Adventure Trips

Greetings!  We cordially invite you to experience some of the best travel values and entertainment venues in the Rock River Valley, the US and abroad!  

We’ve partnered with Rockford Charter Coach, Mayflower Tours and Collette Tours – some of the most reputable names in escorted tours - to offer you the opportunity to book your 2008 single or multiple-day get-aways through any office of Blackhawk Bank.  We’ve done the work, shopped all the choices and selected the best values to offer you.

Grab your significant other, friends or club members and book some fun! Be pampered and entertained in fine style while others handle the details for you.  You deserve it!

AirVenture Oshkosh ~ Sunday, August 3rd   Ask any pilot in the world about "Oshkosh" and you'll either get a lustful promise to attend one day or an encyclopedia of stories from each year he or she has made the pilgrimage. Indeed, the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual convention, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, is a special place. It's about participating in aviation, and at AirVenture there are representatives from just about every aspect of aviation, from NASA and the military to mega-dollar business-jets, ultralights, pilot training companies, and gadget manufacturers.  Oshkosh is a showcase for meticulously cared for antique, classic, and homebuilt airplanes - some 10,000 of them.  If you're aviation enthusiasts this is an event you won't want to miss. $45.00 per person includes round trip deluxe motor coach transportation only. Tickets must be purchased at the gate (Non-Member: Adults $33.00) Departs at 7:00 am ~ Returns at approximately 8:00 pm.

Tommy Gun’s Garage ~ Wednesday, August 6th  In the Roaring Twenties, the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was outlawed and strictly prohibited. Nevertheless, men like Alphonse Capone and his mafia family refused to adhere to the law, opening illegal speakeasies across the city of Chicago, offering alcoholic, gambling and hotbox entertainment. Welcome back to The Roaring Twenties, the era of prohibition. Tommy Gun's Garage is an audience interactive speakeasy which offers a musical comedy revue wit da gangsters, da flappers and YOU! After a fabulous lunch you will join Vito, Gloves, da mugs and da dolls for non stop comedy and dangerous fun as dey entertain you's wit singing, dancing and a lot of laughs! $79 per person includes round trip deluxe motor coach transportation, event tickets & lunch. Departs at 9:30 am ~ Returns at approximately 5:30 pm.

The Full Monty at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse ~ Wed., September 24th  Nominated for ten Tony Awards, The Full Monty is Broadway’s recent blockbuster about six down-on-their-luck guys who come up with an outrageous plan to make some quick cash. All they have to do is triumph over their fear, their nerves…and their clothes. Charming, hilariously funny and full of heart, this feel-good musical is about family, friendship, and feeling comfortable in your own skin. You’ll love the Circa ‘21 Dinner Playhouse, a beautiful theatre with outstanding food. Come on and join us for some great fun and a lot of laughs! $79 per person includes round trip deluxe motor coach transportation, event tickets & lunch. Departs at 9:30 am ~ Returns at approximately 5:30 pm.

Affordable Italy with a Tuscan Culinary Experience - 9 days departing October 12, 2008.  Priced from $2,144 per person, air included.
Marvel at Italy’s ancient sacred spaces, medieval hill towns, famous art, extraordinary shopping, breath-taking scenery, delicious dining and secrets of Italian cooking.  A public audience with Pope Benedict XVI is an optional highlight of our day at the Vatican.

Your Italian adventure begins when you’re greeted at the Rome airport by an experienced tour manager who will make your tour carefree and enlightening.  Enjoy a panoramic tour of the Eternal City’s most famous sites from the 2,000 year-old Coliseum and marbled forums of conquering Caesars to the famous Trevi Fountain and Church of St. Peter in Chains to see Michelangelo’s statue of Moses.  Pass ancient Roman walls, elegant Renaissance palaces, churches and trattorias.  Everywhere you look you’ll see another fantastic fountain.  After this trip through time, check into your hotel in a charming neighborhood close to the Vatican City and just minutes away from Rome’s historic center.

Relax, unpack and plan your afternoon.  Take the Metro to the Forum to see the world’s first Senate building and walk the cobblestone streets still marked with chariot tracks.  Or go to the Piazza Navona, the heart of the Renaissance with three glorious fountains, or to Trastevere, the arty part of town where serpentine lanes lead to large piazzas with large fountains and little shops.  By the time welcome party begins at your hotel, nearly everyone will have had a gelato, the world famous Italian ice cream.

Relaxing in the Renaissance  The next morning, explore more or Rome on your own before boarding our motor-coach to the historic town of Tivoli where walls raised in 400 B.C. still aspire to protect the citizens, and 200 B.C. temples remind us pf pagan gods. We step into the Renaissance through the doors of the Vailla d’Este built in the 1550s for the son of Lucretia Borgia.  Lavishly frescoed reception rooms are a prelude to the garden and 500 fantastic fountains - from a miniature reproduction of Rome to the gigantic Water Organ that cascades into shady pools. A delicious dinner in Tivoli with wine and music is traditionally Italian with many leisurely courses.

The Heart of Christianity  The next day is devoted to an optional Vatican City tour, where you are invited to a public audience with Pope Benedict XVI.  Visit the Vatican Museum containing some of the world’s great sculpture, famous paintings from every era, rooms decorated by Raphael, and the Sistine Chapel with Michelangelo’s breathtaking frescos on the ceiling.  Marvel at the treasures of St. Peter’s Basilica and the unique features of Christianity’s largest church.

On to the Middle Ages  We move on to Siena, passing ancient hill towns, olive groves and vineyards to one of Italy’s best-preserved medieval towns filled with marble churches and Gothic architecture.  Strolling through the Piazza del Campo we may hear the echo of 900 years of pounding hooves as this is the home to the Palio, the annual two-minute gallop that draws people from all over the world.  Our hotel for the next four nights is in the popular resort town of Montecatini with 14th century baths and timeless Tuscan vistas.

Simply Delicious   We take a break from sightseeing to learn the secrets of Tuscan cuisine by accompanying an accomplished chef to the market to select the freshest ingredients.  In their villa kitchen, they will share secrets of Italian Cooking and teach us how to prepare the memorable Tuscan meal we enjoy together before an afternoon of leisure.

Stepping back in Time  Tucked in the hills we find the unspoiled medieval village of Lucca and enjoy its palaces, towers and splendid churches all within an easy walk.  Then on to see Pisa’s 900 year-old cathedral and its incredible leaning Tower.  An optional tour of Florence takes us back to the Renaissance and its art and history, studded with names like Michelangelo, da Vinci and the Medicis.

A Florentine delight is choosing what to do first while enjoying a cappuccino at an outdoor table.  Purchase handcrafted leather goods, stroll the Ponte Vecchio gleaming with gold and spanning the picturesque Atno River since the 1300s; find artistic treasures, explore churches or venture down the lanes to the homes of Dante and Michelangelo and the studio of Leonardo da Vinci. Departing this delightful country, you’ll understand why one Italian phrase is often repeated: “Non basta una vita” – one lifetime is not enough.

Hotel Accommodations:
Days Two through Four – Grand Hotel Palazzo Carpegna, Rome
Days Five through Eight – hotel Vittoria Grand or Hotel Cristallino, Montecatini Terme, Italy