Day 1 – Dublin to Chicago

Depart Dublin at 11:30 am and fly to Chicago. Arrive at O’Hare International Airport. Meet your local tour manager and transfer to your hotel. Check-in and overnight at your hotel.

Day 2 – Chicago

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning visit the second-tallest building in the United States – Willis Tower, commonly referred to as Sears Tower. You will then have an optional boat cruise. In the afternoon enjoy a sightseeing tour of Chicago with a local guide. Explore the steely skyscrapers and a great culture of the Windy City! Overnight at your hotel.

Day 3 – Route 66 Museum, Champaign & farm visit  

Breakfast at your hotel & check-out. Depart for St. Louis. The first stop today is the Route 66 Museum in Pontiac. Here you will see images of the road’s wonderful history, view thousands of pieces of historic memorabilia and hear a few great stories about life in America when Route 66 was the most important highway in the nation. Continue for a stop at the city of Champaign, Illinois. In the afternoon enjoy an educational technical visit at Wood and Wood Dairy Farm near Champaign. Continue to your hotel in St. Louis lying right near the intersection of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers – this made it a stopping point for most settlers moving west. As the last big city before the long trails, the city became known as the Gateway to the West. Check-in to your hotel and overnight.

Day 4 – St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch Factory & farm visit

Breakfast at your hotel. This morning Anheuser-Busch Factory Tour putting a face on the world’s largest brewer. Explore the Budweiser Clydesdale paddock and stable, lager cellar, Brew House, Lyon’s Schoolhouse, and Bevo packaging plant and get a true sense of history as smell of hops surround you. You will then enjoy a guided city tour of St. Louis before departing for the agricultural community of Brighton. In the afternoon enjoy a field tour at the Schetter Tillage Farm. Return to your hotel for overnight.

Day 5 – St. Louis Arch & the Mississippi River

Breakfast at your hotel & check-out. Visit the St. Louis Gateway Arch, built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States and is the world’s tallest arch. The visit the Melvin Price Locks and Dam on the Upper Mississippi River. Every year, millions of tons of commodities pass through and visitors can watch river craft use the locks every day. Enjoy lunch at the family owned and operated Grafton Winery overlooking the Mississippi. Travel along the Mississippi River to Keokuk. Check-in to your hotel and overnight.

Day 6 – Amana

Breakfast at your hotel & check-out. Visit Neil and Maryella Johnson Farm in Keokuk. Continue to Amana for lunch at Ronneburg Restaurant. In the afternoon visit Amana Heritage Society with the Heritage Museum and Amana Farm Complex. Amana Farms is one of the largest working farms in the Midwest with over 7,000 tillable acres, 7,000 acres of grazing land for over 2,000 head of cattle, and 7,000 acres of hardwood forest. Continue to your hotel in Moline for check-in and overnight.

Day 7 –  Moline Agri Visits

Breakfast at your hotel. First visit Cinnamon Ridge Ranch, beef farm, followed by Bohnert Jerseys Dairy Farm. In the afternoon visit the John Deere Pavilion. In 1848, John Deere changed the course of local history in Moline Illinois by locating his first plough manufacturing plant on the banks of the Mississippi River. With this factory, John Deere’s dream of producing a superior self-scouring plough for the western frontier became a reality. In the evening enjoy a fabulous Mississippi Dinner Cruise. Overnight at your hotel.

Day 8 – National Mississippi River Museum, Fenelon Place Elevator & Agri Visits

Breakfast at your hotel & check-out. In the morning take the John Deere Harvester Works Factory Tour before departing for Dubuque. On arrival in the afternoon visit the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Enjoy dynamic aquariums, historical exhibits and a stroll through the wetlands and boatyard. Each visit is a truly interactive experience where visitors can get “up close and personal” with native river animals. Next travel in the Fenelon Place Elevator up the cliffs of Dubuque. As well as a magnificent view of beautiful Dubuque, enjoy panoramic views of the Mississippi River and three states. Continue to Adkins Energy, a corn-to-ethanol facility in Lena, Illinois, for a guided tour. Drive to Freeport for check-in and overnight.

Day 9 – Huntley Premium Outlet Mall

Breakfast at your hotel & check-out. Spend the morning at Huntley Premium Outlet Mall for some last minute shopping. In the afternoon depart for O’Hare International Airport for your evening flight to Dublin.

Day 10 – Arrive Home

Arrive home at 09:50 in the morning.