| Day 1 | Depart St. Paul at 7:30 am (or other points on the train route earlier or later) aboard Amtrak's Empire Builder for the journey east to Chicago. There you will be joined by travelers from the area and will then board the legendary City of New Orleans train for an overnight journey. |
|
| Day 2 | Arrive in New Orleans in mid-afternoon, settle into your hotel and get ready to tour the Big Easy. |
|
| Day 3 | Tour world famous Bourbon Street, with its carnival atmosphere, jazz clubs and tasty creole cuisine. Board the Charles street trolley and tour the French Quarters and its amazing neighborhoods. You'll feel like you're in Europe! |
|
| Day 4 | Today tour the city from another perspective: take a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River and dance to the strains of jazz music while you soak in the local culture. |
|
| Day 5 | Relax and get ready to board the train northbound to sample some Memphis hospitality. After settling into our new hotel, we may venture out to Beale Street to sample the Memphis style of Delta blues. |
|
| Day 6 | No trip to 'the birthplace of the blues' is complete without a trip to Graceland, the former residence of Elvis Presley. We'll see his pink cadillac and get a tour of the mansion and his private jet, the Lisa Marie. |
|
| Day 7 | Today we visit Sun Studios, Elvis' first recording label. Resume the train journey northward to the Midwest. We again change trains in Chicago and its back on the Empire Builderfor those going to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota. |
|
| Day 8 | Twin Cities participants arrive in St. Paul around 10:30 pm full of pleasant memories of our southern adventure. Those going on to western MN or North Dakota arrive home next morning (Day 9). |
|