American Orient Express - tourist package

Travel America, July, 2001 by Dave G. Houser

Next morning we boarded motor-coaches for a 70-mile journey to Charlottesville, at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Thomas Jefferson exercised his genius for design and horticulture (and apparently his ardor for slave Sally Hemings) at Monticello. We explored Jefferson's innovative home and strolled his creative gardens, coming away convinced that this, like Washington's Mount Vernon, is one of the nation's most important historic treasures. Following lunch at the landmark 1784 Michie Tavern, we visited the campus of the University of Virginia--Jefferson's "academical village"--founded and designed by the nation's third president and still one of America's most prestigious and strikingly beautiful universities. An alternate tour takes in Fredericksburg with its historic Spotsylvania Courthouse and Battlefield. Still comfortably stationed in Richmond, we lingered late over a farewell dinner of fresh Maine lobster, reminiscing over a week of Southern discoveries with newfound friends.

The 110-mile run to Washington, D.C., next morning scarcely left us time to have breakfast and pack. Shortly after 10 a.m. we bade farewell to AOE staff members and fellow passengers and made our way into Washington's wonderful Union Station. Dating back to the days when rail travel was the only way to go and now restored to its original grandeur, it provided a fitting finish to our trip back in time to the golden age of American train travel.

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Fares for American Orient Express' 8-day/7-night "Antebellum South" range from $2.290 to $4,490 per person, double occupancy. Prices vary based on travel date (there are eight departures in Mars and April). level of accommodation, and early booking discounts.

American Orient Express offers six other itineraries, including the "Great Transcontinental Rail Journey" (between Los Angeles and Washington, DC) in February and April; "Pacific Coast Explorer" (between Los Angeles and Seattle) in May and November; "Northwest and Glacier" (between Seattle and Salt Lake City) in June. August, and October; "National Parks of the West" (between Phoenix and Idaho Falls) in June, September, and October; "Great Trans-Canada Rail Journey" (between Vancouver and Montreal) in July; and Rockies & Yellowstone (between Denver and Idaho Falls)in August and September.

Contact: American Orient Express (TravelAmerica Magazine), 5100 Main St., Suite 300, Downers Grove, IL 60515. For brochures, call (877)854-3545; for reservations, (800) 320-4206. Website: www. AmericanOrientExpress.com.