Arrival, Check-in, Registration, Opening Dinner, Introductions & Orientation

Afternoon: Independent arrivals in St. Petersburg.

HOTEL CHECK-IN: From 3:00pm.

PROGRAM REGISTRATION: After you have your room assignment, come over to the Road Scholar desk in the lobby to register with the program staff and pick up your arrival packet that will contain the up-to-date schedule we'll review during orientation this evening.

Please be aware that program activities and scheduled times could change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding!

INTRODUCTIONS & ORIENTATION: 5:00pm. Meet and greet everyone in an introductory get-acquainted session. We'll then review the updated schedule and any changes, discuss responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, answer any questions you may have, and talk about what's going on in St. Petersburg for free time options. The rest of the evening is yours to continue making new friends, walk around the neighborhood, or relax in the hotel. (If you arrive late, please pick up your packet at the hotel front desk.)

Dinner: Hotel Indigo's fine chef will prepare a delicious meal for you in our private meeting room. The buffet dinner includes a hot entree, side dishes, salad, bread, dessert, and beverages.

Evening: The evening is yours to begin getting to know your fellow participants, walk around the neighborhood, or relax.

You are embarking on a new Signature City program in one of Florida's most welcoming and delightful cities. Famous for more than a century as a desired destination, St. Petersburg is aptly called "Sunshine City" with a Guinness World Record for the most consecutive days of sunshine. St. Pete is experiencing an exciting and enriching cultural renaissance as an art city with a number of world-class institutions, some of which you'll explore during our program.

Lodging: Hotel Indigo

Meals Included: Dinner

Introduction to St. Petersburg via Motorcoach, Lunch and Field Trip at the Vinoy Hotel, Highlights and Colorful Characters of St. Petersburg History

Breakfast: The expansive buffet in our meeting room features choices such as fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, mini-bagels with butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese, jelly, and hot items such as eggs (boiled or scrambled), meat (bacon or sausage), and potatoes (hash or seasoned).

Morning: We'll begin each morning with announcements, updates, and an overview of the day's activities.

FIELD TRIP: Board the motorcoach with our historian, Jim Schnur, for a fun and informative ride through downtown St. Petersburg to learn about its history up to the present day.

Lunch: Enjoy a delectable 3-course lunch in Marchand's Bar and Grill, the renowned dining room at the historic Vinoy Hotel.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Renaissance Vinoy Resort. On New Year's Eve 1925, Aymer Vinoy Laughner's dream of an incomparable luxury hotel opened. The Vinoy's resident historian will walk us through this magnificent hotel that was and still is one of the finest examples of Mediterranean Revival architecture in Florida. With glazed quarry tiles, frescoed ceilings, intricate ornamental plaster and beautifully painted wood beams, it is a monument of grace and elegance.

You'll have free time after the field trip to linger at the Vinoy or explore on your own before dinner.

Dinner: Hotel Indigo's fine chef will prepare a delicious meal for you in our private meeting room. The buffet dinner includes a hot entree, side dishes, salad, bread, dessert, and beverages.

Evening: PRESENTATION: Stories and Colorful Characters of St. Petersburg. Get the low down on what's historic, relevant, and entertaining from a local historian.

Lodging: Hotel Indigo

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Field Trips to Sunken Gardens & Salvador Dali Museum, Evening Presentation on American Stage Theatre

Note: The Sunken Gardens field trip involves walking and standing for a minimum of 90 minutes; few benches to sit on.

Breakfast: Hot breakfast buffet in the Hotel Indigo's Meeting Room. Daily serving cottage cheese, fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, mini bagels with butter, cream cheese or jelly. Hot items will include eggs (scrambled or boiled), meat (bacon or sausage) and potatoes (hash or seasoned).

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Sunken Gardens. In 1903, George Turner, Sr. began growing tropical plants in the rich fertile soil and ancient lake in St. Petersburg. What began as a passion for gardening soon blossomed into a world famous botanical garden. Stroll through this 4-acre sanctuary with an expert docent and examine a variety of lush tropical plantings, cascading waterfalls, flowing ponds, exotic birds and rare Chilean flamingos.

Lunch: Choice of sandwiches plus chips and dessert catered and served at the Hotel Indigo Meeting Room.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Salvador Dalí Museum. There has been a Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg for 30 years. The spectacular new building protects the most comprehensive private collection of Dalí's work in the world. The entire range of his work is displayed, from early Impressionist paintings through transitional surrealist works, and into his classical period. This constantly growing and evolving artist worked in all media, leaving behind a wealth of oils, watercolors, drawings, graphics, sculptures, films, photographs, performance pieces, jewels, and objects of all descriptions.

Dinner: Hotel Indigo's fine chef will prepare a delicious meal for you in our private meeting room. The buffet dinner includes a hot entree, side dishes, salad, bread, dessert, and beverages.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: American Stage Theatre, Tampa Bay's best professional regional Equity theatre. The play we are scheduled to attend is "7 Guitars" by one of America's pre-eminent playwrights, August Wilson. The performance is preceded by an exclusive interview with the Artistic Director, the director of the play, and members of the cast. There may also be an opportunity for a "talk-back" with the cast following the performance. The New York Times praised it as "A play whose epic proportions and abundant spirit remind us of what the American theater once was."

