Since 1888, the National Geographic Society has been “inspiring people to care about the planet” through scientific research, field-work, and expeditions to the far corners of the Earth. Located on the first floor of its centrally located headquarters in downtown D.C., the society's high-tech museum is an engaging showcase of discoveries from around the globe. One of the current exhibits is Birds of Paradise - found deep in the New Guinea rain forest, the birds of paradise, with their beautiful plumes and bizarre courtship displays, exemplify the evolutionary power of sexual selection. Birds of Paradise is a story of daring expeditions, ground-breaking research, extreme evolution, world culture, and conservation, as only National Geographic can present, with stunning imagery, compelling video, soundscapes, artifacts, and engaging educational activities for all ages. We'll be free to explore this and any other exhibit you desire, have lunch on your own, and even venture out to some of the other nearby museums before we depart at 3:00 pm.

COST: $55. Includes coach, admission, gratuities, and escort.

Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday, March 6, 2013 10:30 am - 7:30 pm

In 2013 the Philadelphia International Flower Show prepares for a British Invasion as the culture and horticulture of England takes center stage. Receive the royal treatment as you explore acres of great gardens and learn from the world's most celebrated growers and designers. “Brilliant England” is sure to be smashing with acres of gardens, thousands of artistic floral and horticultural displays, over 140 shops in the marketplace, and live entertainment.

We start with lunch aboard The Moshulu, a Four Star, AAA Four Diamond, 108-year-old Clipper Ship. This is the oldest and largest tall ship still afloat. Celebrate with English Cuisine with a special themed lunch.

Selections are:

• Baked Shepherd's Pie with braised beef, potatoes, and English Stout;
• Herb Crusted Chicken Breast with Stilton walnut butter;
• Mustard Crusted Rainbow Trout with crispy bacon & onion marmalade.

All will be served a Romaine Chopped Salad with maple glazed bacon, English cheddar, red onion and buttermilk dressing; Roasted Brussel Sprouts with bacon and balsamic vinaigrette; herb roasted new potatoes;

• Chocolate Toffee Bread Pudding with butter rum sauce for dessert; and
• non-alcoholic beverage (please indicate lunch choice when making reservations).

We'll arrive at the Flower Show at approximately 2:00 - we'll beat the crowds and still have several hours to explore the show until our 6:00 pm departure.

COST: $110. Includes coach, lunch, Flower Show ticket, gratuities, and escort.

Journey back to 1912 and experience the legend of Titanic like never before. The galleries in this fascinating exhibition feature over 300 real artifacts recovered from the ocean floor along with room re-creations and personal stories; each highlighting a different chapter in the compelling story of Titanic's maiden voyage. There will be time to explore the rest of the museum, visit the gift shop, and to have lunch (on your own) at the museum's café before we depart at 2:30 pm.

COST: $63. Includes coach, admission, gratuities, and escort

An all-new production of one of the most acclaimed musicals of the past 35 years! Annie is the rags-to-riches tale of a spunky young orphan (played by newcomer Lilla Crawford) and her pals. With equal measures of pluck and positivity, little orphan Annie charms everyone's hearts, despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. And now, alongside her signature pal dog, Sandy, she's set her sights on making us grin from ear to ear as she inspires a whole new millennium.

The play is showing at the Palace Theatre, 1564 Broadway.

We will arrive in time for lunch, some shopping and/or sightseeing before the 2:00 pm matinee.

After the show, there'll be some free time to shop or grab a deli sandwich for the ride home before the 5:45 pm departure.

Center Orchestra Seats.

COST: $167. Includes coach, breakfast snack, show tickets, gratuities, and escort.

We'll pick up our guide in Frederick, and head for Antietam Battlefield where we will have time to explore the Visitor's Center before a park ranger takes us on a tour of the battle grounds.

We'll have lunch at Bonnie's at the Red Bird, a family-owned restaurant in Keedysville, MD.

