Aug 26, 2022
Field Trips are often an immersion, a hands on learning
experience. In this episode Heidi interviews Erin Austen
Abbott to cultivate backyard family adventures sharing planning
tips for family field trips. She also peel back the layers of
untourism by describing what makes a place like Mississippi so
unique and filled with hidden gems, yet rarely on our travel
list.
Website for this episode:
https://ordinarysherpa.com/088
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:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fieldtripblog
Instagram:
@erinaustenabbott
Other: https://www.pinterest.com/erinaustenabbott