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Mind Inclined Travel
No matter where or how we go, travel is always extraordinary, taking us outside our ordinary experience.
What if it could do even more, taking us up to the next level of our mental, physical, and spiritual lives?
That’s the goal of Mind Inclined Travel, a next-level experience carefully designed to expose you to places, people, activities, and ideas that inspire and elevate.
Traveling with Mind Inclined is a different kind of vacation, one that changes you forever and for better.
What you can do with us
Mind Inclined tours are different. Each is immersive and highly personal. We will take you to fascinating places, but we will go the extra mile, so to speak, by enriching your experiences with lectures, on-site commentary, reading and viewing lists, recommendations for optional excursions, and more. Many trips include booklets you can personalize, as well as extraordinary accents, such as period music and food. Each trip is curated, led, and personalized by professor and author Mark Canada, Ph.D., often with one or more guest experts.
"Learning has never been easier or more enjoyable."
- Traveler on "Founders in Philadelphia"
"Dr. Canada's knowledge on the subject was invaluable as we visited the various locations."
- Traveler on "Back-of-the-Yards Chicago"
"The attention to every detail of planning, to make the trip go smoothly, was so appreciated!"
- Traveler on "Founders in Philadelphia"
October 16-17, 2026
Route 66: 100 Years of Kicks
While many Americans (including us) are celebrating 250 years of America, many others (also including us) are focused on 100 years of Americana, namely the kind found on Route 66. America’s most famous road was born exactly 100 years ago, and what a ride it’s had: from a practical route for the fledgling automobile in the 1920s to the Mother Road (as John Steinbeck put it) for Okies escaping the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression to a wonderland of kitsch, including Cadillac Ranch, teepee-shaped hotel rooms, and more. In this trip, we will travel the Illinois portion of Route 66, beginning in Chicago and ending at Granite City, just outside St. Louis. Along the way, we will enjoy many highlights, beginning with the starting point in Chicago, followed by stops at the Pontiac murals, gigantic “Paul Bunyon” statue, multiple museums, and the It’s Electric Neon Sign Park. The itinerary also will include (of course) meals at iconic restaurants, including the Ariston Cafe (the oldest continuously operated restaurant on the entire highway), Henry’s Drive-in, and Lou Mitchell’s diner. Join us for this road trip back in time.
Itinerary for Route 66 Road Trip, Day 1
7:30 a.m. (Eastern time)-11 a.m. (Central time): Drive from Kokomo to Springfield, Illinois
11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Lunch at Long Nine Junction or Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop in Springfield
1-3 p.m.: Visit to Route 66 exhibition at Illinois State Museum in Springfield
3-5 p.m.: Drive to Pontiac with a stop at a “pristine, surviving segment of Route 66 hand-laid with original 1920s paving bricks” around Elkhart and Sprague’s Super Service gas station in Normal
Dinner at Dave’s Food & Spirits in Pontiac
6 p.m.: Check into Hampton Inn or similar chain hotel in Pontiac*
*Pontiac has no original roadside motels with a Route 66 theme.
Day 2
7:30 a.m.: Breakfast at hotel
8-9 a.m.: Walking tour of murals in Pontiac
9 a.m.-10 a.m.: Visit to Illinois Route 66 Museum in Pontiac
10-11 a.m.: Drive to Braidwood with stop at Standard Oil Gasoline Station in Odell
11 a.m.-noon: Lunch at Polk-a-Dot Diner in Braidwood
Noon-2 p.m.: Drive along historic stretch of Route 66 from Braidwood through Wilmington to Joliet with stops at Route 66 Creamery and Gemini Giant Muffler Man in Wilmington, followed by stops at Dick’s on 66 (classic cars and nostalgia) and Route 66 Welcome Center in Joliet
2-3 p.m.: Drive to Berwyn and stop for photo op at Cigars & Stripes BBQ restaurant
3-4 p.m.: Drive to Chicago and pass Lou Mitchell’s Diner
4-5:30 p.m.: Dinner at Berghoff and photo op at end point of Route 66
5:30 (Central Time)-10 p.m. (Eastern Time): Drive to Kokomo
Spring 2027
Founders in Philadelphia
Here is what’s included:
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Four nights at the Independence Park Hotel. This establishment is a boutique hotel within the Best Western corporation. The hotel has only a few rooms with a king-size bed (those rooms cost $30 more per night); all the others are queen rooms, so if you require an extra large bed, you’ll want to book right away. Here’s the link to book and pay for your room. Book your room before March 15 to take advantage of the special rate I arranged.
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Breakfast each day is included in the price of the hotel.
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A 3-day, all-inclusive, Go Philadelphia museum pass that you can use for entry into the sites we visit as a group and also when you are seeing Philadelphia on your own on Saturday afternoon.
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Admission to any site that is not included in the museum pass.
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All meals, except lunch on Saturday, are included. (Alcoholic beverages are not included.) Most of the restaurants are offering a selection of entrees for our visit.
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Transportation for sites beyond the historic district, will be arranged by Lisa and provided by Uber.
In other words, the cost of the entire Philadelphia experience—apart from any optional activities you choose and lunch on Saturday—is included in $1,500.
Spring 2027
Lost and Found: American Writers in France and Spain
Western Europe was the place to be for the “Lost Generation” of American writers in 1927. In this centennial year, we will trace the experiences of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Wolfe, Stein, and other writers in France and Spain. As we walk the streets they walked, see the sights they saw, and eat and drink in the cafes they haunted, we will enrich our understanding of the works that grew out of their experiences abroad, from A Moveable Feast to Of Time and the River and beyond.
