Pittsburgh to St Louis on American Heritage Aug/Sept 2026

On Friday morning Aug. 21 I had to leave the house at 2:30am so I didn't even bother going to sleep.  United Airlines flight left at 5:00am arriving Pittsburgh, PA about 2:45pm, via Denver.  I stayed at the Embassy Suites by Hilton downtown. 

This morning several boats had to be towed away as they were illegally docked on the North Shore Riverwalk when the American Heritage Cruise Ship arrived in Pittsburgh.  

After breakfast the next morning we were brought by motor coaches to North Shore Riverfront Park to board the American Heritage.  We boarded the ship where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet to form the Ohio River. I had lunch onboard ship in the Restaurant. We departed at 2:30pm.

We arrived in Belpre, OH roughly 14 miles downriver from Marietta, OH on Sun. Aug. 23 at 9:00pm. The next day I visited The Castle Historic House Museum and the Campus Martius Museum showcasing America's migration west, its earliest native inhabitants, and Marietta's pioneers.  I recently read "The Pioneers" by David McCullough about the founding in 1788 of Marietta.  The town was among the first permanent settlements in the Northwest Territory.  We departed at Mon. Aug. 24 at 10:00pm.

We arrived at Limestone Landing Park in Maysville, KY on Wed. Aug. 26 at 8:00am.  I visited the Russell Theatre in Maysville, an atmospheric theatre in the Spanish style with Moorish influence featuring a ceiling scene of the stars and moon.  Site of singer and actress Rosemary Clooney's "The Stars Are Singing" movie premier in 1953.  Other notable locals include bold explorer Simon Kenton.  I went on a Pilothouse Tour at 5:00pm. We departed at 9:00pm.

We arrived in Cincinnati, OH on Thu. Aug. 27 at 8:00am.  I went on the City Experience Excursion.  We departed at 9:00pm.  A Lunar Eclipse Viewing party was held at 10:00pm.  A near-total partial lunar eclipse started at 10:33pm.. At its peak, roughly 96.2% of the moon was covered by Earth's shadow.  The eclipse was the darkest at 12:12am.

We arrived in Madison, IN on Fri. Aug 28 at 7:00am.  I visited the 1844 Greek Revival Lanier Mansion where I had a glass of Lemonade on the porch following the tour.  I met Kelly, a local Geocacher.   Kelly and I had lunch at The Downtowner.  We visited several caches including her Earthcache - Hanging Rock (GCPM48). I got a book at The Little Free Library cache - "The President's Henchman A Thriller" by Joseph Flynn.   I really wanted to do her cemetery cache however it was an incredibly hot afternoon! The ship left at 11:00pm.

We arrived in Louisville, KY on Sat. Aug 29 at 6:00am.  The city first flourished as a crucial portage around the perilous Falls of the Ohio, now tamed behind the Ohio River's Markland Dam.  We visited the legendary Churchill Downs Racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby.  We viewed "The Greatest Race", a 360-degree, 18-minute epic film.  Afterward we had Mint Juleps and Derby Pie Bites.  The onboard lecture was about the Scotch-Irish and their Folkways.  The ship left on Sun. morning Aug. 30 at 5:00am.

The ship arrived in Henderson/Evansville, KY on Mon. Aug. 31 at 7:00am.  I went to the Victorian Reitz Home Tea Party in the historic Carriage House and visited the 1871 French Second Empire Reitz Home.  The Tea Party was quite lovely.  The ship departed Tues. Sept 01 at 12:00am.

We arrived at Paducah, KY on Tues. Sept. 01 at 7:00pm.  I went on the Local Loop in Paducah which is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers,  The town was founded in 1827 by William Clark of Lewis and Clark expedition   I visited the 1852 Greek revival CSA General Lloyd Tilghman House and Civil War Museum.  Paducah City Hall was designed by same architect that designed the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.  The ship departed Wed. Sept. 02 at 6:00pm.

I was given a book: "Remarkably Bright Creatures"- A Novel by Shelby Van Pelt.  I found it leaning against my stateroom door.  The author was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest.

We arrived in Saint Louis, MO on Fri. Sept. 04 at 8:00am.  I chose to stay onboard as it was much too hot to go anywhere.  At 5:30pm there was a Red, White and Blue Cocktail Party.  Dinner was a disaster however the Apple Pie ala Mode was great. We left Saint Louis at 10:00pm to dock at Riverfront Landing in Alton, IL  The American Serenade was docked behind our ship.

We disembarked the ship at 8:00am the next morning for the Saint Louis airport.  My United Airlines flight didn't leave until 1:36pm so I found a comfy leather armchair at Starbucks to wait.  I arrived at PDX about 5:50pm via Denver.  It was cold and rainy.  It felt so good to be home!