HANCEVILLE – Anyone who wants to check off states on their list of those visited in the U.S., can mark off two with a group trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Wallace State Community College Alumni Association is now taking reservations for an eight-day, seven-night trip that begins June 17 in Portland, Oregon and ends in San Francisco, California on June 24.
The trip will begin with a chartered bus trip from the Wallace State campus to the Birmingham International Airport for the flight to Portland. A get-acquainted dinner with fellow tour members will be held that evening.
The next day is the first full day of the tour, with an itinerary that includes a visit to the famous Portland Rose Gardens, followed by an excursion into the Columbia River Gorge, visits to the Multnomah Falls and a scenic drive over the Coastal Mountain Range and Pacific Coast on the way to Newport, Oregon.
The third day includes a drive along the dramatic Oregon coast, with stops at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Cape Perpetua Lookout and the fishing port of Florence scheduled before heading to Eugene, Oregon for the evening. From there, the tour will travel through the Upqua National Forest to view Crater Lake and get photos of the intense blue body of water from Rim Drive. The tour will then head to Grant’s Pass, Oregon to take an evening cruise on the scenic Rogue River.
A morning drive along the Redwood Highway will take the tour toward the California coast, with a stop in Crescent City before continuing the drive along the coast. The tour will stop in Eureka, California for the night, with a visit to the Samoa Cookhouse for a lumberjack-style meal.
The next day finds the tour in the “Avenue of the Giants” to stand in awe amid virgin redwood forests with trees that are thousands of years old. The day will conclude with a tour of wine country and lunch before heading to San Francisco for the night.
In San Francisco, a deluxe city tour will take travelers to see Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park, The Presidio and Chinatown in the morning, with the afternoon free to explore before a farewell dinner party that evening.
The cost of the trip includes roundtrip airfare and roundtrip airport transfers, seven nights’ quality accommodations, 16 meals (7 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 6 dinners), admission to all included attractions and activities and a professional tour manager.
Costs start at $2,895, with final payment due Friday, April 15. A minimum deposit of $200 is required at the time of registration.
Those interested in the trip can contact LaDonna Allen at 256-352-8071 or ladonna.allen@wallacestate.edu. Visit http://www.wsccalumni.org/pacific16 for more information about the trip and to download the reservation form.
The Alumni Association will hold an informational meeting about this and the other trips planned for 2016 on Tuesday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m., on the 2nd floor of the James C. Bailey Center. Anyone who registers for a trip during the meeting will be entered into a drawing to win $200 to go toward the deposit of a trip.
Each year, the Alumni Association puts together a number of trips to popular tourist destinations in the United States. Group travel offers competitive rates and prospects for building lifelong friendships and memories.
Alumni Association members benefit from discounted fees for the trips. The general public is welcome to join in on the trips and can join the Alumni Association if they wish to take advantage of the discounts offered to members.
