Our first travel event is a weekend tour of the historic cities of Red Wing and Wabasha. We’ll visit the famous Pottery Place Historic Center and Museum with its many specialty shops and antiques celebrating Red Wing Pottery; attend opening weekend at the Jon Hassler Theater for the comedy “Don’t Hug Me!”; tour the National Eagle Center in Wabasha and see Bald Eagles up close; tour L.A.R.K. toys in Kellogg with its amazing toys & toy museum along with your chance to ride their famous, hand-carved carousel; tour the Mississippi River Valley where we’re likely to see hundreds of Bald Eagles and Tundra Swans; and we’ll enjoy lunch at ‘Slippery’s’ (Yes!, the one made famous in the Grumpy Old Men movies).

We’ll dine at the Historic Anderson House in Wabasha. A true step back into yesterday, most of the furniture dates back to its 1856 opening. This is not only Minnesota's oldest operating Bed and Breakfast, but the oldest West of the Mississippi!

Join us as we journey along the majestic Mississippi River on an outing that offers fun for the entire family .

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Day 1 —Attend the opening performance of Don’t Hug Me, a play by Phil Olson at the 223-seat Jon Hassler Theater in Plainview, the heart of southeast Minnesota's beautiful Greenwood Prairie. The Theater is an affiliate of the Rural America Arts Partnership. The Partnership believes that the arts and humanities are vital to the life of a sustainable rural community.

The JHT itself is housed in the Rural America Arts Center, a former International Harvester implements dealership. The building is one of a few thousand of similar design that populated the rural American landscape beginning in the late 1940s.

The Theater is named for famed Minnesota novelist Jon Hassler, who spent his middle school and high school years in Plainview in the late 1940s and early 1950s.  Hassler's popular novel Grand Opening is based on his Plainview experience.  Productions of Hassler's stage adaptation of Grand Opening were presented at the Theater in 2000, 2001, and 2007.  Other stage adaptations of Hassler's novels include Simon's Night, Dear James, and Rookery Blues, all of  which have been produced in Plainview along with Hassler's original play, The Staggerford Murders, which he recently worked into a novel.

Don’t Hug Me takes place in Bunyan Bay, Minnesota. Here’s the setting: It’s the coldest day of the year and cantankerous bar owner, Gunner Johnson, wants to sell the business and move to Florida. Clara, his wife and former Winter Carnival Bunyan Queen, wants to stay. Bernice Lundstrom, the pretty waitress, wants to pursue a singing career. Her fiance, Kanute Gunderson, wants her to stay home. It’s a battle of wills for the ages. Hilarity ensues when a fast-talking salesman, Aarvid Gisselsen, promises to bring romance into their lives through the ‘magic’ of karaoke and all heck breaks loose.

Day 2 — Morning tour of the Mississippi River Valley, Alma

The fall season is special in Alma. View the fall colors by traveling the Great River Road or drive the hills and valleys of the countryside to see the farmland and wildlife. Bald eagles can be seen year round and are easy to spot in the winter months while they fish the river for food. Plenty of migrating waterfowl can be observed by bird watchers. The tundra swans are among the spectacular waterfowl who rest in the Alma area. Join the Swan Watch in late October and November months to experience the tundra swans as they migrate to the east coast for the winter months. The swans usually stay until the water freezes

Nelson Cheese Factory

Lunch at Slippery’s (Yes! the one made famous in the Grumpy Old Men movies.)

Visit to L.A.R.K. Toys