Land Cruise, Inc

07/04/2025

Happy 4th of July to all of our Friends Forever!

07/03/2025

Land Cruise 25th Anniversary Celebration 2025: Day 3
What a joy to gather and reflect on the first 25 years of Land Cruise! In our estimation, Land Cruise has operated 400 trip and hosted 19,800 passengers. Surely the Lord's goodness and mercy, His protection and undeserved favor has carried us along the way.
We reflected on the early days of Land Cruise when the first level of trip rewards was a pink pig piggy bank with "Land Cruise" on the side (so you could save for future Land Crusie trips. Several in the room had received a piggy bank as well as attended a pre-trip party in the basement of Merrill and Cindi's house. A few even claim to have caught the "pillow fairy" in the act way back when. Oh, those were the days! It was a sweet hour of memories and stories and concluding with the Unicorn Song, complete with motions, was the only fitting way to conclude the time.
Our private tour of Notre Dame Stadium, with enthusiastic and knowledgeable docents, afforded the opportunity to walk through the tunnel, slap the "Play Like a Champion" sign, walk onto the endzone, and see the visiting team's locker room.
Our time at Notre Dame concluded with a tailgating lunch at Foley's, a private club in the south tower of the stadium with a real Irish Pub feel. We all agreed that the dining venues were unique and unforgettable in the best way.
Special thank you to the crew at Land Cruise, Merrill, Cindi, Keith, Tracy, Ed, Mable, Mark and Alison. The way you love and lead and care for our travelers is remarkable! You are each a blessing us and to those fortunate to travel with you.
The first 25 years of Land Cruise hold cherished memories and special friendships, thanks to the foundation laid by the hard work of Merrill and Cindi. By God's grace, the next 25 years will continue the tradition of excellence and community.

07/02/2025

Land Cruise 25th Anniversary Celebration 2025: Day 2
♩♪♫♬For there's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times, and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
Come on, now
Let's all celebrate and have a good time 🎷🎺📯

We were given the most beautiful morning to enjoy a leisurely stroll throughout the campus. It was comfortably breezy to keep the heat at bay on a blue-sky day. Along the way, our local guides provided a historical overview of the campus as we made our way to the grotto and back. Notre Dame is a captivating campus. The rich architecture gives an enchanging vibe and makes you feel both welcome and impressed at the same time.

Did you know there is a dinosaur museum in Indiana? It's breaking all the molds of a stuffy "don't touch anything" museum. Inside, we saw real dinosaur bones in the paleontology lab, met Juliet, a full size replicas of one of the most complete fossil skeletons found, and learned why dinosaurs don't ever need dentures. (They always grow new teeth!)

Under the same roof, the South Bend Chocolate Factory gave us a taste of their production (lots of samples) as we walked the factory and witnessed the fruits of their labor, which is so heavily done by hand. We scored great deals on out of season chocolates and nearly perfect candies.

If ever in South Bend, the Chocolate Cafe, situated within the Indiana Dinosaur Museum and South Bend Chocolate Factor complex, offer excellent food, large portions, and SUPER quick service. A great place for a bite to eat.

The Studebaker Museum was our third venue to visit. The Studebakers (from wagons to vehicles) were a treat to see! On exhibit at the adjacent History Museum was a large collection of doll houses. The intracicies of each house, from top to bottom and furniture included was spectacular!

Our day concluded with a grand celebration dinner followed by a live band and dancing and singing. Shout out to Midnight Band out of Chicago for their exceptional performance tonight!

We turn in for the night so grateful for so many things, and our great Land Cruise friends forever family are at the top of the list!

07/02/2025

Current situation: having a ball!!

07/01/2025

Land Cruise 25th Anniversary Celebration 2025: Day 1
It was a reunion of friends as Land Cruisers gathered at the Port to begin 3 days of celebrating in honor of our 25th anniversary. Oh, the hugs and chatter and the memories and stories began!
Shipshewana was our destination where shopping and eating ensued! Doughy sweet pretzels, ice cream, and pies were definitely on the lunch menu!
We watched a special video made by the Land Cruise staff which was humorous and informative.
The golden dome of Notre Dame welcomed us as we made our way to the Morris Inn on campus. After a driving tour of South Bend, we headed for the beautiful Basilica where Professor Jonathan Hehn presented us with a stunningly beautiful and sacred organ recital, mirroring the activity of the very first Land Cruise activity.
The views were spectacular from the 7th floor of the Stadium which served as our dinner venue. Our hearts be still! It was amazing! After a truly scrumptious meal, we were entertained by Comedian, David Dean, who had us in stitches. Our laughter and hilarity echoed the joy from the whole day! We are blessed. Continually. And Land Cruise is a blessing!

06/30/2025

06/25/2025

WARNING: Lots of great photos are coming from our upcoming Land Cruise departures and you will wish you were with us!!

Land Cruise 25th Anniversary Celebration trip, staying at the elegant Morris Inn on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

NYC Broadway Showtime Tour, 5 days staying in the heart of Times Square and seeing Wicked and Hamilton. (SO much fun!)

Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies, a 16-day epic adventure. The splendor of God's creation + an incredible group of travelers = a GRAND adventure!

We have a few seats available for our Route 66: The Mother Road tour that includes the Grand Canyon, Reagan Presidential Library, Pacific Coast Highway, Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe and so much more in addition to the nostalgic Mother Road. Don't miss out on the fun! Join Land Cruise for this bucket list trip! (August 7-21, 2025.)

06/19/2025

Kentucky Bourbon & Horses 2025:
Day 4
From our Ballroom breakfast buffet to our arrival at the port of Fort Wayne this afternoon, we squeezed out every drop of energy, enthusiasm, and endurance!
The Ark Encounter was truly an eye popping, immersive, and grand adventure and learning opportunity! Absolutely mind boggling! As Noah and his family were granted safe passage through a cataclysmic flood, so we too trust Jesus for safe passage through this life.
The afternoon FLEW by with Ed administering the final exam and Mable reviewing our tour and debriefing our travelers favorite moments. Their were many! And we concluded our personal "horse stories".
One theme of this trip was how many times it was expected to rain, and did rain, and yet we never got wet and not one activity was rained out! As we were heading toward the Port of Fort Wayne, we discovered there was a huge storm headed our way. We arrived, unloaded quickly, and rushed to our cars with the last travelers leaving just as the rain began to fall!
We were blessed with new and renewed friendships, great weather, safe passage, delicious tastings, and meaningful activities. Thank you, God!

06/18/2025

Kentucky Bourbon & Horses 2025:
Day 3
Thanks to Rosie Scranton for helping with this narrative:
Our first stop, after our buffet breakfast, was Old Friends, Horse Racing's Living History Museum.
Old Friends provides a dignified retirement to Thoroughbreds whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end. There we saw three Triple Crown veterans and many more majestic champions. These horses are treated with care and dignity.

The drive from Old Friends to Kentucky Castle was some of the most scenic we have seen on this trip.

Next we enjoyed a tour and private lunch at Kentucky Castle. Today, the Kentucky Castle offers boutique hotel accommodations, an estate-grown farm-to-table restaurant, and an event center for both private and public use. It was originally intended to be a private residence but never has been used for that purpose. It is truly a unique place. Our tour guides were wonderful, and lunch was delicious.

Of course, since we had seen horses in the morning, it was time for a bourbon (and beer!) experience in the afternoon. We visited Lexington Brewing and Distilling Company. Stephen & Michael, our guides, were excellent and entertaining. We sampled two bourbons, a special treat, and two beers. Thanks to Russ and Alison for finding this attraction. There is no doubt that we contributed greatly to the area economy with our purchases.!

Tonight we were on our own for dinner in the Historic Lexington Distillery Area where some of us chose Bourbon ice cream at Crank & Boom. It was another banner Land Cruise day!

06/17/2025

Kentucky Horse Country....wish you were with us right now!

06/17/2025

Kentucky Bourbon & Horses 2025:
Day 2
WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!
The pictures below testify to the many connecting experiences today beginning with our private breakfast buffet with Russ, Monica, and family. What an honor to have them join us this morning!
Then...an intimate horse experience at Keeneland Race Park, up close and personal! It was exceptional to observe the racehorses on their morning exercise routines and learning from our very experienced guides followed by lunch at the Track Kitchen.
We delighted in our picturesque drive to Woodford Reserve for a bourbon tour and tastings. It is a place of beauty filling the senses through sight, taste, and smell.
The afternoon afforded us free time at the Resort to swim, play pickleball, relax, enjoy dinner, and close out the day with a wine & cheese social hour in the Land Cruise hospitality room. Oh, the friendships and connections bring such laughter and joy!
Enjoy our "picture perfect" day!

06/16/2025

Kentucky Bourbon & Horses 2025:
Day 1
Despite our 6:30 am departure or possibly because of it, the excitement vibrated in the morning air as we boarded our luxury motorcoach for horse and bourbon country!
We celebrated the guys for a Happy Father's Day with a Thought of the Day, a funny video, some really corny Dad Jokes by Ed & Mable (groan, groan), and personal horse stories.
Churchill Downs was our destination with a trackside tour, 360 degree video screen presentation, self-guided museum tour and THEN...a buffet lunch on Millionaire's Row and live racing! Many placed their bets and yelled for their chosen horses as they thundered down the back stretch. And we had some winners! The weather was beautiful as we indulged in an incredible racing experience, new for some of us and familiar for a few. What a fun afternoon!
We headed for Lexington and the luxurious Griffin Gate Golf Resort & Spa for evening drinks and a gorgeous buffet dinner in an 1850's Southern Mansion. But it gets even better ... because waiting at the front door of the Resort was Russ & Monica Jehl with Wil & Anna, waving and welcoming us. What a fun surprise!
And what a truly remarkable day!