Adventuresome field trips not just for the school kids

The great man is he who does not lose his child's heart. -- Mencius

"When you think of a field trip, what comes to mind?"

I asked several people this question and for one the answer was: "Fun! Bagged lunch. No work. Going on the bus."

The idea came to me after reading an inspirational message on the Web site, Daily OM, titled, "Capturing Life's Flavor/Taking a Field Trip."

"When we were children, few words were more exciting to hear than the phrase ‘field trip.' Field trips were a break from schoolwork and an opportunity to go on an adventure with friends," read the message. "Now that we are grown-ups, taking a field trip can be just as fun and memorable -- if only we're willing to sign our own permission slips so we could go on one."

Suppose you gave yourself permission to take a break from your daily routine. Your field trip could be near or far away, and last a couple of hours or several days. Several ideas were suggested. You could take a daylong retreat, explore a new landscape, discover something about yourself or maybe sit under a tree and read a book. I like that one. I would take along my iPod and a good cigar.

So, what comes to mind when you think of a field trip?

It's "an opportunity to go outside and experience something," one person responded. "My ‘old-school' idea of a field trip is an organized-group outing to the park, the zoo, or maybe a trip to an art or field museum or aquarium," said another.

"Heading off to somewhere exciting with all of your classmates," one friend said. "You have to get permission from your parents, and most of what you really learn comes from the experiences of being with your close friends away from home -- some good, some bad -- but it is on these trips that rites of passage often occur."

For one person, the question hit close to home. "Well, given that I am going on a 5th-grade field trip to D.C., what comes to mind are tons of loud 5th-graders, bad food, no relaxation -- but hopefully fantastic memories."

The question immediately took another friend back to his school days when he went on "field trips to various places around town, to the tobacco market, the library, and the fire station." The trips, he said, "always seemed to be explorations that while educational, for the most part, always seemed to be fun. Part of the fun was anticipation; part of it was the journey itself."

"What was your last field trip?" I asked the group.

"I took my family and extended family to see the King Tut exhibit in Dallas during the Christmas holiday," said one. Another friend, an outdoors person, recently went to Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina. He said it was "very remote, very quiet, and isolated." There were "miles of two-lane gravel roads through absolutely beautiful and rugged country. We discovered and saw things we'd not seen before. Very nice."

And where would they go if they could take a field trip now? Egypt, Jerusalem, Yellowstone National Park and Kenya were among the answers. Here's what some said:

□ "I would really love to go see a space shuttle launch -- or better yet, my dream would be to go on a space shuttle mission. Do you suppose they need a dentist on the space station?"

□ "My field trip would be to tour the western part of the United States, the Great Plains and the Rockies, to see the views, the land, the people. I want a starlit night with no ambient light around so that I can see the thousands and thousands of stars and wonder. Wonder why I am here and what's out there."

□ "I'd love to visit African-American neighborhoods located in smaller towns across the nation approximately the size of my hometown," said a West Virginia native. "It would be interesting to see how these neighborhoods developed, their history and what drives them now in comparison to what I experienced growing up."

"What about your last field trip?" I was asked. The presidential inauguration. And where would I go now? A place my wife, Sarah, wants to visit -- the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

It's time to sign your own permission slip and go on a field trip. Where will you go?

Nigel Alston is a Dale Carnegie trainer and motivational speaker who lives in Winston-Salem. He can be reached at nalston1@triad.rr.com.