Travel & Culture   

Believe it or not, West Florida once stretched from Tallahassee through the panhandle, Alabama, and across the Mississippi River to Louisiana. The capital of the Republic of West Florida was at St. Francisville, Louisiana and lasted only 2.5 months during 1810. This presentation begins at Tallahassee and ends in Louisiana. We will visit some of the features of the Florida panhandle, Florida caverns, Ft. Pickens, Mobile Museum of History, and cross the Mississippi to St. Francisville. This historic adventure is unknown to most Floridians, even the old-timers.

Join us as we look at the small towns around in North Central Florida.  Explore the history, trivia, and places of interest of places you may want to visit. For this class, come learn about the St. Johns River and First Coast counties.

The history of the Mississippi River is rich and legendary. Writer Mark Twain wrote an entire book by this name. We will start the class on the ship in the port of New Orleans and make our way up the Mississippi. The presentation focus will be to visit plantations and ante-bellum mansions in both Mississippi and Louisiana. Several battlefields from New Orleans to Vicksburg are along the river. Towns and historical spots on the lower Mississippi will be covered, like Natchez, Baton Rouge, and Vicksburg.

In this program, you will be participating in the ritualistic ceremony of Japanese powered green tea preparations and presentation. A brief history of Cha-No-Yu as well as descriptions of the utensils used will be demonstrated throughout the performance. Please join us for an evening of harmony, respect, purity and tranquility.
 

Mexico is an interesting and exciting country. We will travel away from the usual tourist destinations and depressing news about migrants and gangs to its inner soul and culture. Let’s go to Mexico City with its National Palace and great museum of anthropology. The mysterious ruins of Teotihuacan and other Aztec and Zapata sites await your exploration. Touring magnificent Spanish colonial cities such as Guadalajara and Oaxaca is most memorable. Mexico is one of our nearest neighbors  and only three hour flight from Orlando to Mexico City; this is an an adventure you do not want to miss.

These artists have become so well known in the US. However, one will appreciate them more after visiting their homes in Mexico. In a suburb of Mexico City is Casa Azul, the home of Frida Kahlo. Dr. Kelly will tell the story of her troubled life as participants scout her home and gardens via presentation. Likewise, participants will go to the home of Diego Rivera in Guanajuato and study the paintings of these two as they fall in and out of love.

This Tour of four different venues in the course of 1-week was an unforgettable trip of a lifetime.  It included a tour of the Carlsbad Caverns, including the Bat Nightly Flyaway, The Texas Rangers Museum, the Buckhorn Museum, The Alamo, The River Walk in San Antonio, Tour of the East Texas Oil Museum, The Sulphur Chickasaw Indian Cultural Center & Village and Museum in Oklahoma, the Battlefield and Civil War Museum in Mansfield, Louisiana and more highlights in living color!