Time Travelers Bus Trips
There are great adventures in store when you sign up for our Time Travelers Bus Trips, where you can explore the Midwest while you leave the driving to us.
- Comfortable travel by coach bus
- Lunch (catered or nearby “on your own”) options are always included
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2013 BUS TRIPS
It’s Tulip Time-Holland, Michigan
Wednesday, May 8, 2013 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Come “Tip Toe Through the Tulips with Me!” That’s right, we’re going to visit Holland, Michigan during Tulip Time~hopefully Mother Nature will cooperate and reward us with a beautiful display of flowers! We’ll start our day at Veldheer’s, Holland’s only tulip farm. Stroll through the garden where over 5 million tulips steal the show~make sure you order your tulip bulbs for fall delivery before we leave. Visit the Bison (they sell Bison burgers and brats too, so bring a cooler), but if Bison aren’t your thing, then you can shop for wooden shoes or Delftware as Veld-heer’s has the only Delftware production facility in North America. To continue with our thoroughly Dutch day, we’ll head to Nelis’ Dutch Village to experience a bit of “Old Holland,” and for a late lunch buffet at the Queen’s Inn. The buffet is immense and full of authentic and modern Dutch specialties including Erwtensoep (split pea soup), Bloemkoolsoep (cauliflower soup), Beef Hutspot (beef stew), Mince Muttischen (meatloaf), Saucijzenbrood-jes (pigs in the blanket), and Zuurkool Metworst (sausage and saukeraut). Plus Dutch Apple Pie. Enough said as you all know how I feel about pie! After lunch, explore the park where you can participate in demonstrations of Dutch arts and crafts, shop for Delftware (and Christmas ornaments), “Take a Goat for a Walk” (I’m serious, it’s one of the attractions and I want pictures of anyone who does this!!), or visit the Dutch cheese or candy shops. Before we leave, make sure you get a snack for the ride home-I recommend a Banket or two from the Hungry Dutchman Café. It’s a traditional Dutch pastry and it sounds really good! The bus departs at 7:00 a.m. Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to departure time.
The cost of the trip is $75 for Museum Members and $80 for non-members, and includes deluxe motor coach transportation, admission to Veldheers and Nelis’s Dutch Vil-lage, the Dutch buffet and server gratuity, and a driver tip. There is a great deal of walking for this trip, but seating is available at both facilities. Advance registration and payment is due by Monday, March 25. Call Kim at
815-723-5201, ext. 235 to make your reservation. Refunds cannot be issued after this date.
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Get Your Kicks on Route 66!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Summer means road trip fun and here in Joliet, it means Route 66! Grab your camera and your best pals and come Get Your Kicks on Route 66 as John Weiss, Route 66 expert and author, narrates our road trip down the historic highway. We’ll start here in our Route 66 Visitor’s Center as the gift shop has the best selection of Route 66 memorabilia along the highway! Then, it’s off to Wilmington for shopping, rolls and coffee at the Milltown Mar-ket, an 1890s restored lumber yard. In Gardner, we’ll visit the historic streetcar diner and photo ops at the 1906 two-cell jail. This is the ONLY time that you can go to jail on one of my trips! Next stop: Dwight. Visit the mu-seum, a classic gas station, and a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed bank. Lunch is served family style at the Old Route 66 Café and features chicken, cole slaw, mashed potatoes and gravy, and dessert. Yes, I said mashed po-tatoes and gravy AND dessert all in one meal. In my book, that IS the meal!! After lunch we’ll cruise on toward Odell to visit a restored 1932 filling station that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Our last stop before turning back North is Pontiac, home of the Route 66 Hall of Fame Museum. We’ll explore galore~the town square, war museum, the murals, the unusual Bob Waldmire vehicles and more. Our final stop of the day is Braid-wood and the Polk-A-Dot Drive In for a turtle sundae. This will truly be my “best day ever!” Here we’ll bid John a fond and very full travelers’ farewell before heading back to Joliet.
The museum will open at 8:45 a.m., with the tour starting in the Museum’s Route 66 Visitor’s Center at 9:00 a.m. The cost of the trip is $68 for Museum Mem-bers and $73 for non-members, and includes deluxe motor coach transportation, John’s narration, admission to all Route 66 sites, snacks and lunch, and a driver tip. Advance registration and payment is due by Monday, May 6. Call Kim at 815-723-5201, ext. 235 to make your reservation. Refunds cannot be issued after this date.
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Americana at Its Finest-Historic Cedarburg, Wisconsin
Wednesday, July 10, 2013 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Tired of hurry, hurry, hurry, go, go, go? Then join us for a day of relaxation, Mayberry Style, in beautiful Cedarburg,
Wisconsin. Located on the banks of Cedar Creek, Cedarburg was founded in the 1840s by German immigrants
who quarried the local limestone to build their homes and businesses (sound familiar?). Named by Forbes
Magazine as one of the 11 prettiest communities in America in 2011, the main street looks much like it did at the
turn of the last century with several downtown blocks listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We’ll start
our day at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts. Dedicated to educating the public about the artistic, cultural,
historical and social importance of quilts and fiber arts, the Museum features vintage quilts and coverlets,
sewing machines, knitted pieces, embroidered work and much more. Make sure you visit the special exhibit, “Legacies, Legends & Lace,” featuring vintage wedding quilts, wedding dresses and vintage lace; and “Midwest
Modern,” Amy Butler Legacies. Lunch is at the museum and features your choice of a sandwich or salad. Sandwiches
are served on a rustic ciabatta roll with chips, pickle, and a cookie on the side: Roast Beef (with tomatoes,
cheddar cheese, field greens and roasted garlic mayo); BMT (fresh basil and mozzarella, and tomatoes with extra
virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar); Italian (salami, turkey and ham with roasted red bell peppers, mozzarella,
and fresh basil with balsamic vinaigrette); OR Turkey (tomatoes, cucumbers and provolone with homemade buttermilk
ranch dressing). Salads are served with a wedge of bread & butter and a cookie on the side. Choose
from: Cyprus Spinach Salad with Chicken (tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, red bell peppers, Kalamata olives,
feta cheese, chicken and homemade lemon vinaigrette) OR Mandarin Cashew Crunch Salad with Chicken
(field greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, cashews, mandarin oranges, and chicken served with homemade
sesame honey dressing). After lunch, we’ll head to historic downtown Cedarburg. With dozens upon dozens of
specialty shops, you’ll certainly find what you are looking for, even if you didn’t know you were looking for it in the
first place! We’ll end the day with a wine tasting at Cedar Creek Winery, an award-winning producer of Wisconsin
wines located in the Cedar Creek Settlement, a beautifully restored woolen mill that is also home to several specialty
shops. The bus will depart at 8:00 a.m-please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to departure.
