Local Field Trips
Field trip registration is first-come, first-served. Fees must be paid with registration.
Cancellations may only be made by contacting Registration Services at (205) 348-3000.
Refunds will not be issued after the trip cancellation deadline. Substitutions are not allowed.
If a field trip is full, you may request to be placed on a waitlist. If you have questions about the trip, contact the trip leader or call OLLI at (205) 348-6482.
Our field trips come in different shapes and sizes. We want you to be comfortable with the level of activity expected to take place. Decide your preferred activity level to help select the field trips that fit your preference: Level 1- Easy/Light Walking, Level 2- Moderate, Level 3- Active, Level 4- Very Active.
Introducing the New Activity Level Guide!
OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
These trips and tours involve light physical activity at a leisurely pace. Participants should be able to board a van/motorcoach/charter bus, walk at a relaxed pace for up to 60 minutes, navigate a flight of stairs and stand for an extended time.
OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Moderate trips/tours require average physical activity. Participants should be able to navigate one or two flights of stairs, walk reasonable distances, possibly over uneven ground and cobblestoned streets.
OLLI Level 3 – Active
Active trips and tours involve increased physical activity. The itineraries blend longer and shorter days, along with leisure time. Participants should be able to walk longer distances, stand for extended periods and navigate more stairs. They must also be able to handle uneven walking surfaces. This level is not suitable for participants who require mobility assistance devices.
OLLI Level 4 – Very Active
Very active trips and tours require participants to be physically fit to ensure safety and enjoyment. Participants should be able to handle extensive walking, hiking, transfers over rough and dusty terrain, high altitudes, early mornings, late evenings or extreme temperatures. They may also encounter wet and windy conditions. This level is not suitable for travelers who use wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility assistance devices.
Members may participate in trips from any of the chapters TUSCALOOSA – GREATER BIRMINGHAM – GADSDEN
Greater Birmingham
BHM 201 Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens
Friday, June 6
Refund Deadline: June 3
Trip Leader: Annette Vazquez (drnocat@hotmail.com)
Meet: 10:15 a.m. at the Arlington Antebellum Home and Gardens at 331 Cotton Ave. SW Birmingham. Around one hour.
End: 11:30 a.m., or later with Dutch-treat lunch
Fee: $8 (Admission)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
Visit Birmingham’s last remaining Greek Revival Antebellum Home, a beautifully preserved architectural treasure that offers a glimpse into the city’s rich history. Stroll through the gardens, admire the restoration and discover the stories that bring this historic estate to life. After the tour, enjoy a Dutch-treat lunch at a local restaurant.
BHM 202 Jack Daniel’s Distillery and Lynchburg Landmarks
Thursday, June 12 and Friday, June 13
Refund Deadline: May 27
Trip Leader: Annette Vazquez (drnocat@hotmail.com)
Depart: 7:15 a.m. – Riverchase United Methodist Church (corner parking lot of Old Montgomery Hwy and Carl Raines Lake Rd.)
Return: 4 p.m.
Fee: $240 Dbl/$325 Sgl (Transportation, lodging, admission, lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s Restaurant)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 3 – Active
Join us for a spirited adventure! Tour the Jack Daniels Distillery with a tasting, then enjoy a lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s. Explore the Moore County Old Jail Museum and Courthouse before an overnight stay in Fayetteville. Day two takes us to Athens for the Alabama Veterans Museum, lunch at Ro’s Grille and one final museum stop before heading home!
BHM 203 Alabama Holocaust Education Center
Thursday, July 24
Trip Leader: Gail Sheppard (gakshepp@gmail.com)
Meet: 10:30 a.m. at the Alabama Holocaust Education Center, 2100 Highland Ave. S, Birmingham. May last up to two hours.
Fee: None
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
Join us on this tour led by educators, storytellers and preservationists who safeguard the memories of Alabama’s Holocaust survivors. The center shares the memories of 20 of Alabama’s survivors, revealing their past stories of despair and their new lives. Together we will learn about one of the most horrific events in human history.
BHM 204 Explore The University of Alabama: Campus and Museums Tour
Friday Aug. 1
Refund Deadline: July 18
Trip Leader: Gail Sheppard (gakshepp@gmail.com)
Meet: 9:15 a.m. at the Randall Welcome center, 200 Bryce Lawn Dr. at the University Campus.
End: 3 p.m.
