Inviting Education on Vacation
Written by Lisa Mullis of  Frenetic Fitness (AWB Miss June 2012)

There’s nothing like the light in a parent’s eyes as we watch the little ones dip their toes in a large body of water for the first time. We love to watch the look of pure joy on our kids’ windswept faces the first time they ride a Ferris wheel or a roller coaster. But what happens when the kids get older and vacations by the water or at amusement parks aren’t giving them the mental stimulus you yearn to see in your teenagers?

As our youngest was coming into her high school years, opportunities to travel with friends and with her church youth group were becoming common. She was afforded opportunities that honestly, we couldn’t do as a family vacation. But when we did have the chance to plan vacations, we tried to make them significant. I once told her that the vacation geography would be up to her but the actual location would be up to me because it would require that the location provide not just fun, but education as well. “Choose, mountain or beach”, I said. “Beach!” she replied. And that is how we came to spend one of our favorite vacations ever tent camping for a week at Anastasia Island State Park in St. Augustine, Florida. Being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States with a rich history of Spanish and British culture, we were able to learn as we played. And it’s where I got the idea that perhaps vacations should start to include visits to local universities. We walked by the local university, Flagler College, several times but never actually went onto the campus. We read about it on our iPhone tour app and read information on the free tourist maps but didn’t even consider visiting. After we left, I realized that I had missed a great opportunity to start discussing college options, even if the option seemed unlikely at the time.

The next vacation spot we chose was Asheville, North Carolina. Again, we would be tent camping, this time in the lush Pisgah National Forest where we could hike and mountain bike. Our required education for the trip would be the history of Biltmore and the folk culture of the Blue Ridge Mountains. At the Biltmore we took the Architect’s Tour, as the young one’s invited companion for the trip was interested in design and architecture as a career. Part of that tour afforded us a peek into the blueprint room where several of the drawings of the French Chateaux that inspired the construction of Biltmore are housed, so we had a bit of French history thrown in to our day as well. A close up and personal inspection of gargoyles and copper roof plates ensued. I was amazed at the level of interest two teenage girls would have in that bygone era, well ahead of the Downton Abbey phenomenon. We encouraged the girls to pay attention to the history of Asheville as we took the requisite guided bus tour, they learned about a few famous people who have lived or visited the quaint little town nestled in the mountains and the events that turned it into a thriving vacation spot for the wealthy and the economic crash that followed the heyday. We drove for miles on the BlueRidge Parkway, stopping to hike the Craggy Gardens Trail and up to the peak of Mt. Mitchell with a visit to the Folk Art Center to further investigate the incredible crafting of the area.

This time we didn’t miss the chance to drop by the local university for a visit. The University of North Carolina at Asheville is a moderately sized liberal arts school and we were able to walk about freely as there were new students there for orientation visits. We walked the campus, checked out the bookstore and the library and went to see the music education building as that was where the young one’s interest was at that time.

As we’ve visited family out of state we’ve been on the campus of the University of Alabama, to watch sporting events and visit the great museums on campus. In New Orleans we checked out the NOMA and Sculpture Garden then set out for Tulane and Loyola as well as hanging out in the quarter watching street performers and eating a ton of beignets.

Now as we make college visits around Arkansas, she can compare them to a few other schools that she has visited, seen or at least read about as we’ve traveled. I wish we had started the habit sooner, much sooner, by junior high school at least. Early college visits don’t have to be formal tours, they don’t have to last all day or even half a day. When visits do become more formal, have your child build a checklist for the day: questions to ask and particular campus amenities like dorms, libraries and the cafeteria to visit. I’ve found this type of list helpful. Another tip I found useful was to stand in an open area with a map and look lost. On larger campuses, this may not be an act. The interaction of students and staff with a “stranger” can tell you a lot about the campus environment.

That Asheville vacation has been repeatedly mentioned as one “most likely to be repeated”. Wish us luck as we’re headed back this summer to visit a campus we missed the first time around that is now at the top of the young one’s application list. Start early, plan well and reap the benefits of college tours.

About Lisa: I’m a Wife and Mom. I’m a microbiologist. I’m a mountain biker, hiker, backpacker, sometime runner, and workout enthusiast all while being addicted to good food. I write about it at http://freneticfitness.wordpress.com. I also write forArkansasOutside about other people who love to play outside too. I’m fueled by pizza, red meat and goat cheese risotto. And sometimes I sleep.