October 24-28, 2013- Underground Railroad Trip to Eastern Ontario

UGRR  TOUR  TO  CANADA- OCTOBER-24-28, 2013 -
Prices are $557 for a Single room and  $407 each for a double room.
The big news about this trip is that it will be a 4 night trip instead  of the previously planned 6 night trip. We will not be going to Owen Sound. However, the cost of the tour will be lowered considerably!
Below, details of the trip follow. Where words are CAPITALIZED that indicates a place we will be visiting. Other words are people, buildings,  etc. Many of these people are not very well known, but, will come to life on this fabulous  trip.

Thursday October 24- After taking the Ambassador Bridge to CANADA  our first first stop will be in the OTTERVILLE area (near LONDON) where we will learn about Black Farmers. We then go on to ANCASTER (near HAMILTON) where we will  see the home of  Enerals Griffin. He came here in in 1834 from Virginia. Lunch will be a Subway sandwich—Stewart’s treat!*Our next stop will be ST. CATHERINES where
we will see the church where Harriet Tubman brought many of her fugitives. Anthony Burns, Richard Pierpont, & Rev. Hiram Wilson are three other famous people we will learn about in St. Catherines. I have books on two of them. We will also see the Welland Canal Centre & the St. Catherines Museum. We may check into our Motel 6** before dinner at Niagara Falls or vice versa. Possibly some free time.

Friday, October 25-Our 1st stop today  will be a  building that once housed  fugitives who had just crossed the Niagara  River near Niagara Falls. We then get on the Niagara Parkway going south. On this route we will see an area which used to be called “LITTLE  AFRICA”. Next will be FORT  ERIE where we will see  Bertie Hall which was the final station on the UGRR for many!! We will also see a plaque describing the ferry boat system that was the way many fugitives in the  BUFFALO-FORT ERIE area
got to CANADA. We then return to the NIAGARA  FALLS area where we will eat lunch and then take the Niagara Parkway north to see more UGRR sites and visit Niagara on the Lake. Some of the people we will learn about in this area include- Bill Seward, Rev. John Oakley, Solomon Mosby, Chloe Cooley, The Colored Corps, Nathan- iel Brett, & the Forysth Brothers. We stay in Niagara Falls for the second night in a row!

Saturday, October 26-Depending on what we did  on  Friday will determine our plans for today. If we completed the NIAGARA ON  THE  LAKE area we head for the Toronto area. If we did not finish the NIAGARA ON THE LAKE area, we will do that and then get on toward Toronto. Near Toronto we will visit Oakville & see the Oakville Museum  at Erchless Estate. We then check into our Toronto Days Inn Motel for two nights. Free time in Toronto in the evening—–depending on time.

Sunday, October 27- In the morning we will take a tour of  Black Historic Sites in  TORONTO, etc.  We will learn about Deborah Brown, Lucie & Thornton Blackburn,*** Donald Moore, Osgoode Hall, William Hubbard, & Anderson Abbott. Lunch will occur as we do this tour and then we hope to have  free time in the evening.

Monday, October 28- After getting luggage on the bus FREE TIME in morning. We  will leave TORONTO sometime after lunch. We will get on Highway 401 and go to LUCAN
near LONDON. We will make a short stop  in LUCAN where one of the four Black Cities in Canada was located. (WILBERFORCE) We then go thru SARNIA and take the
Blue Water Bridge to PORT  HURON and the USA!

*Thursday lunch will be provided by Stewart. Participants are responsible for the rest of
your meals.

**I have stayed at this Motel 6 before. It is new, clean, has a swimming pool, and near many restaurants!

***This amazing story involves Maysville & Lousiville, Kentucky, Detroit, & Toronto!
Great book by Karolyn Smardz Frost on their lives—-I’ve Got a Home in Glory Land
MISCELLANEOUS  INFO  ON  TRIP—
1- Stewart has made five trips to Ontario preparing for this trip.
2-Trip insurance can be purchased by calling 1-866-877-3240.
3-Meals will be on your own except for Thursday lunch. (Subway on Bus.)
4-Deposit of $100 due by July 1, 2013. Full payment by September 1, 2015.
5-Motel and Hotel Info. Some Info located in Tour Description. (more info later)
6-Many relevant videos shown on trip and also lots of HANDOUTS!
7- See website for details on Canada border crossing info. You MUST  HAVE either a valid US PASSPORT, an enhanced Drivers License, or an enhanced State ID.
8-Tour will leave from Eastpointe. (16600 Stephens Road)(1-586-872-2581)  It leaves from a wonderful Military Museum located less than one block from Gratiot.
9-Stewart McMillin can be reached at-H- 313-922-1990 (Cell-313-6264082) or e-mail at
stewart@mcmillintours.com   or  WEBSITE—www.mcmillintours.com

2 Responses to October 24-28, 2013- Underground Railroad Trip to Eastern Ontario

  1. Pingback: WHAT STEWART HAS ON THE AGENDA! |

  2. Tracy Taylor says:

    Hello. Are children allowed to join trip? If so, is the cost the same for an 8 yr old? Thank you.

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