Daytripping

Guess What Day It Is - Dear Daytrippers, My mother loved the dogwoods best of all and passed that pleasure on to me. Each year when the dogwoods begin to bloom I think of visiting Dogwood Canyon Nature Park to see them in all their glory but each year there are other places I need to be. This year, time on my hands, an RV to take me where I want to go and news that a rare white American bison calf was welcomed to the herd at Dogwood Canyon combine to give me the perfect e...Continue reading

Guess What Day It Is - Dear Daytrippers, Driving across Kansas on my way back to Arkansas I have a vague idea of stopping in Topeka to see the Brown vs Board of Education Historic Site but driving through the old Kansas Territory I see a road sign with a picture of Abraham Lincoln something that never fails to grab my attention. Historic Lecompton Birthplace of the Civil War Where Slavery Began to Die. I have read and studied the Civil War, Daytripping has done a Ci...Continue reading

Guess What Day It Is - Dear Daytrippers, Greetings from Moab, UT last November the famous Canadian Rocky Mountaineer launched a new train journey in the Southwest United States Rockies to Red Rocks - the route for this will bring a new luxury train tour to explore the historic rail route between Denver and Moab. My immediate thought is that this would be a great addition to our ‘Trains Around Colorado’ tour. After poking around Glenwood Springs, I decide to follow the ...Continue reading

Guess What Day It Is - Dear Daytrippers, I have long wanted to add Glenwood Springs, CO and the beautiful Hotel Denver to our 'Trains Around Colorado' tour, and today I had the opportunity to get to know this historic resort town. Before Glenwood Springs was a hot springs hot spot, it was a Wild West frontier town called Defiance. The raucous and ramshackle town was home to gamblers, gunslingers and entrepreneurs and was the last stop for Doc Holliday, the famed gunslinge...Continue reading

Guess What Day It Is - Dear Daytrippers, Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home & Museum...Continue reading

GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS? Seeing The Light! A closed-for-the-season ferry brought me to this weeks unexpected and previously unexplored destinationusually heading to Mackinac Island, I cross Lake Michigan from Manatowoc on the SS Badger Ferry to Ludington, MI. Many of you have taken this ferry with me on our tours over the years. But, this being the year that it is, the ferry stopped its service early.... And this is how I ended up discovering Scenic Hwy 2 a shore-hugging drive winding it’s way past quaint lakeside towns with picture-perfect views. Today, with autumn leaves approaching peak color the drive could not be more delightful. Along this route I stumbled on Kitch-iti-kipi, Michigan’s most famous natural spring, Oscada, the true birthplace of Paul Bunyan, Hiawatha National Forest and read Longfellow’s poem for the first time. Along the way I heard of a must-see lighthouse in Menominee, MI. It turns out to be a most impressive city as well. Making my way through town to the lakeshore I drove historic Main Street and discovered it’s unique architectural heritage with Spies Public Library, which on first glance I thought was a Carnegie, Grand 1902 Opera House, Victorian style railroad depot and charming homes. Menominee has been gentrified. It looks like a fine place to live. But, I was eager to see the Crown Jewel of Menominee - the North Pier Lighthouse. The first light was built in 1877. The current tower was built in 1927 and has been shifted and changed over the years. It is a blustery day, the waves spreading across the jetty as I walk the pier give the impression of walking on water! There are several markers on the pier that say where the lighthouse used to sit it’s been moved/extended three times! From the base of the lighthouse the view is extraordinary I could see Door County, WI the view is also hypnotic and I would have stayed far longer if it hadn’t been so cold. But, cold it was too cold even to linger hunting for the sea glass treasure they claim is hidden along the shore next time, we will all look for it together. Missing you, stay safe. John

Guess What Day It Is! Dear Friends, Illinois from Lincoln to Reagan... Being a presidential history buff, I am always in search of new additions to our American Presidents’ tours. Today my hunt brings me to Dixon, Il, to check out Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home. The Hennepin Avenue house is about as American as they come, standing two stories, painted white with a wrap around porch and a life-size sculpture of Reagan standing outside, it is a surprisingly heartwarming experience. Reagan loved this town and this town, proud of it’s Reagan heritage also boasts a bronze statue of Ronald Reagan on horseback titled Begins the Trail sitting majestically in an impressive park Heritage Crossing Riverfront Plaza, where Hennepin Ave also named Reagan Way meets the Rock River. As a lifeguard on the Rock River, Reagan saved 77 swimmers from drowning Reagan often said that his lifeguarding job was one of the best jobs I ever had. On the opposite bank of the Rock River from Reagan on horseback, in a pocket park, is a Lincoln Monument with the only statue of Abraham Lincoln in uniform. The memorial consists of a full-length bronze figure of Lincoln as a 23-year-old captain during the Black Hawk War. He wears a sword and belt and carries his coat over one arm. Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and Zachary Taylor met for the first time at the Dixon Blockhouse on the site. Now, I know Illinois is the Land of Lincoln so it isn’t surprising to find Lincoln sites at every turn but I thought I knew them all. So, later in the day when I saw a road sign for the Lincoln Heritage Museum in Lincoln, IL, I was sure I must have been here before. Turns out, I had not. Located on the campus of the only college named for Lincoln in his lifetime, Live Like Lincoln. Learn Like Lincoln - the Lincoln Heritage Museum walks visitors through Lincoln’s life told first person as if through Lincoln’s memories. Not as impressive as other Lincoln sites but I think the unique setting and presentation make it a worthwhile stop. The constant question how do we squeeze more into an already overflowing itinerary? But really, I know you will want to see these sites. Missing you, stay safe. John

