Trip Itinerary:
6:00 am
Depart from Fulllington Garage (2101 Alexander Drive, State College; near University Park Airport). Free parking on-site. Brief stop en route.
10:30 am
Valley Forge National Historical Park,
step-on and-off bus tour. Box lunch distributed to eat at the Park or on the drive to Ephrata.
1:30 pm
Depart for Ephrata, PA.
2:45 pm
Ephrata Cloister, docent-led tour
5:30 pm
Ephrata, PA. Dinner at Olde Lincoln House Restaurant and Tavern
7:00 pm
Depart for State College. Expected arrival 9:30 pm.
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Meals:
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Box lunch from Dixie Picnic. Meal choices are extensive and will be provided for each attendee to select their choice.
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Buffet dinner at the Olde Lincoln House Restaurant in Ephrata, a building and town with a rich history. Includes salad, prime rib, chicken Chesapeake, seasonal vegetables, roasted potatoes, and cookies plus beverages. Alcoholic beverages can be purchased at one’s own expense. *We are awaiting final confirmation for this meal. We will communicate any changes as necessary.
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Cost:
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Members: $145
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Nonmembers: $170
There are steps at each location, and some stops at Valley Forge may have uneven ground.
COVID-19 vaccination required. Due to vaccination requirements at some of the sites we will visit, all travelers on this OLLI trip must be vaccinated.
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Valley Forge is the location of the 1777-1778 winter encampment of the Continental Army, under General George Washington. American troops spent the winter, just one day’s march outside of occupied Philadelphia, after failing to prevent British forces from seizing the city. The encampment contained over 12,000 soldiers, 1,500 log huts, military drill grounds, civilians (on whom 18th-century armies depended), and even a marketplace – essentially becoming (temporarily) the fourth largest city in the United States. The 3,500-acres of monuments, meadows, and woodlands commemorate the sacrifices and perseverance of the Revolutionary War generation.
A member of the National Park Service will conduct the 90-minute tour on the bus. Stops are planned at the recreated huts at the Muhlenberg Brigade and at General Washington’s Headquarters.
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Ephrata Cloister was started in 1732 as one of William Penn’s holy experiments. At Ephrata Cloister, Pietististic Germans established a community dedicated to preparing for a heavenly hereafter. Nearly 80 celibate Brothers and Sisters lived in the Cloisters and about 200 family members known as Householders lived nearby. The chapel, Brothers’ house, Sisters’ house, and other buildings display the best example in Pennsylvania of the steep-roof, half-timbered architecture of medieval Germany. At the height of its success in the eighteenth century, Ephrata Cloister was a thriving agricultural community noted for its music, fraktur folk art, and active printing press. Close to the encampment, the Cloister cared for sick and wounded soldiers brought from Valley Forge.
The visit includes a one-hour docent-led tour and the opportunity to explore other historic structures and cemeteries on the site.
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