This past season, American Stage was awarded Best Theater Company by the annual survey of the Best of the Bay by Creative Loafing (12th year in a row) and Tampa Bay Magazine (8th year in a row).

Lodging: Hotel Indigo

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Hot breakfast buffet in the Hotel Indigo's Meeting Room. Daily serving cottage cheese, fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, mini bagels with butter, cream cheese or jelly. Hot items will include eggs (scrambled or boiled), meat (bacon or sausage) and potatoes (hash or seasoned).

Morning: FIELD TRIP: The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg opened to the public in 1965. The Museum has an eclectic and well represented collection of art from antiquity to the present. The building itself inspired by the Palladian-style architecture houses art and sculpture complete with intimate outdoor garden areas, a library, and their special exhibitions and a small café. It is an art museum that is frequently described as a jewel to those who live here and visitors. Following a docent-led exploration, you'll have time to explore on your own.

Lunch: On Your Own. Explore the many options in the area.

Afternoon: FREE AFTERNOON: Take this opportunity to explore your personal interests. We’ll provide transportation to the waterfront area in downtown St. Petersburg. You have many choices within walking distance or a local trolley ride: museums, shops, movies, galleries, and much more.

Dinner: On Your Own. Continue your culinary explorations and adventures.

Evening: FREE EVENING. St. Pete has so much going on and you'll see recommendations in your arrival packet. We'll be happy to offer suggestions of current activities.

Lodging: Hotel Indigo

Meals Included: Breakfast

Art From Glass: Morean Arts Center, Ducan McClellan Studio, Chihuly Collection, Evening Entertainment

Breakfast: Hot breakfast buffet in the Hotel Indigo's Meeting Room. Daily serving cottage cheese, fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, mini bagels with butter, cream cheese or jelly. Hot items will include eggs (scrambled or boiled), meat (bacon or sausage) and potatoes (hash or seasoned).

Morning: FIELD TRIP: Art From Glass. Our first stop is to the Morean Arts Center’s Glass Studio & Hot Shop, a must-see opportunity to go behind the scenes and observe working artists creating magnificent glass pieces. The artists will provide step-by-step commentary, talk about the science behind glass and the artistic vision guiding the process. Seated comfortably, you’ll be able to watch an artist working in front of the furnace with molten glass and techniques dating back thousands of years ago to create glass art.

Continuing our theme, we next visit artist Duncan McClellen in his new St. Petersburg work-live-exhibit studio, a 7,800-square-foot warehouse transformed into a magnificent gallery. A First Prize winner in several national and local festivals, Duncan’s amazing glass creations are one-of-a-kind works with imagery inside, on the surface, and in some cases both.

Lunch: Lunch will be at the Parkshore Grill across the street from the Fine Arts Museum. The chef strives to create every dish using locally grown organic produce, meat, and seafood.

Afternoon: FIELD TRIP: Chihuly Collection. A short walk from the waterfront, The Chihuly Collection is a stunning, permanent collection of world-renowned Dale Chihuly's unusual artwork in a 10,000 square foot setting designed by award-winning architect Albert Alfonso. This is the first installation of Chihuly art in a building designed specifically for that purpose and designed so that the art and architecture work together to create a visitor experience. His spectacular large-scale installations include the Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier created specifically for the Collection along with several popular series works that have thrilled audiences around the globe.

The field trip will conclude at approximately 3:00pm and you'll have the rest of the afternoon to continue exploring on their own.

Dinner: Hotel Indigo's fine chef will prepare a delicious meal for you in our private meeting room. The buffet dinner includes a hot entree, side dishes, salad, bread, dessert, and beverages.

Evening: PERFORMANCE: Enjoy an evening of live musical entertainment by one of our outstanding local performers.

Lodging: Hotel Indigo

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Hot breakfast buffet in the Hotel Indigo's Meeting Room. Daily serving cottage cheese, fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, mini bagels with butter, cream cheese or jelly. Hot items will include eggs (scrambled or boiled), meat (bacon or sausage) and potatoes (hash or seasoned).

Morning: NOTE: Hotel check-out is by 11:00am.

FIELD TRIP: Public Arts and Architecture. Our motor coach will take you throughout St. Petersburg with our expert historian, Marlys Meckler. St. Pete has long been a stylish city and was recently named a top art destination by American Style Magazine. Along with an extraodinary variety of architectural styles and representative buildings, there are more than 80 works of public art.

Lunch: Returning to the hotel, you'll have a boxed lunch with choice of wrap, chips, fruit, cookies, beverage.

The program concludes with lunch.

We hope you have enjoyed this exciting new Signature City program and will join us for other rewarding Road Scholar learning adventures in the future. Best wishes for all your journeys!

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch