February 2023: Charleston, Savannah and Jekyll Island
A small group of Friends had a wonderful visit to Charleston, Savannah, and Jekyll Island. We enjoyed learning about the history of that area, delicious food, great weather, and old-fashioned Southern hospitality.
We started our tour in Charleston, a city that has defied all odd: surviving the Civil War, major fires, an earthquake, and hurricanes – and still exudes elegance, charm, and grace.
Charleston offers a wonderful historic center with hidden alleys and quaint areas that are only accessible by foot. Fort Sumter, where the first fired shots of the Civil War were fired, is a short harbor cruise away. City Market, one of the country’s oldest public markets and the central hub for Gullah sweetgrass basketry – an intricate handicraft of African origin – is an excellent place to shop.
We toured Savannah’s historic district with its many landmark squares and homes, and enjoyed the lively shops and restaurants along River Street and in City Market.
St. Simons Island and Jekyll Island are Georgia’s Gold Coast — Rockefellers, Vanderbilts and J.P. Morgan once vacationed here. The area has a stunning lighthouse and wonderful historic district.
October 2022: Chicago & Michigan
A small but intrepid group of Friends ventured to Chicago and Michigan for a wonderful fall trip in October 2022. Starting in Chicago, we were amazed by all there was to see and do in this beautiful city. We started off with a food tour, stopping at several famous restaurants to sample iconic Chicago foods. We took an architecture cruise, marveling at the various building styles, took a wonderful city tour including Millennium Park and had a behind the scenes tour of Wrigley field.
From Chicago, we traveled into Michigan, stopping in Grand Rapids to tour the beautiful Meijer botanical and sculpture gardens, saw the wonderful mushroom houses in Charlevoix and then took the ferry to Mackinac Island for the highlight of our tour, a stay at the Grand Hotel. It was stepping back in time as we were met by a carriage to take us up to the hotel. Mackinac Island doesn’t allow motorized vehicles so everyone gets around by bicycle or horse and buggy. The hotel is wonderful, everything you would expect and more and we made sure to sit in the rockers on the longest porch in the world overlooking beautiful Lake Huron.
After leaving Mackinac we stopped in the beautiful Bavarian town of Frankenmuth and visited the world’s biggest Christmas store. Our final stop was Dearborn, where we spent a day at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. We enjoyed their amazing collection of Americana including the Rosa Parks bus, the limo JFK was riding in when he was shot, the chair Lincoln was sitting in at Ford’s Theater, still stained by his blood and even Charles Steinmetz’s Mohawk River cabin.
We all enjoyed this trip with Collette tours and are looking forward to our next adventure!
June 2018: Ireland
In June 2018, The Friends traveled to Ireland. The itinerary included the Ring of Kerry, one of the great coastal roads; a tour of Dublin; the 700-foot high Cliffs of Mohr; Blarney Castle, home of the Blarney Stone, and more (below).
Clockwise from top left: Dunloe Castle; the Wild Atlantic Way; Blarney Castle, home of the famous Blarney Stone; Killkenney Castle; shops in Dublin; Shawn and Charlene at Our Lady’s Abbey.
Friends of SCPL 