Lunch choices are:

• Red Byrd Club - ham turkey, cheese, bacon, lettuce & tomato - with chips and pickles;
• Keedysville burger - coleslaw and crispy onion strips on burger, served with fries; or
• veggie sub - lettuce, tomato, green peppers, onion, cheese - with chips & pickle.

All served with their famous Red Byrd cake (red velvet) and non-alcoholic beverage - please indicate choice at time of reservation.

After lunch we'll make our way back to Frederick for a driving tour and a stop at The National Civil War Medicine Museum. The Museum was established in 1990 by a group of scholars and medical professionals who desired to share their interest in Civil War medicine with the public. Visitors to the NMCWM will find a unique center of civil war history. Guiding them through a century and a half's worth of medical history as well as civil war camp life, hospital life, African American life, women's and children's roles during the war, and many more aspects of American history during the Civil War era. The NMCWM highlights the challenges faced by the doctors and surgeons of the civil war era and the innovations that came out of that era that led to the modern military medical system.

Afterwards, our guide will walk with us to Everedy Square & Shad Row for a little shopping before we depart at 5 pm.

COST: $73. Includes, coach, breakfast snack, step-on guide, admissions, lunch, gratuities, and escort.

An annual spring event! Enjoy a day doing whatever your heart desires-sightseeing, museums, shopping, or a matinee. Drop off and pick up will be in the theatre district. Maps of the Times Square area and a restaurant list will be distributed on the coach.

The group departs NYC at 6:30 pm. This trip will depart from and return to Perry Hall High School.

COST: $55. Includes coach, breakfast snack, gratuities, and escort.

Since opening in the fall of 1997, QVC Studio Park in West Chester, PA, has become a popular destination for thousands of visitors interested in seeing live television at its best. The QVC Studio Tour is a one-of-a-kind guided walking tour through the fantastic world of multimedia retailing. At this state-of-the-art broadcasting facility, guests will see and experience how QVC products are sourced, tested, brought to life on air, and delivered to millions of QVC customers. There are views into QVC's more than 58,000 square feet of studio space, including a spectacular view from the Observation Deck where guests may be able to watch QVC programs in progress and may even catch a glimpse of a favorite host or guest!

There'll be some time to shop in the QVC Store before we depart for The Desmond Hotel where we'll enjoy a buffet lunch.

COST: $77. Includes coach, admission/tour, lunch, gratuities, and escort.

To celebrate the Garden Club's 80th anniversary - this tour entitled “In Step with History” features locations that were opened 80 years ago! Belmont Gardens were a restoration site of the Garden Club of Virginia in 1933. Several homes have distinguished pasts involving the Civil War. Brompton is considered one of America's oldest homes and served as a Union Hospital. Chatham became a headquarters and hospital for the Union Army. Fall Hill was a strategic point used by General Robert E. Lee to guard the river crossing and was used as a camp of the Confederate Army. Snowden House was the site of a meeting between Lee and officials from the City of Fredericksburg, George Washington's Ferry Farm served as a location where people could cross the Rappahannock River on a ferry from the farm to the town of Fredericksburg. Another restoration site, The Mary Washington Monument marks the grave of Mary Washington who died several months before her son became President. She selected the site herself. The monument stands on part of the original Kenmore Estate. In 1939 and 2008 the Garden Club of Virginia assisted with plantings along the brick walk leading to the monument and trees and shrubs for the lawn. Kenmore is also opened to ticket holders and has the unique history of being among one of the first garden restoration sites by the Garden Club of Virginia.

A lunch buffet will be included at Ryan's Family Steakhouse.

COST: $87. Includes coach, breakfast snack, admission/tours, lunch, gratuities, and escort.

The Newseum, the world's most interactive museum, where five centuries of news history meets up-to-the-second technology on America's Main Street displayed on six levels. The Newseum's galleries and theaters will immerse you in the world's greatest news stories - the people, the places, and the times. Exhibit highlights include the First Amendment Tablet; the Great Hall of News; the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery; the Berlin Wall Gallery; the 9/11 Gallery, and special exhibits “JFK: Four Days that Shook the World,” and “Creating Camelot.”

