The post-conference tour will start when the conference ends, midday Thursday, September 2.

The first stop will be Hancock, MD, where the group will have lunch at a restaurant that overlooks the canal. Next stop is the impressive Sideling Hill road cut on Interstate 68. Then the tour will continue to Cumberland, the western end of the C&O Canal. After checking into the Fairfield Inn, participants will embark on a brief walking tour of the historic riverfront. Dinner at the 1812 Brewery follows.

Friday will feature a journey on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad between Cumberland and Frostburg. Participants will enjoy lunch on the train. They will tour Frostburg before returning to Cumberland.  Friday’s dinner destination is a restaurant with a history that dates back to 1819.

On Saturday the tour bus will take participants back to Hagerstown for those who wish to disembark there and then on to a convenient location in the Washington, D.C., area.

The pre-conference tour will start Thursday, August 26 and focus on the Washington, D.C. area.

The tour bus will first make a stop in Hagerstown Thursday morning before heading to the rendezvous location at the Bethesda North Marriott in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.  (If you drive to the conference, you may want to leave your car in Hagerstown during the tour.)

Initial stops in the D.C. area will include a restored lockhouse now available for overnight stays and the site of the C&O Canal groundbreaking July 4, 1828. Thursday evening features a driving tour of D.C. monuments, with stops at the World War II memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Vietnam War memorial.

Friday will focus on Georgetown, the first mile of the canal, where the group should be able to tour the newly delivered canal boat.

Friday afternoon the group will take the train to Harpers Ferry. They will get a brief tour of the historic town, before having dinner at a local craft brewery.

En route to Hagerstown, Saturday’s stops include the beautifully restored Catoctin Aqueduct, a sneak peek at the National Road Museum under development, and historic Shepherdstown.

The pre-conference tour will deliver you to Hagerstown about 6 p.m. Saturday.