Activity Level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Fee: $42 (Tour-guide led campus bus tour, admissions)
Join us for a guided tour of The University of Alabama campus. The journey begins with a bus tour around the perimeter, led by a member of the Capstone Men and Women. Next, participants visit the Randall Family Welcome Center and the Alabama Department of Mental Health Museum. A Dutch-treat lunch follows at Legends Bistro and Lounge. In the afternoon, guided tours continue at the Paul W. Bryant Museum and the Alabama Museum of Natural History at Smith Hall.
Gadsden
GAD 201 Peterbrooke Chocolatier, Tuscaloosa
Friday, June 13
Refund Deadline: June 6
Trip Leader: Shirley du Pont (slild01@aol.com)
Depart UA Gadsden Center: 8:30 a.m. Return: 6 p.m.
Fee: $65 (Transportation, tour and experience)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
Learn the history and the science of chocolate while indulging your sweet tooth. After an informational tour, participants will create a chocolate delight of their own. There will be plenty of time to shop for additional sweet treats to take home.
GAD 202 Gibbs Gardens
Friday, June 27
Refund Deadline: June 16
Trip Leader: Shirley du Pont (slild01@aol.com)
Depart UA Gadsden Center: 8:30 a.m. Return: 6 p.m.
Fee: $60 (Transportation, ticket)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Gibbs Gardens is a 376-acre botanical garden. Participants will tour the various gardens on the property, including the Waterlily Garden, the Japanese Gardens, the Rose Garden and many more. Roses, azaleas, hydrangeas, waterlilies and many more flowers will be in bloom for us to enjoy. We will tour the Manor House before enjoying a Dutch-treat lunch at Riverstone Corner Bistro.
GAD 203 Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A musical at Virginia Samford Theater
Saturday, July 19
Refund Deadline: July 8
Trip Leader: Shirley du Pont (slild01@aol.com)
Depart UA Gadsden Center: 8:30 a.m. Return: 6 p.m.
Fee: $85 (Transportation, ticket)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
Big River is based on Mark Twain’s classic 1884 novel, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," and features country music legend Roger Miller. Stacey Alley and Bobby Horton will guide participants on a fresh and authentic musical journey through Twain’s timeless tale.
GAD 204 Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and MLK Jr. Museum
Atlanta, GA
Friday, Aug. 1
Refund Deadline: July 23
Trip Leader: Shirley du Pont (slild01@aol.com)
Depart UA Gadsden Center: 8:30 a.m. Return: 6 p.m.
Fee: $50 (Transportation, ticket)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
The Jimmy Carter Library and Museum houses President Carter’s papers and other materials relating to the Carter family life. Highlights include a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize and a copy of the Resolute desk. The collections cover all areas of the Carter administration, including the personal lives of President and First Lady Mrs. Carter. Next, participants will visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Museum. They will explore his roots, walk in his footsteps, as well as visit the home of his birth and where he is buried.
Tuscaloosa
TUS 201 Historic Private Tour of Two Antebellum Homes (Eutaw, AL)
Friday, June 6
Refund Deadline: May 23
Trip Leader: Carolyn Rhodes (writegems@gmail.com)
Tour Guide: Sheila Smith, Eutaw resident
Depart BCC: 8 a.m. Return BCC: 4 p.m.
Fee: $115 (Transportation, admission)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
Eutaw resident Sheila Smit will lead a private tour of her home, a historic Greek Revival (c. 1858). Visit a Victorian Cottage (c. 1896), followed by a Dutch-treat box lunch at the First Presbyterian Church (c. 1851). Next, a short walk to the Historic Society’s Vaughan-Morrow House, a raised Creole cottage style home. A final presentation there will round out the rich and fascinating history of Greene County.
TUS 202 The University Club Unveiled: Tour, Lunch & History
Friday, June 20
Refund Deadline: June 5
Trip Leader: Amelia Yessick (ameliaheath@hotmail.com)
Meet: 10 a.m. – The University Club, 421 Queen City Ave Tuscaloosa.
End: 1 p.m.
Fee: $50 (Tour, meal)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 1 – Easy/Light Walking
We will have a guided tour of the newly renovated Greek Revival style home built in 1834. We will then enjoy a Prix Fixe lunch (choice of either of two entrees and two desserts), salad, bread and beverages. Our speaker at the lunch will be noted local historian and restoration specialist Landon Miller.
TUS 203 Chocolate Camp (A.M.)
Friday, June 20, 10 a.m.