Dear Friends, My heart is with you as our beloved Sonoma County is in danger from fire, again. I hope and pray that all of you are far from harm’s way. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to say you are safe. I debated whether you would want to follow my travels this week but I decided some thoughts of future trips would be welcome. Please take care of yourselves until we meet again. And now Guess What Day It Is! ... Get the hell out of Dodge! Fifty years ago when I last visited Dodge City it was on a road trip from Napa to Cave City, Arkansas with my Grandpa. I was beyond eager to see it again. Sadly, the rowdy, wild west Dodge City of my seven year old memory has been rounded up, corralled inside the Boot Hill Museum and tamed. Today, almost nothing of this rip-roaring, reckless Hell on the Plains famous for its gunfights - despite marshals like Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp keeping order and planting bad guys in the Boot Hill Cemetery - survives. Outside the Boot Hill Museum, what you see in Dodge City mostly dates from the 1920s and is by and large a cattle-ranching community with extensive stockyards surrounding the small downtown area. But, once inside the walls of the fake but fun Boot Hill Museum, on its recreated Front Street, gunfights, medicine shows and Miss Kitty with her Can-Can girls are just what I remembered. Now might be a good time to mention that Boot Hill got its name from the days when gunfighters were buried with their boots on in graves so shallow that the tips of their boots were said to stick up above the earth a bit morbid yes but things were different in those days Missing you, stay safe. John

Guess What Day It Is? Dear Friends, I am writing this from Telluride, CO.... As Daytripping remains shuttered until 2021, I have decided to take make good use of the time and preview tours for when we are back on the bus. I will be out searching for unforgettable adventures to enhance our future tours. I am finding it odd to be on the road without 40 or so of you in the seats behind me sharing the journey. So, I thought I would share as best I can along the way by sending weekly updates each Wednesday, I hope you will watch for it and travel along with me. I begin in Colorado with an eye to changing up our ‘Trains Around Colorado’ tour. This is my first visit to Telluride and I am so sorry this gem has not been on our itinerary before now. This remote ski town tucked away in a box canyon still maintains its Old West charm. Once a mining town, and where Butch Cassidy started his bank-robbing career back in the 1890s, modern-day Telluride is unfussy and charming with its historic Folk Victorian homes just plain folk could afford them yet gives no hint of it’s rough and tumble history. Fun fact: One version of the town’s history claims that the name comes from the fact that Telluride used to be so remote, stagecoach drivers complained to hell you ride. Stay safe in these topsy-turvy times. I miss you. John Pettersen Daytripping (707) 577-8894 telluride.png

LIve Video from Sacramento Today - The Daytripping bus appears at minute 13:38 https://www.facebook.com/ebmeyer.bruce/videos/3052296808138941/UzpfSTI5ODk2NzM4MDE2MTY4NTo4Mzk2OTgwNzk4ODkyNjg/ video by Ebmeyer Charters

Daytripping was proud to join the California Bus Association Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness rally at the state capital today.

Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness, Washington D.C. 05.13.2020 Photo credit: Mark Nelson,

ALERT All motorcoach operators and industry supporters please head www.busesmoveamerica.com to now. We are putting on a push for support of the Dear Collea...gue letter written by Senators Daines and Van Hollen. We have updated the form to directly email the Senate delegation from your home state automatically. The deadline for their support of the letter is the end of the day tomorrow! See more

Live from Washington D.C.

Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness, Washington DC - Today!

Motorcoaches Rolling For Awareness - Washington DC 5/13/2020

DAYTRIPPING OFFICE TEMPORARILY CLOSED Dear Friends, The Daytripping Office is temporarily closed due to the Sonoma County Shelter-in-Place Order. During these times of uncertainty, we at Daytripping would like to thank you for being supportive with our office closure. We will re-open on April 8, 2020.... On the bright side - our website is back in operation and is currently being updated so please check www.daytrippingdestinations.com for the latest news. We regret that many trips are being canceled and want you to know that each of you will be notified you if your trip is affected. As often as possible we are providing new dates for trips to the same destination. In some cases we can rebook you immediately and transfer your funds. In other cases credits or refunds will be issued. And lastly, we ask your help as we travel this bumpy road. Please, whenever possible consider taking a credit for a future trip instead of a refund. Your support means everything. Be well, stay healthy, John Pettersen