The cost of the
trip is $62 for Museum Members and $67 for non-members, and includes deluxe motor coach transportation,
admission to museum, lunch and gratuity, the wine tasting, and a driver tip. Advance registration and payment
is due by Friday, May 31. Call Kim at 815-723-5201, ext. 235 to make your reservation. Refunds cannot be issued
after this date.
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Kim’s Favorite Things Tour 2013
Motorcycles, Maders and Munich (ok, Sprechers, but it feels like Munich!)
Wednesday, August 14, 2013 7:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
I can hear it now. The Harley-Davidson Museum? Kim’s officially lost her mind! Just hear me out on this one! I
don’t ride motorcycles either, but this Museum is one of my new “favorite things.” I visited last summer with my
kids who, by the way, HATE museums, and I had to drag them out after four hours! The museum truly is one
where there is something for everyone as it is an intriguing mix of history, people, engineering and design, and
pop culture. For the H-D devotee, see “Serial Number One,” the oldest known Harley-Davidson in existence
which, quite frankly, looks like a souped up bicycle! For the pop culture fan, have your picture taken at the Evel
Knievel cut-out! For the adventurous, swing your leg over one of the motorcycles in the Experience Gallery
where, I make you two promises: first, you could easily goof around in this gallery for hours AND second, you’ll
take some of the funniest pictures of your friends to post on Facebook!
For the truly daring, sign up for a “Learn to
Ride” session (the motorcycle never moves, I promise!). People watching? You betcha! Find a perch outside the
museum, located on the riverfront, and watch the motorcycle parking lot become an ever changing exhibit as it fills
with Harleys (and people) of all shapes and sizes. Stroll up and down the aisles of hogs~just don’t knock ‘em over!
Plus, they are celebrating their 110th anniversary and they’ll have lots of unique artifacts on display! After getting
our “motor runnin’,” we’ll “head up on the highway, lookin’ for adventure” at Maders for lunch. Choose from: Usinger’s
Bratwurst & Knockwurst Platter with sauerkraut and Spaetzle; Weiner Schnitzel Boneless Pork Cutlet
with sauerkraut and Spaetzle; or Sauerbraten served with red cabbage and Spaetzle. Make sure you explore
the building to view the wood carvings, the 150 year-old Mettlach steins and plates, and the 15th century armor
and weapons on display. If steins and weapons don’t intrigue you, head next door to The Spice House or across
the street to the Wisconsin Cheese Mart or Usinger’s Sausage. As always, bring a cooler to stock up on cheese and sausage because you know that I am~Molly and I go ga ga for Usingers brats!!!
The best way to end a day in Milwaukee is with a little beer (or gourmet soda, if you’re me), so it’s off to the Sprecher Brewery for a tour and tasting. The tour is short, but the time in the beer garden is long! Known as the “next best thing to Munich,” the indoor beer garden boasts music and the chance to taste up to four of the 20 types of Sprecher beer. For the
non-drinker, taste as much of the gourmet soda as you want~Grape, Orange Dream, Ginger Ale, Root Beer, Cream Soda, and Cherry Cola (made with the juice of Door County Cherries), to name a few. We’ll hit the gift shop on the way out so you can purchase your beverage of choice or any number of food products inspired by their beverages (beer flavored kettle chips, beer mustard, root beer mustard, and root beer cookie mix amongst other intriguing combinations). The bus departs at 7:30 a.m.~please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to departure.
The cost of the trip is $77 for Museum Members and $83 for non-members, and includes deluxe motor coach transportation, admission to the Museum, the luncheon, the tour/tasting at the Sprecher Brewery, and a driver tip. Advance registration and payment is due by Friday, July 12. A minimum of 40 people is required for this trip so round up all of your friends for a day of fun. Call Kim at 815-723-5201, ext. 235 to make your reservation. Re-funds cannot be issued after this date.
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Save the Date!
Visit the Museum this Spring
Wednesday, March 6
Stay Tuned String Band Luncheon/Concert
Saturday, March 16
Invention Dimension Free Day
Sunday, March 24
Hop Into Spring Event for Families
Saturday, April 6
Celtic Evening featuring the Hatfield Sisters & Friends
Saturday, April 13
Adventures in Collecting with Tim and Michelle Smith
Sunday, April 14
Doing Time: Joliet Prisons
Saturday, April 20
Strike Up the Band: An Experience to Remember, Band Panel moderated by Dr. Phillip Hash
Summer Monday Hours, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
May 6-September 9, closed May 27/September 2
