Tour Kennebunkport, Pineland Farms and Portland waterfront and lighthouses
Bensenville, Ill.—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, “When the warm sun, that brings Seed-time and harvest, has returned again, ‘Tis sweet to visit the still wood where springs the first flower of the plain.” With that in mind, the Bensenville Park District is offering a unique opportunity to see Longfellow’s boyhood home and more as part of its spring ‘Beautiful Maine’ trip.
The nine-day-, eight-night-trip May 13-21 includes motorcoach transportation, lodging, 14 meals (eight breakfasts and six dinners), a tour of historic Victoria Mansion, a stop at Boothbay Railway village and its vintage train, a visit to the Seashore Trolley Museum with a countryside trolley ride, a guided tour of picturesque Pineland Farms and guided tours of Portland–Maine’s largest city by the sea, quaint Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.
Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine, in 1807 and became a national literary figure by the 1850s. While in Portland, the tour will stop at the urban oasis that is his home and garden, sea captains’ houses, Portland Head Lighthouse—the most photographed lighthouse in America—and enjoy free time at the historic Portland waterfront, home to unique shops and eateries.
Built between 1858 and 1860, Victoria Mansion is a national historic landmark–an elegant, historic home in Portland featuring spectacular architecture, stunning interiors and exquisite, original furnishings. It contains more than 90 percent of the original interiors, including almost all the original wall paintings by Italian-born artist Giuseppe Guidicini, a master of the trompe l’oeil (“fool the eye”) style.
The tour of Pineland Farms includes the beautiful rural landscape of a working farm. Visitors will explore the Holstein Dairy Barn and see the award-winning dairy cows. The adventure continues at the creamery, where award-winning cheese is made. The Pineland Farms Market offers Maine-made gifts and gourmet food.
Boothbay Railway Village provides 35 acres of Maine history where visitors ride an authentic, narrow-gauge steam locomotive surrounded by 28 historic Maine structures preserved in a recreated village of buildings from across the state and see a collection of 60 antique autos or experience model trains as never before.
The guided tour of the Maine coastal villages of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport include Dock Square, a drive by the estate of President George H.W. Bush at Walker’s Point and coastline comparisons of Kennebunk beaches. Explore the gardens and shrines of the Franciscan Monastery. and during free time, visit the quaint shops and eateries in downtown Kennebunkport.
At the Seashore Trolley Museum, visitors enjoy a trolley ride through the Maine countryside on an authentically restored streetcar. The trip continues with a lobster dinner and visit the L.L. Bean flagship store.
The trip also makes stops at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center in Erie, Pennsylvania, as well as Verona’s Turning Stone Casino and the Made in America Store in Elma, both in New York.
The fee is $1095 per person based on double occupancy, and $1250 for single. The minimum age to travel on this trip is 21. Register by Friday, March 3, at the Deer Grove Leisure Center, 1000 W. Wood Street, Bensenville, or by calling 630-766-7015.
