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First Patriots & Future Presidents
At-A-Glance
Trip Dates:
October 20, 2013 through October 28, 2013
NPCA Member Price From
$3,495 per person double occupancy; $985 single supplement.
Deposit
$500 per person
Contact ParkScapes at 800.628.7275 or travel@npca.org
October 20-28, 2013
Relive defining events of early American history through our national parks as the American Revolution unfolds in the northern colonies. The historic actions of Adams, Hamilton, Jefferson, Revere, Washington, and many others are brought to life through artifacts, battlefields, monuments, and the interpretation of distinguished Revolutionary historians.
Our tour follows the trail of the American Revolution, and we are led by Dr. Robert Allison, a foremost authority on the Revolution and the author of The American Revolution: A Concise History. Additional Revolution scholars join us on tour, including Pulitzer Prize-winning author and renowned Revolutionary historian Gordon Wood.
For details about this trip, download the brochure (pdf)
Trip Details:
Tour Highlights
Battlefields & Monuments
Explore the sites of the most dramatic action of the War at Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, the Battle of New York, Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware, West Point, Princeton, and Valley Forge.
Artifacts, Documents, and Art
Private viewings of some of the most important documents of the Revolution, including Paul Revere’s own account of the Ride, letters of John & Abigail Adams, and Nathan Hale’s last letter to his family. See portraits of major figures of the period in Boston and Philadelphia, as well as decorative arts of Colonial America. Examine military artifacts, uniforms, and watch demonstrations.
TopTour Details
Arrive/Depart
Boston, MA/Philadelphia, PA
Length of Tour
9 days/8 nights
Pace
Easy; however, participants should be prepared walking indoors and outdoors, including up stairs and on uneven ground.
Price Includes
All accommodations; meals indicated; professional guide services; park and other entrance fees, all gratuities for guides and drivers, and miscellaneous program expenses.
Price Does Not Include
Round trip airfare to and from destination, gratuities for hotel personnel, alcoholic beverages not included in tour meals, or personal expenses.
Payments/Cancellations
Space is confirmed by calling the NPCA at 800.628.7275. A $500 per person deposit is due at registration. Final payment will be invoiced separately and is due 90 days prior to departure. Cancellation notice must be submitted in writing and is effective upon date of receipt. Cancellations up to 91 days prior are subject to a $250 per person cancellation fee. Cancellations 90–61 days prior to departure, 25% of the tour cost is forfeited; cancellations 60–31 days days prior to departure, 50% of the tour cost is forfeited; 30 or fewer days prior to departure result in the loss of 100% of your total cost.
Travel Insurance
To protect yourself from the loss of deposit and cancellation fees, you are encouraged to purchase travel insurance. If you need assistance, NPCA recommends contacting Travel Insurance Services.
TopDaily Itinerary
October 20: Arrivals to Boston, Massachusetts
We begin with a private tour of Longfellow House/Washington’s Headquarters in Cambridge, the General’s home as he planned out the Siege of Boston in 1775-76. The poet Longfellow later wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride” in this very house. Welcome dinner features guest speaker, renowned Revolutionary historian Gordon Wood. Accommodations at Parker House (D)
October 21: The Freedom Trail
Dr. Allison leads us through the streets of Colonial Boston and the major scenes that led to full-scale revolution. Key attractions include the Old State House, Faneuil Hall, the Old North Church, and the Paul Revere House. Later we take a private, guided tour of the Museum of Fine Art’s new Art of the Americas wing featuring Copley’s famed portraits, Paul Revere silver, and other decorative arts of the colonial period. Parker House (B,L)
October 22: The First Shots!
Our excursion to Lexington Common and Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord—where the Park Service has restored much of the scenes of the battle—explores the “shot heard ‘round the world,” and the dramatic retreat by the British in April 1775. We trace the retreat and visit Bunker Hill Monument. Our evening features a viewing of important documents with the Massachusetts Historical Society Librarian Peter Drummey. Parker House (B,L)
October 23: John Adams & West Point
We round off our time in the Boston area with a visit to the home to our 2nd and 6th Presidents at Adams National Historical Park in Quincy this morning. Then it’s off to New York State and West Point, where the Continental Army guarded the Hudson River from British control and the Military Museum holds valuable artillery pieces used in the War. We stop for a visit to Hamilton Grange National Memorial, Alexander Hamilton’s 1802 elegant house that was recently relocated by the Park Service, before hotel check-in and dinner. Wall Street Inn (B,D)
October 24: The Battle for New York
Barnet Schecter, one of the foremost authorities on the Revolutionary period in New York, takes us on a “George Washington’s New York” morning walk past Federal Hall National Memorial the site where he was inaugurated as President, St. Paul’s Church where he worshiped, and Fraunces Tavern where he bade farewell to his generals. Over in Brooklyn we walk the battlefields where the Continental Army lost a pitched battle and retreated upstate. Wall Street Inn (B,L)
October 25: Washington's Crossing & James Monroe
Today, we recreate the route of Washington’s Army from their dramatic 1776 Christmas Night Crossing of the Delaware—helped by then 18-yr. old Monroe, our 5th President—to the battle of Princeton and on to Morristown for the winter (and later nearby at Morristown National Historical Park in 1779). Penn’s View Hotel (B,L)
Continued Below...
TopPricing Details
NPCA Member Price From
$3,495 per person double occupancy; $985 single supplement.
Deposit
$500 per person
TopMap
Daily Itinerary Continued
October 26: Indpedence & Thomas Jefferson
Historian Randall Miller, who is widely published on Philadelphia, leads us through Independence National Historical Park, where surviving copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution—two documents on which the foundations of our country rest—were written, and where the Liberty Bell rang out. After lunch at the famous City Tavern, we tour the magnificent Portrait Gallery of Second Bank of the United States. Penn’s View Hotel (B,L)
October 27: Valley Forge
Our last full day begins at Valley Forge National Historical Park, where General Washington’s army passed the brutal winter of 1777-78, and also the site of recent preservation victories via NPCA. Then we watch a dramatic reenactment of the Battle of Red Bank of 1777 just over the New Jersey border. We conclude the evening with a guest speaker at our farewell dinner. Penn’s View Hotel (B,L,D)
October 28: Departures from Philadelphia, PA
Following breakfast, individual departures from Philadelphia. (B)
TopTravel Partner
TopBooking Info
To contact NPCA's ParkScapes program for questions or reservations please call 800-628-7275 or email travel@npca.org. You may also book directly online.
