After a pretty extensive whirlwind of a summer thus far I am excited to be back home. We love to travel and explore, but there’s something nourishing about coming home and walking through YOUR door. The kids were very eager to play on the playground, climb in their fort, reacquaint themselves with their bedrooms. It’s kind of surprising how quick the kids adjust to new environments. We are still eeking out every last breath of summer, we also are adjusting back into life. We also have announced our upcoming family gap year starting in January and it feels like there is push and pull of what needs to get done in the next four months.
It’s an interesting time and I will admit I am trying to hold onto moments and be present in life and feel the productivity pull. One way I feel that is resisting the urge to get something done. My kids still love a bedtime routine and the last couple nights I decided I wanted to lay with them and talk about their days, and be in proximity to them, one on one on their turf. After 8 PM is when much of my podcasting and Ordinary Sherpa work gets done. Can you sense the pull? I’m not quite back into my routine and I am going to be okay with that for today. Which is why this Written review was just the fuel I needed to get back to the mic and move forward with future content. This review is from whatsuproger.
Episode 87 Rocks
Congratulations on unveiling you new lifestyle plan – we look forward to hearing about your adventures! Kudos to you and Mr. Ordinary Sherpa on given gyour kids a REAL education. You’ll find they will actually be further ahead of their peers after a year of education outside the classroom. And it will be an experience your kids will never forget!
Thank you for that whatsuproger and because of this I would like to send you either my book, Beyond Normal or the book we will be discussing today, Family Field trips – so send me a DM or email and let me know where to send your book. I will be featuring written reviews each week and if your review is read on the show you can get either a signed copy of my book or a recent guest on the show. This goes for both the podcast or a written review for the book on Amazon.
Will you leave Written Review on Apple Podcasts: https://ordinarysherpa.com/review/
Beginner’s Guide to Untourism: https://ordinarysherpa.com/untourism/
Our guest is a writer, an early childhood educator, and a former traveling nanny. She has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Real Simple, Mother Mag, and more. She published her second book in April of 2020 called Family Field Trip. Her blog, Field Trip works to teach parents and children about design, food, art, and culture, from home and beyond. Erin Austen Abbott lives in Water Valley, Mississippi with her husband, son, and four animals.
Key Takeaways
- Mississippi is unlikely on anyone’s bucket list, but it would be an ideal untourist destination due to the many hidden gems. As William Faulkner once said, “to understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi. I’m not sure if any of you have ever been to the Mississippi Delta, but once you set foot on its soil, it seeps into your blood and changes the way in which your eyes look out at the world.”
- To give you a hint of the hidden gems, the amount of good food at gas stations is unlike anywhere Erin has ever traveled. There are trails specific to music, literary trails, even a tamale trail. When you begin to look at the area with a different lens there are virtually adventures and hidden gems abound.
- The Blues trail is not only a great adventure, it’s a historical and cultural lesson. Erin created a spotify playlist to accompany each blue sign to help connect the facts to an experience. The spotify playlist is something they can come back to over and over to retain and remember what they learned and experienced on the blues trail.
- Erin’s second book, Family Field Trip was inspired many years ago during her solo travel days. She was standing in line for a remarkable location in France watching several kids complaining and oblivious to the amazing opportunities surrounding them. “I need to write a book about all the things they could do” That was the spark for the book and it never left. Even while working on her first book the family field trip book lingered waiting for her to bring it to life. What sparks linger inside of you? What books do you need to write?
- Public art and murals are an indicator of what the area is going through. Many times the art reflects the aspect the community is proud of and the challenges they have worked through.
- A great untourist experience is to go to a farmers market, grocery store, or locally owned restaurant and seek out the food you have never seen, or tried before. Purchase it and explore what makes that food unique. When you explore from a curious standpoint you also have questions to ask the local people and learn what makes that location unique.
- In many ways, as we age we run out of first time experiences – which might be the appeal of travel. If we are intentional to notice nature is constantly changing around us. Things like a season study to watch for different birds or how the same place changes over time are great microadventures.
- One way Erin likes to acclimate to a new community is to take public transit on a simple out and back experience. Study what’s outside the windows, listen to the local chatter and glean insights from the commuter culture that surrounds you. You’ll be able to be a simple passenger without an itinerary.
- One of the ways Erin and her family like to connect with kids and families is by ordering good takeout and heading to a local park or playground. If you choose one near a school they are usually embedded in the community and will attract local people.
- Erin gave SO MANY tips on how to plan for untourist or family field trips. One of her favorites is searching for geotags and then following the rabbit hole to discovery. For example when you are in Instagram and you click on the geotag it takes you to a map, which then she adds to a guide in Apple Maps. Getting in the habit of adding geotags to maps at the moment makes planning for the long term much easier.
To Follow or connect with Erin
Website: erinaustenabbott.com
Email: erinaustenabbott@gmail.com
Book: Family Field Trip: Explore Art, Food, Music, and Nature with Kids
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fieldtripblog
Instagram: @erinaustenabbott