May 29, 2018

CASI Hosts Local Travel Adventures: Explore Your Own Backyard!

By Samantha Meier
CASI Assistant Director of Marketing

Looking for things to do this summer? Look no further than our very own Quad Cities area!

CASI presents our Local Travel Adventure series with local trips and excursions every month. Check out some of our upcoming trips at an affordable price:

Let’s Jazz It Up! Colorful Characters and Famous Legends of the Quad Cities

Thursday, June 21 / 9:00am to 3:30pm

(Bus loads CASI at 9:00am)

Test your knowledge of the Quad Cities with one of the most interesting historical tours you have ever been on! We have some very “Colorful Characters” in the Quad Cities – Learn about the ladies around town and the dangerous and famous. The area has also been home to entrepreneurs who were ahead of their time – or are those just ghost tales? Join our “Jump-on the Bus” with local experts and historians – Barb Ickes, John Fuller and other Quad Cities experts for a lot of fun! Although the days of dining are over at Velie’s Plantation, the building is full of some incredible history. Willard Velie, a grandson of John Deere, built his mansion with the riches he earned as the Velie automaker. Do you know the story of who was shot there? Finished in 1913, the 500-acre grounds stretched south from its perch on the 7th Street bluff all the way to the Rock River. It is now privately owned by QCR Holdings, who is hosting us for lunch in a special room at the Plantation. Then let’s hit the bus for more stories – There is a great deal of history to squeeze into the trip! CASI Members $35 / Non-Members $45 (Includes transportation, lunch and tours) *RSVP by June 15th

Cities Rock Island Arsenal History, Museum Tour and Ghosts of the Colonel Davenport Home

Tuesday, July 17 / 8:30am to 3:00pm

(Bus loads CASI at 8:30am)

Let’s start the day at the Mississippi River Visitor Center run by the Corp of Engineers. A step-on tour guide will then be joining our bus and sharing the vast history of the Rock Island Arsenal. The bus tour will include the National and Confederate Cemeteries, tanks, artillery, and many of the other buildings that were built from native limestone. We will be stopping at the museum, which features the additional history of the island with exhibits and a premier collection of small firearms. We will be having a buffet lunch at the 119 year old Rock Island Golf Course Clubhouse. Our afternoon stops will be at the Rodman House – the 2nd largest home (federally owned) and the Colonel Davenport House which was built in 1833-34 for George Davenport and his family on the island. Davenport was a businessman who branched into other businesses: fur trader, keel boat operator, lead mine operator, and postmaster – making his mark in the future or the QCA. CASI Members $20 / Non-Members $25 (Includes transportation, tours and lunch) *RSVP by July 13th

LST 325 WWII Landing Ship Tank Tour & Lunch

Friday, August 31 / 10:00am to 1:30pm

Living history will be docking in the Quad Cities for a few days this summer. A fully restored WWII Landing Ship Tank will be at the Isle Casino Hotel Marina in Bettendorf. LST 325 is the only WWII Landing Ship Tank in the United States that is fully operational and has been restored to its original condition. It was acquired by The USS LST Ship Memorial, Inc., in 2000, and caught considerable public attention when the veteran crew with an average age of 72 brought it on a 6,500-mile journey from the Greek island of Crete to Mobile, Ala. Today this ship is permanently docked in Evansville, IN. Once a year it travels to destinations throughout the United States for people to board and tour. WWII veterans are being admitted for free. We will be stopping at The Barrel House in Davenport for Lunch on the way back to CASI! CASI Members $20 / Non-Members $30 (Includes transportation, lunch and tickets) *RSVP by August 24th

For tickets or more information about these local trips
or other CASI events, call (563) 386-7477 or email info@casiseniors.org.

Filed Under: Community, History

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