Welcome Aboard! We’ll depart our pick-up locations for a nice enjoyable ride to out first destination of fun! It’s going to be a great day! Our first fun stop is the Eldon Depot Museum & Rocket Room Model Railroad. All aboard!! You’ll truly enjoy your visit to Eldon, Iowa as you check out the authentic caboose, flatcar and hear the whistle blow on the locomotive! This original Rock Island Depot is a top-notch museum with telegraph equipment, tools, passenger train items and more.  Housed in a separate “Rocket Room” building is a huge model railroad display and motor car to enjoy and bring out the kid in us all! Then, we’re off to Lunch (Pre-Paid) to Lunch in Amish Home. This will be a meal that you’ll remember for a long time to come! Everything is home-raised and home-cooked. You’ll have a meat entrée, potato, veggies, salads, dessert, bread, and even homemade butter & jam! After, we’ll drive through Lacey-Keosauqua State Park, that borders the great horseshoe bend in the Des Moines River. The CCC constructed the two stone picnic shelters, bridges, and a lodge in the 1930’s. The rolling hillsides of the 1,653-acre park are home to an abundance of wildlife, wildflowers including beautiful Red Bud trees and other natural beauty. Enjoy the splendor of a beautiful fall day as we drive through this magnificent natural resource. Then we’ll have Free time in the Bentonsport National Historic District. Nestled along the lazy banks of the scenic Des Moines River, is the former riverboat village of Bentonsport. Within the village we will discover most buildings are the original structures from the 1800’s, and now are homes to a variety of specialty shops. Enjoy shopping at the Greef General Store, The She Shed, and Sisters Antiques, all offering a broad spectrum of handmade gifts, from weaving to woodcarving and antiques. Also, witness working artisans, creating beautiful creations in Iron & Lace. Here is where we will find the famous “Queen Anne’s Lace Pottery”. Bentonsport is also the home to other local artists. We will be able to stroll across an old iron pedestrian bridge, which spans the Des Moines River. Hope you’re not too tired yet, but now we’re off to Hinterland Dairy Farmstead Cheese Tour and Dinner. Hinterland is proud to make nothing but the highest-quality cheese from the milk of their cows. They grow the crops that feed the cows, milk the sweet cows twice a day, and use that rich, creamy milk to make the best cheese. We’ll enjoy visiting the farm store to see the cheese-making process and up-close look into real-life on the dairy farm. After the tour and sampling cheese, we’ll get to have an amazing Dinner (Pre-Paid) right on the farm with live music!  After dinner, we will travel to our hotel, check in and relax for the remainder of the evening.

GOOD MORNING! We will partake of a yummy breakfast at our hotel, before loading up and departing for another fun-filled morning before we start home! First on the list, is the Milton Creamery. We will take a quick visit to their award-winning Milton Creamery to grab some fresh cheese! Then, we will visit The Dutchman’s Store. Check out the NEW store location! Filled with bulk food items and dried goods. It is also known as “A Quilter’s Paradise” with 1000’s of bolts of quilting material and supplies. Don’t be surprised to see an Amish horse and buggy tied up at the hitching post, as the areas very large Amish and Mennonite community do their grocery shopping. The Dutchman’s is a “must-see” while visiting the Villages! After, we will have Lunch (Pre-Paid) in the Hotel Manning with Tour After Lunch. This beautiful community-owned boutique hotel sets on the banks of the Des Moines River. Built in 1837 as a general store before expanding to become one of few remaining pieces of architecture reflecting the steamboat heritage in Southeast Iowa. You’ll truly enjoy delicious entrees while enjoying the unique historical atmosphere. Then visit the Pearson House Museum. Local legacy endorses it as a station on the Underground Railroad. Few of these safe houses for runaway slaves remain. The home is restored with period furnishings, and you’ll get to view the secret hiding place under the floorboards, only if they are assured you, too are pro-abolitionists. You’ll also get to go back to school in a one-room schoolhouse and see how a large family lived and made do with what we call tight quarters in the original log cabin. After, we will make a visit to the American Gothic House. We will view the exterior of the house that inspired Grant Wood to paint American Gothic, one of the most recognized paintings in the world. Tour the adjacent American Gothic House Center which showcases Grant Wood’s life and the history of the house. Props on hand encourage visitors to pose in front of the historic American Gothic House and create their own unique American Gothic portrait. Then we will depart for home. Arriving home with many pictures, memories and new great friends! Welcome home, relaxed , and happy!!! We hope you will have had some great fun on this short 2-day tour!