Welcome to LLI/NOVA’s Cultural Excursions Program!

The mission of the Cultural Excursions Program is to promote and provide access to the educational, cultural, and leisure offerings of this area and the nearby states. Volunteers who plan and often lead these activities strive to provide stimulating, shared experiences for LLI/NOVA members, and their friends and family, at a reasonable cost.

Offerings will include informal Meet-Ups where each participant provides his/her own transportation to and from a location or event that may occupy all or part of a day. In addition, trips will be offered to locations in the region or to nearby states. The duration of these trips varies from one to several days and usually includes transportation and overnight lodging. Most trips are organized and managed by the LLI/NOVA Cultural Excursions Committee. These trips, in addition to longer duration trips provided by commercial tour operators, are contingent upon meeting minimum participation requirements and are thereby subject to cancellation.

Trips will be announced on this page, in the Events calendar, on the Home page, and in the LLI/NOVA Newsletter. Most activities are open to members and friends and family, but often only an LLI/NOVA member can register someone for a trip. If an LLI/NOVA member wants to bring a non-LLI/NOVA member, then the LLI/NOVA member may have to fill out the registration both for the member and the non-member.

Each activity has specific registration procedures. These procedures are included in the activity description and may vary from event to event. Registration procedures for some trips will require you to fill out and submit an LLI Trip Registration form in order to participate. A generic version of the form can be found here. However, frequently a form is tailored for each trip. See the specific trip announcements below.

Announcements

Upcoming Excursions

Tuesday, December 10 – A Holiday Afternoon Tea at The Cherry Hill Farmhouse – Falls Church, VA
- Join us for a delicious afternoon tea at this historic home in nearby Falls Church. The menu includes sandwiches, assorted sweets and warm scones. We will meet in the foyer for a welcome, enjoy tea in the dining room and then a tour of the home will be given.
- For accessibility, there are a couple handicapped parking spaces and free parking in a nearby community center lot. There is a ramp to the first floor for the tea, but the tour to the second floor is not accessible.
- Cost – Members & non-member Guests – The cost is $40 per person, payable to Bonnie Hopler by check or cash, by November 27. Cancelations will be accepted until November 27 with a refund of payment. If you cancel after November 27, your payment will not be refunded.
- Registration: This event is open to members and guests. Please register on the LLI event calendar. Your payment by check or cash to Bonnie Hopler by November 27, however, will be your guaranteed reservation.
- Transportation: This is a meet-up at the venue.
- Date/Time: Tuesday, December 10, 2024 – 12:00 to 2:00 p.m.
- Location: The Cherry Hill Farmhouse – 312 Park Avenue, Falls Church, VA 22046
- Limit: Min – 12; Max – 18
- LLI Coordinator: Bonnie Hopler – bdhopler@gmail.com or 703-978-9381.

Thursday, March 20, 2025 – David Taylor Model Basin Carderock, MD
- Guided tour of the David Taylor Model Basin. We will learn how the U.S. Navy tests models of its ships for seaworthiness. David Taylor Model Basin is one of the largest test facilities for the development of ship design in the world. It is a field activity of the Carderock Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Note: stamina is required to walk two miles, including stairs, without rest.
- Cost – no charge
- Registration: This event is open to members only. Please register on the LLI event calendar.
- Transportation: This is a meet-up at the venue.
- Date/Time: Thursday, March 20, 2025 – 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
- Location: David Taylor Model Basin – Bounded by MacArthur Blvd. and Clara Barton Pkwy., Bethesda, MD (9500 MacArthur Blvd, West Bethesda, MD 20817)
- Limit: Min – 5; Max – 10
- LLI Coordinator: Patricia Brennan. – patriciabbrennan@cox.net or 703-425-6738.

Saturday, March 29, 2025 – Chocolate Tasting and Tour Chantilly, VA
- Taste five samples of chocolate made at River Sea Chocolates in Chantilly, VA. On this public tour, you will get to observe the production and see the machinery for making small-batch bean-to-bar chocolate. This tour is recommended for adults only.
- Cost: $25 – Purchase your ticket at your earliest convenience on the venue’s website at https://www.riverseachocolates.com/ to ensure it’s not sold out. On their website, select Tasting Flight and Tour for $25 for March 29 at 2:00 p.m. After purchasing your ticket, register on the LLI website so we may get a head count.
- Registration: This event is open to members and guests. After purchasing your ticket on the vendor site, register on the LLI website so we may get a head count.
- Transportation: This is a meet-up at the venue. If you’re interested in carpooling, let the trip leader know so she may connect you with others who are also interested.
- Date/Time: Saturday, March 29, 2025 – 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Location: 4520 Daly Dr., Suite 100, Chantilly VA 20151 in Chantilly Square Shopping Center. [Hidden between Ono Brewing and Siemens.]
- Accessibility: The venue is wheelchair accessible.
- Limit: Min – 10; Max – 16
- LLI Coordinator: Ellen Soroka – happysoroka@gmail.com or703-455-3341.

General Information

More details on excursions will be provided as it is available and be included here and in the class and event calendar. Information will also often be published in the Class Catalog and the Newsletter.

Most reservations will be made using the LLI/NOVA class and event registration calendar for members and for non-members/guests when they are included on the excursion.
Payment will often be accepted online, but by credit card only.
The ticket price will often not include transportation, parking, or food/snacks/drinks (i.e., meet ups). We will encourage and facilitate carpooling or ridesharing.
Cancellation policies and refunds will vary from excursion to excursion and will be explicitly stated for each excursion. LLI/NOVA will often need to meet minimum group ticket purchase requirements for each event. If the minimum is not met prior to the registration cut-off for each event, we will have to cancel our participation in that event. Once event tickets have been purchased by LLI/NOVA from the venue, the tickets will be non-refundable.