Have lunch (on your own) in the “Food Section,” and visit The Newseum Store before we depart at 4:00 pm.

COST: $63. Includes coach, admission, gratuities, and escort.

We'll arrive in Lancaster at approximately 10:30 and visit the Kitchen Kettle Village featuring a variety of shops, giving everyone an opportunity to purchase a snack. At noon we'll depart for the Sight & Sound's Millennium Theatre for the 1:00 pm performance of Noah - back by Popular Demand for One Season Only! Join the millions of people from all over the world who have seen this, awe-inspiring, family experience. Embark on a journey with Noah and his family as they uphold the call of God to build a boat in a land that had never seen rain! Then watch as hundreds of animals enter and live inside the great ark that surrounds the audience on three sides of a 300-foot-stage. 40-foot-tall sets, toe-tapping songs, professional actors and a message of hope make Noah a must see!

After the show, we'll enjoy a delicious smorgasbord at Hershey Farms. There'll be some time to browse the gift shop before departing at 5:30 pm.

COST: $135. Includes coach, show ticket, dinner, all gratuities, and escort.

Adapted from the popular 1988 Roald Dahl children's novel, Matilda follows an intelligent young girl with extraordinary powers who rebels against her nasty parents and the child-hating headmistress of her boarding school. The Royal Shakespeare Company's hit musical - Matilda - will begin previews in March, 2013, at Broadway's Shubert Theatre, 225 West 44th Street. We will arrive in New York with plenty of time for lunch, some shopping and/or sightseeing before the 2:00 pm matinee.

After the show, there'll be some free time to shop or grab a deli sandwich for the ride home before the 5:45 pm departure.

Orchestra Seats.

COST: $157. Includes coach, breakfast snack, show tickets, gratuities, and escort.

After picking up our step-on guide we'll tour the last crab picking plant in Talbot County, and learn how to make crab cakes, pocketbook rolls, and other traditional Tilghman Island fare. Then we'll visit the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center before boarding the Express Royal for a scenic cruise past the beautiful waterfront mansions along the Choptank River. Lunch will be included at a destination to be announced. Our guide will then take us to a seafood market where we may purchase fresh crabmeat and other local seafood. Then it's on to St. Michaels - the Town that Fooled the British - for a driving tour and a stop at the historic Christ Church.

We'll stop by St. Michaels Winery for a tasting and have some free time to shop before we depart at 5 pm.

COST: $113. Includes coach, breakfast snack, step-on guide, tours, cruise, lunch, wine tasting, gratuities, and escort.

Located at the Dulles Expo Center, this show presents over 700 quilts made by members of Quilters Unlimited - representing a variety of approaches to quilting from traditional to modern. There will be approximately 70 vendors as well as educational demonstrations. Have lunch at the Food Vendor Hall during your visit. We'll board the coach for home at 2:30 pm.

Note: This trip will depart from and return to the CCBC Essex campus.
COST: $60. Includes coach, admission to show, gratuities, and escort.

“Guy” is an Irish singer and songwriter who spends his days fixing vacuums in the Dublin shop he runs with his father, and his nights playing his music in local pubs. He is on the verge of giving up music altogether when a Czech immigrant, “Girl,” walks into the bar, hears him play and refuses to let him abandon his guitar. As it turns out, she has a broken vacuum cleaner, Guy repairs it, and she pays him in music on a piano she plays in a record shop. Over the course of a week, Girl convinces Guy to believe in the power of his music and his love for the woman who inspired his songs. They scrape together money to record a demo album with a motley crew of bar friends, and their unexpected friendship and collaboration evolves into a powerful-but very complicated-love story. The stage adaptation of this Oscar-winning film has taken the 2012 Tony for Best Musical!

The show is at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, 242 West 45th Street and, as always, we will arrive in New York with plenty of time for lunch, some shopping and/or sightseeing before the 2:00 pm matinee.

After the show, there'll be some free time to shop or grab a deli sandwich for the ride home before the 5:45 pm departure.

Orchestra Seats.

COST: $207. Includes coach, breakfast snack, show tickets, gratuities, and escort