The trip to Branson is now history and our final excursion for 2000 will take us to see the Oglebay Lighting Displays. It is scheduled for November 25th, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Reservations are coming in nicely. As of the deadline for this article, we had 99 seats of the original 132 seats available already reserved. However, BRTs new coach, 5410, became available so we have increased the available seating to a total of 148.

As in the past, we will have three pickup points. The east side pickup point is at the Holiday Inn at I-271 and Wilson Mills Road; the west side pickup point is the parking lot next to the BP station at Bagley and Engle Roads near the I-71 Bagley Road intersection in Middleburg Heights; and the south side pickup point is at the BRT Garage on Snowville Road in Brecksville. We will leave these pickup points at 10:00 a.m. sharp.

On the way south towards Wheeling, West Virginia, we will make a lunch stop before arriving at the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum. This museum is housed in a restored Victorian school and boasts an impressive collection of more than 100,000 toys and trains. The museum features guided tours, interactive displays, an operating ‘O’ gauge train layout and a unique gift shop for your shopping pleasure. They say “even our gift shop is a big toy box”.

From the museum we will go into Oglebay Park, have dinner at Wilson Lodge, tour the lighting displays in the Park and in Wheeling before returning home.

The cost of the trip is $50.00 per person and includes the following:

1- Round trip deluxe coach transportation.
2- Guided tour of the Kruger Street Toy and Train Museum.
3- Buffet dinner at the Wilson Lodge.
4- Guided tour of the Oglebay Park Festival of Light.
5- Tour of the Lights of Wheeling, West Virginia.
6- All entrance fees.
7- Taxes and gratuities.
8. Tips for guides and drivers.

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     Y2K has come and gone and now plans for our excursions in 2001, the first year of the 21st century, are in the works.

The multi-day trip is scheduled for the week of July 8th. Two possible itineraries are being looked at. One is through Pennsylvania Dutch Country, including the Millennium Sight and Sound of the Living Waters theaters near Lancaster, PA; Hershey; Johnstown, the site of the devastating flood, ride the train around the horseshoe curve, and visit Gettysburg.

The second possible itinerary is in the heart of the Hudson Valley of N. Y. with visits to Rhinebeck with its barnstorming air shows where vintage WWI-style aircraft star in an aerial dogfight, a tour of the Gilded Age country and Washington Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” country. The many details of the two are being worked on and we hope to have a final selection for publication in the next issue of the Scottish Rite News.

The fall trip for next year will be a one-day fall foliage trip to Lake Chautauqua scheduled for Thursday, October 11th.