*Grand Mansions & Historic Valley Junction
| Dates: | May 7, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Meets: | Th from 8:30 AM to 9:30 PM |
| Location: | MCC Sarpy Center Parking Lot |
| Cost: | $179.00 |
There are still openings remaining at this time.
Take a break from all of life’s stresses and reward yourself with a day at several truly magnificent mansions – Terrace Hill and the Salisbury House and Gardens! Terrace Hill is home to Iowa’s governor, a Victorian Classic. It has 18,000 square feet and sits on a hill overlooking downtown Des Moines. The mansion was built by Iowa’s first millionaire and the home became a National Historic Landmark in 2003. Salisbury House, built in the 1920’s, was constructed with many materials from overseas with a Tudor, Gothic, and Carolean inspiration of the King’s House in Salisbury, England. The house has over 42 rooms and measures just over 22,000 square feet. The property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Today the house contains nearly 10,000 historic items collected by the Weeks family, their fortune was from owners of a cosmetics company. Our group meal will be at the popular Hessen Haus in Des Moines, IA. Later, enjoy a Mystery stop before finishing off this special day by enjoying the festivities at Historic Valley Junction’s Thursday farmer’s market with live music and activities. The evening meal option is on-your-own; there will be numerous street food vendors and several sit-down restaurants within the marked off farmer’s market area to choose from for dinner. The cost paid to MCC includes the deluxe motor coach transportation, the Salisbury House & Gardens tour, the Terrace Hill tour, the group luncheon, tax and gratuity, the Mystery stop and the visit to Historic Valley Junction. Bring money, including cash, for other meals and shopping. Our deluxe motor coach departs promptly at 7:30 a.m. from Sarpy Center; park and meet the bus in the Northeast parking lot. Return is at approximately 9:00 p.m. Refunds will not be allowed within 14 days of the trip. Trip leader is Kevin Kowskie. Must be 18 or older.
| Fee: | $179.00 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | 13.00 |
| CEUs: | 1.30 |
MCC Sarpy Center Parking Lot
Kevin Kowskie
Kevin Kowskie is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is passionate about travel and art. His artwork has been displayed at the College of St. Mary’s, the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, the Durham Museum and has been included in a group show at the Joslyn Art Museum. Kowskie’s love for foreign travel and cultural enrichment goes back as far as he can remember. While traveling with his family to Rocky Mountain National Park as a child, he developed a keen desire to expand his journeys to distant lands, and the rest was history. After traveling through much of the United States as he got older, this ambition drew him to expand his travels on an international scale—discovering destinations in Canada, Mexico and a dozen European nations. In his early thirties, Kevin and a friend devoted two weeks every year to backpacking through Europe and visiting different nations and destinations via train. He loves encountering new cultures and meeting people from diverse backgrounds. After someone suggested to him that Omaha would appreciate seminars on European travel, Kowskie followed his passion to become a noncredit instructor on the subject for MCC. Planning, organizing and leading group tours are part of his favorite pastimes. Kowskie is currently a trip leader and coordinator for MCC’s Traveling Classrooms, sharing his experience and knowledge as part of the motivated Continuing Education staff.powered by ACEweb from ACEware Systems