For The Vista

Have you had enough winter?  The Travel Committee of the Fairfield Glade Ladies Club has a perfect trip to look forward to in April  — less than 90 days folks!

Rediscover love and pride in America by journeying back to 18th Century Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.

Join us on a delightful 8-day excursion aptly titled ‘From the Colonies to the Coast.‘

The first stop is in Charlottesville, Virginia, frequently referred to as the City of Three Presidents.‘  Next is a visit to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, and lunch at the famous Michie Tavern before going to Ash Lawn-Highland (home of our 5th President, James Monroe).

What could be better than three nights in Colonial Williamsburg?  You will ’sup’ in an 18th century atmosphere at the ’King’s Arms Tavern’ and have a full day to enjoy all that Colonial Williamsburg offers.  A visit to Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center completes your visit to the ‘Historic Triangle’ representing over 400 years of American history.

The Club promises you the coast and Norfolk is next — experience the life of a sailor during a tour of the world’s largest naval station.  Naval Station Norfolk, homeport to more than 100 ships of our Atlantic Fleet, will stir your patriotic genes.  Board the Battleship Wisconsin and experience this majestic ship which earned 5 battle stars during World War II.

Journey on to the slender necklace of barrier islands – the Outer Banks of North Carolina —which look much as they did when Blackbeard the Pirate trolled their waters.  The three story sand dunes are what attracted the Wright Brothers to the Outer Banks in their pursuit of ’manned flight’ in Kill Devil Hills.  The first of our two nights here will find us at a South Seas Luau Buffet.

Visits and tours of Roanoke Island, the Elizabethan Gardens and Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Lighthouse will make this area one to be remembered for both beauty and history.

Heading westward into North Carolina’s Piedmont region, we stop at the Research Triangle – the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.  A must see is the Moravian city of Winston-Salem.  On the agenda is a stop in Salem at the ‘Old Salem Museum and Gardens‘.  This living history museum will introduce all to a late 18th and early 19th century Moravian community.

If all this sounds like something you would like to do, visit the FGLC Website (ffgladiesclub.org).  Click on TRAVEL and download a brochure for details of this fabulous trip.  You need not be a member of the club to participate.

All trips  planned and  escorted by the Ladies Club are professionally done, at cost, plus two percent travel equity for the Ladies Club Scholarship Fund.  Cost for this journey is $1,060, double occupancy.  The trip includes deluxe motor coach transportation, 7 nights lodging, luggage handling, 13 meals, all admissions and attractions, gratuities for driver, and local guides for $132 per day.

For more information or to reserve your seat, call Marcia at 707-2814.

Linda Chiaramonte and Sue Brown, Co-Chairs of the Fashion Show, (April 4th) and their committees are hard at work planning a spectacular event.  There are some tickets remaining – if you can’t wait, you can stop by Collage in the Village Green Mall to reserve your seat as well as purchase it at the February 6th meeting.

Karen Boyer, Ways and Means Chair, reminds everyone to ’save the dates’ of May 18-19, 2013 for the highly anticipated Spring Marketplace and Kitchen and Garden Tour.   More information will be available at the meeting but it isn’t too early to put it on your calendar.

Not to be outdone, the Travel Committee will be available to distribute brochures of upcoming trips, take reservations, and even accept money.

Chair, Rosemary Stuckmann, reminds every traveler that ALL future Ladies Club trips will depart from the overflow parking lot behind Legends.

The trips have become so popular that parking our vehicles has created difficulty for local businesses.  Fairfield Glade management has graciously offered this space and it is most appreciated.

Reservations will be accepted on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, between the hours of eight and ten a.m.  If you prefer, you may email [email protected]  Be sure to include the names of those in your group or mention to the person taking your reservation you would like to sit at the newcomer’s table.  Luncheon is $13 and those signing you in will appreciate a check or bill no larger than $20.  Complimentary shuttle service is available both before and following the meeting, courtesy of management.