HUNTINGTON — The American Countess Riverboat returned to Huntington on Friday with more than 150 passengers for a stop during its seven-day journey along the Ohio River.
Docking at Harris Riverfront Park in the morning, the riverboat’s passengers were given the opportunity to visit several locations in the city through a six-stop hop-on hop-off tour. A premium excursion to two additional Huntington locations was also offered.
“It’s a nice port,” said Judy LaMance, tour manager for American Queen Voyages and the American Countess. “It has a lot for our guests to do. A lot of different interesting stops. So, guests like it when we’re here in Huntington.”
Stops on the hop-on hop-off tour included the Touma Medical Museum and Pullman Square; Central City/14th Street West; the Outdoor Railroad Museum; Ritter Park Rose Garden; the Huntington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and Heritage Station; and Marshall University Special Collections, including the library and campus. The premium excursion took passengers to Heritage Farm and the Huntington Museum of Art.
During her time in Huntington, American Countess passenger Kathleen Johnson, who is from Montrose, Pennsylvania, took a bike out and rode to Ritter Park. While waiting for a bus ride to the Outdoor Railroad Museum, she said her favorite part of her time in Huntington so far was the Ritter Park Rose Garden.
American Countess passengers Mary Jane Nelson and John Niehaus, a married couple from Arlington, Virginia, had made two stops within Huntington by Friday afternoon. They stopped at Marshall to visit its Special Collections and the Memorial Student Center fountain, as well as the Huntington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and Heritage Station, where they ate and shopped for local souvenirs.
The American Countess Riverboat, which began its voyage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has also visited Wheeling, West Virginia and Marietta, Ohio, so far. It will also visit Augusta, Kentucky, on Saturday; Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday and Madison, Indiana, on Monday, before ending its current voyage in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday.
“Going down the river, going through the locks, seeing the cities from a different perspective, it’s very nice,” Niehaus said.