Refund Deadline: Thursday, June 5
Trip Leader: Mary Jon Sneckenberger (alasneck@gmail.com)
Meet: 10 minutes before your tour time at Peterbrooke Chocolatier, 1530 N McFarland Blvd. C, Tuscaloosa
Fee: $30 (Candy making experience, samples)
Activity level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Indulge your sweet tooth in this popular hands-on session with Peterbrooke’s skilled chocolatiers. Caramel-dip an apple and decorate it with your choice of white, dark or milk chocolate, sprinkles and more. Finally, enjoy shopping for more sweet delights to take home with your tasty creations. Each tour lasts one hour.
TUS 204 Chocolate Camp (P.M.)
Friday, June 20, 1 p.m.
Refund Deadline: Thursday, June 5
Trip Leader: Mary Jon Sneckenberger (alasneck@gmail.com)
Meet: 10 minutes before your tour time at Peterbrooke Chocolatier, 1530 N McFarland Blvd. C, Tuscaloosa
Fee: $30 (Candy making experience, samples)
Activity level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Indulge your sweet tooth in this popular hands-on session with Peterbrooke’s skilled chocolatiers. Caramel-dip an apple and decorate it with your choice of white, dark or milk chocolate, sprinkles and more. Finally, enjoy shopping for more sweet delights to take home with your tasty creations. Each tour lasts one hour.
TUS 205 Rickwood Caverns
Friday, June 27
Refund Deadline: June 13
Trip Leader: Philip Malone
Depart BCC: 8 a.m. Return BCC: 4 p.m.
Fee: $42 (Transportation, admission)
Activity Level: OLLI Level 4 – Very Active
Escape summer’s sweltering heat with a guided tour of Rickwood Caverns, a massive cave that contains 260-million-year-old formations created by water. This underground wonder maintains a constant 58–62-degree temperature as you descend 175 feet beneath the earth’s surface. Along the way we will describe the geology of cave development and talk about roadside geology that we see on the ride. We will have a Dutch treat lunch at nearby country restaurant after our cave tour.
TUS 206 USGS Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility & Smart Communities and Innovation Building
Friday, July 11
Trip Leaders: Peggy Hamner (sswims2001@gmail.com) and David Maxwell
Meet: 9:15 a.m. at 27 Kirkbride Lane, Tuscaloosa, on UA Campus
End: 4 p.m.
Fee: None
Activity level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
In the hydraulics lab inside this new United States Geological Survey facility on campus, hear your guide explain the purpose of its 350-foot-long tow tank, tilting flume and test basin, then tour training rooms and labs for testing and developing hydrologic equipment. After the tour, socialize over a Dutch-treat lunch before returning to the Smart Communities and Innovation Building to see the various departments that oversee management and research in automotive safety, EV and transportation, including the Alabama Mobility and Power Center, Alabama Transportation Institute, ALDOT TMC and the driving safety simulator at the nearby TRIP Lab.
TUS 207 Antiquing and History in Hartselle and Warrior
Friday, July 25
Refund Deadline: July 11
Trip Leaders: Sheree Miller (Evergreens3@yahoo.com) and Danielle Houston (dhouston6565@gmail.com)
Depart BCC: 7:45 a.m. Return BCC: 5:30 p.m.
Fee: $30 (Transportation)
Activity level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Downtown Hartselle has many antique, thrift and just plain quirky stores! Shop leisurely, and perhaps enjoy a coffee, tea or sweet treat from a café or bakery. Lunch is Dutch treat at the famous Freight House. Afterward, there will be a short town history presentation (including a bank robbery). On the way home, we will visit an antique mall!
TUS 208 Explore The University of Alabama: Campus and Museums Tour
Friday, Aug. 1
Refund Deadline: July 18
Trip Leader: Gail Shepphard (gakshepp@gmail.com)
Meet: 9:15 a.m. at the Randall Welcome Center, 200 Bryce
Lawn Dr. at the University Campus.
End: 3 p.m.
Activity Level: OLLI Level 2 – Moderate
Fee: $42 (Tour-guide led campus bus tour, admissions)
Join us for a guided tour of The University of Alabama campus. The journey begins with a bus tour around the perimeter, led by a member of the Capstone Men and Women. Next, participants visit the Randall Family Welcome Center and the Alabama Department of Mental Health Museum. A Dutch-treat lunch follows at Legends Bistro and Lounge. In the afternoon, guided tours continue at the Paul W. Bryant Museum and the Alabama Museum of Natural History at Smith Hall.
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