Dogwood & Azalea Festival

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Join us for a beautiful and fragrant-filled tour to Missouri to enjoy Charleston’s Dogwood & Azalea Festival!

Day 1 – Home to Quincy, IL

Our adventure south to experience the breathtaking beauty and fragrance of the Dogwood & Azalea blossoms begins today! We will travel to Quincy, Illinois for a delightful buffet dinner at The Pier Restaurant, which was built and opened in 1994 built on an old railroad pier that, in the past, connected the city of Quincy to the west. Enjoy a restful night at the Stoney Creek Inn.

Hotel: Stoney Creek Inn

Included Meals: Dinner

Day 2 – Quincy to Sikeston, MO

After an included breakfast we will make our way to St. Louis, with an included lunch along the way. Experience the majestic Gateway Arch, which standing at 630 ft., is the nation’s tallest man-made monument. The Arch offers plenty of exciting activities: take the tram ride to the top, see a documentary film, experience a giant screen movie, and visit the Museum of Westward Expansion. We cannot depart St. Louis without enjoying a St. Louis tradition of Ted Drewes frozen custard! Ted Drewes has been selling frozen custard for decades, with an attention to quality that has made his custard the finest in St. Louis. This evening we will check into the Drury Inn in Sikeston for three nights.

Hotel: Drury Inn

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch 

Day 3 – Sikeston to Charleston, MO

We’ll enjoy breakfast at the hotel this morning, then drive the short distance to Charleston, home to the annual Dogwood-Azalea Festival. This lovely town is also known for its beautiful Victorian homes as well as the lovely gardens surrounding them; plus Charleston was rated one of the ten best small towns in America by Travel Holiday Magazine! A step-on guide will join us this morning to give us a city tour of this charming town. Have lunch while browsing the Festival’s arts and crafts bazaar and enjoy tours of the beautiful homes. Be sure to take in the beauty of the magnificent dogwoods and azaleas at peak bloom all around you!

Included Meals: Breakfast

Day 4 – Sikeston to Charleston

After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we depart for the Dogwood-Azalea Parade! The Festival’s activities are in full swing, so after lunch on your own, you’ll have the opportunity to experience a piano concert like none other that consists of eight pianos, 16 pianists, and one organist. Watch the pig races or tour the lovely tree lined streets in a horse-drawn carriage (on own). Enjoy a refreshing treat at the included ice cream social. Tonight’s dinner is at Lambert’s, home of the throwed rolls! We’ll end our evening with an enchanting drive-thru candlelight tour. As daylight gives way to darkness, volunteers begin to line the streets with 6,000 white luminaries that encompass the entire Dogwood- Azalea Trail; plus residents turn spotlights on banks of azaleas and candles line the sidewalks. We’ll return to our hotel later in the evening after this truly special candlelight experience!

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Day 5 – Sikeston to Rockford, IL

Depart this morning after breakfast at the hotel for Springfield. A stop will be made for lunch on your own. Our next stop will be at Lincoln’s Presidential Library & Museum, where there is much to learn and discover about our 16th President in this over 40,000 sq. ft. museum that includes interactive exhibits that will thoroughly engage you. Abraham Lincoln’s life has been called “The Great American Story.” A farewll dinner is included this evening. Rockford, Illinois will be our home for the night.

Hotel: Radisson Hotel

Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner 

Day 6 – Rockford to Home

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel before we start for home. A stop is planned in Wisconsin Dells at Thunder Valley for lunch. Their Scandinavian hospitality is like none other as you “travel back to another time, a time of threshing dinners, horse drawn wagons and house parties. Velkommen to Thunder Valley!” Return home enriched, having discovered a memorable R&J Tours experience!

Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch