nascent American nation was worthy of support. Cliveden today is one of America’s best preserved and least altered historic sites. Musket burns from the Battle of Germantown can still be seen on the entryway floor. It is now a designated National Historic Landmark. We’ll then return to the hotel for a free afternoon and evening.
Lunch: Lunch will be on your own this afternoon.
Afternoon: Free afternoon once we return to Philadelphia to our hotel. Free Time: Take this opportunity for personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Dinner: Dinner is on your own this evening.
Evening: After a busy day of exploring, you have time to rest up for another busy travel day tomorrow.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: Our field trip today traces another signal event in the history of the Revolutionary War as we follow Washington’s path crossing the Delaware, one of the iconic images in American memory. It was December 25, 1776. So far in the Revolutionary War, the British had won victory after victory. American morale was low. General George Washington decided to take a huge gamble. He gathered his forces of 2,400 men and crossed the Delaware River — ferried by local fishermen — to attack a garrison of Hessian mercenaries camped at Trenton, New Jersey. The surprise attack was successful and the Hessians surrendered. The crossing site is now a National Historic Landmark.
Lunch: At an historic Inn.
Afternoon: We have crossed the Delaware in daylight and not in the middle of the night as Washington's army did and our purpose is to surprise the sleeping British solders after their night of Christmas Eve celebration at Trenton Barracks. We will have a guided visit of the Old Barracks Museum, also known as Old Barracks, in Trenton, New Jersey. Is the only remaining colonial barracks in New Jersey. It is the last of five such barracks authorized by the colonial legislature in 1758 to house about 300 soldiers in the French and Indian War. During the American Revolution, George Washington crossed the Delaware River to catch the Hessian garrison in Trenton by surprise. Following the American Revolution, the Trenton Barracks were used as a military hospital specializing in smallpox inoculations.
Dinner: Our farewell dinner will be at a local restaurant. Your last opportunity to share your favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends.
Evening: At leisure. Prepare for departure after our conclusion.
Activity note: Hotel check-out by 12:00 Noon.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: Joe Becton will lecture on The Tale of Two Cities.
Lunch: This concludes our program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!
JOOOB