Tentative Excursions for 2024/2025

National Museum of the Marine Corps, Quantico
Library of Congress and Supreme Court, D.C.
Planet Word, D.C.
National Museum of Women in the Arts, D.C.

Past Day Trips

A Fall Afternoon Tea at The Things I Love – Manassas, VA – October 24
Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument Tour – October 17
Explore the O St Mansion Museum & More – September 17, 2024
American Cryptologic History Tour – August 19, 2024
Afternoon Tea at Mazadar Restaurant – Fairfax, VA – August 15, 2024
Opportunity to Witness Open-Heart Surgery at Inova Fairfax – August 2, 2024
Tour National Inventors Hall of Fame – Alexandria, VA – July 15m 2024
Tour Ivy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, VA – April 19, 2024
Spring Wildflower Walk at the Richard Thompson Wildlife Management Area – April 6, 2024
61st Annual Woodlawn Needlework Show, Alexandria, VA – March 13, 2024
Frederick Douglass Home & Portrait Gallery – Anacostia, DC – February 20, 2024
Hike along the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal – October 14, 2023
Ben Lomond Historic Site – Prince William County, VA – October 12, 2023
Afternoon Tea at Cafe Renaissance – Vienna, VA – September 28, 2023
Hike and Wine Tasting in Fauquier County – September 27, 2023. We did a naturalist (Mary Alexander) led hike at Sky Meadows State Park followed by a visit to nearby Delaplane Cellars, for wine tasting and lunch.
National Museum of the Marine Corps – Triangle, VA – August 24, 2023
Afternoon Tea at Mazadar Renaissance – August 16, 2023
Gari Melchers Home & Studio, Falmouth, VA – June 29, 2023
Tudor Place and Dumbarton Oaks – May 31, 2023
Afternoon Tea at Cafe Renaissance – April 29, 2023
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden Tour – April 19, 2023
Hillwood Museum Tour – December 13, 2022
George Washington Masonic Memorial Tour – October 7, 2022
Afternoon Tea with Mrs. B – September 15, 2022
US Army Museum. On August 30, 2022, we visited the National Museum of the US Army, near Fort Belvoir, to walk-through history from the founding of our nation’s militia through major wars and battles, to today’s Army.
Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. On July 15, 2022, we visited Kenilworth National Park, and had a ranger-led tour of the gardens. We learned the park’s history, about the wildlife found along the Anacostia River, and the flowers blooming.
Cruise on the Potomac & Occoquan – We had a delightful day cruising the rivers on the “Miss Rivershore” with Captain Mark Perry. Capt. Perry was a wealth of information from current news to old historical stories.
Spy Tour of Washington – Led by Gary Powers, Jr., the tour visited locations in the Washington area that have been the scenes of international intrigue, espionage, and intelligence activities, and The Cold War Museum in Vint Hill, Virginia.
Fredericksburg Garden Week Tour, including visits to six homes/gardens and lunch at a local restaurant.
National Gallery of Art “meet up” to see “Glimpses of the 17th Century” and a special exhibit on “Power and Pathos.”
Tour of the Evergreen Museum and Library in Baltimore and the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion for a buffet lunch and a tour of the home.
Tours of Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, homes in Southwestern PA designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and lunch at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.
Library of Congress “meet up” which included a behind the scenes tour of the Geography and Map Division.
Annual LLI/NOVA trip to a Washington Nationals baseball game.
Tour of the Brandywine River Valley Museum and the studio of artist Andrew Wyeth in Chadds Ford, PA, followed by a Longwood Gardens tour and lunch at the Gardens.
State Department Diplomatic Reception Rooms meet up tour.

Past Overnight Trips

Spring Trip to Staunton, VA – Two days/1 night. A visit to one of the 20 Best Small Towns in America. Stops included Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, a stay at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel, a play at the famous American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriar’s Playhouse, and English High Tea at the thatched cottage of Anne Hathaway.
West Virginia Train Ride – Three days / two nights. Two exciting train rides: Durbin Rocket Train along Greenbrier River and Cheat Mountain Salamander Train, motor coach transportation and two shows at American Mountain Theater.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous – Four days / three nights touring the Hamptons and Long Island.
Hudson Valley – Four days / three nights. Tour Culinary Institute of America, FDR’s home, Val-Kill, Vanderbilt Mansion, West Point, Sunnyside.
Charleston, SC – Five days / four nights. Boat to Fort Sumter, tour of two plantations, city tour, tour of houses on King Street.
Norfolk, VA – Three days / two nights. Tour of Naval Station, boat ride, Nauticus Lights at Gardens, Chrysler Museum, and two historic houses.
Battles, Belles, Heroes & Rogues (Richmond, VA) – Two days / one night. Pamplin Historic Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, St. John’s Church and the White House of Confederacy.
Princeton and Trenton, NJ – Three days / two nights. Tour Princeton campus and town, the Governor’s Mansion, Princeton Battle Ground, the Sculpture Garden in Trenton and the NJ Capitol Building.
Brandywine Valley, DE – Three days / two nights. Including holiday illuminations at Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, Hagley Museum, Brandywine Battlefield and Brandywine River Museum.

Volunteers Are Needed

Putting together a winning trip depends on having a willing band of volunteers to plan trips, research sites and facilities, and potentially, become a Trip Assistant or Trip Leader. We’ve generally worked in teams, with more experienced members working with new members and providing support throughout the trip planning process. Remember, “more experienced trip planners” were once new too!

If you’re an LLI/NOVA member and believe you would enjoy working with others to plan and/or lead trips to fascinating and stimulating destinations, please email the LLI/NOVA Cultural Excursions Committee Chairperson, Carol Fagnani. Don’t forget to include your full name, any special qualifications and your contact information (telephone number and/or email address).