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Jane's
Journeys 9.15.08 - Excellent
pictures! Thanks so much for the very lovely day in South Bend! TravelStarz had the distinct pleasure of welcoming a group of lovely people from Southern Illinois. These folks were on a 5-Day Mystery Tour, which means they did not know their destinations. When asked if they had any hesitations about going on a Mystery Tour, they all stated that Jane always offered wonderful tours, so they knew this would again be fun and interesting. Monday was pretty much spent traveling to the St. Joseph, Michigan area. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent touring St. Joe, Kalamazoo and the Saugatuck areas. Then on Thursday, they moved on to South Bend. After touring South Bend and spending the night, on Friday morning, they visited Fair Oaks Dairy in Fair Oaks, Indiana before returning home that evening. After picking up the TravelStarz step-on guide in Niles (we couldn't let them know too soon where they were spending that day), our first stop was the Studebaker National Museum with 2 docents.
The 3 pictures below are of the carriage which carried Abraham Lincoln to the theatre the night of his assassination.
Our next stop was a sweet one - South Bend Chocolate - for a factory tour and a bit of shopping.
Below is an employee rolling out a sheet of carmels.
Our next stop was lunch at Lengends on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, who served up a great lunch at record speed. The restaurant and campus was a bit busier than a normal Thursday, as the upcoming weekend was a home football game.
We then had a bit of a photo opportunity of the stadium, as Legends is located across the parking lot.
We then went to the Eck Visitor's Center to join the sweetest student tour guide for a tour of the campus.
The 3 pictures below are inside the magnificent Basilica.
Below is The Grotto, where our student guide stated it was a very special place for her as well as most of the students. She did take time to light a candle while we were there.
And a little peek into the football stadium.
After the tour and before departing, there was time to enjoy the serene atmosphere and soak up the wonderful weather that day offered us.
We then took about 1 hour to check into the Hilton Gardens before our evening meal at Tippecanoe Place, the historic Studebaker mansion. Of course, the atmosphere and historic value of Tippecanoe Place is superb, matched with equal service and food. Between our salad course and the main course, we were entertained by The New Image, a very talented local barbershop quartet.
And to end the evening, our Southern Illinois visitors stood on the grand staircase for a group photo before returning to the hotel for the evening. I was sorry for our day to come to an end, as this was a totally delightful group!
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