Education Vacation
Let me start by saying that I have a hard time sitting down and relaxing. I'm not a beachgoer because I don't see the point in sitting on the beach and sweating. I know, I know—I probably just made some enemies, but hey, look at it this way: us non-beachgoers mean fewer people at the beach during your visit.
I love cool weather. If I could, I'd be a 70-degree chaser, but I live in Louisiana, and those two don’t mix well. I also love history, particularly American history. I’m always asking questions, so a vacation that involves just sitting sounds like torture to me. We sit a lot at home, where we keep a low-key schedule for fun. So, when I get the opportunity to explore a new area, I take full advantage of it.
I’m the kind of person who wants the best experience. I’ll spend money on what suits us best (which may not be the same for everyone), but I always aim for top-tier events or experiences when I’m traveling. Don’t get me started on hotels—my husband says I have two speeds: 5-star hotel or my own camper. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s just me! We owned a camper for four years and used it for educational vacations as much as possible. In 2021, we spent about six weeks in the camper, and in 2022, about five weeks—those two years are my favorites, and I hope to get back there! We recently sold our camper to upgrade to a new one, which will hopefully be ready by early 2025. We always had a bumper pull because I wanted my babies in their car seats for safety. But as we started traveling longer distances and moving more frequently, and with changes in my husband’s job, we wanted something smaller that was easier to move quickly and that I could drive. So, we settled on a Class B. (Email me if you want the make and model.) We had a few safety requirements, which is why we chose this model: we needed seats facing the correct direction and shoulder strap seat belts, and we found just that. This will allow us to move every day with ease.
Now, back to how I plan these educational vacations—
Several years ago, on a trip to visit my husband’s family in Arkansas, we both had a lightbulb moment. We had just left the Arkansas State Capitol and were headed to Garvan Gardens with our two small children. We looked at each other and thought, “What if we did this—what if we took vacations to learn?” Our oldest was still in school at the time, and I said, “Yes, and homeschool so I can teach them about where we’re going before we get there.” That’s where the dream was born!
And so it began. We took our daughter out of school three weeks before COVID shut everything down and began dreaming of where to go. In August of 2020, we took off on a trip to Big Cedar Lodge. We had been given a gift card to Big Cedar Lodge, and if you know anything about Big Cedar Lodge, you know! The kids and I started studying Big Cedar—I had no idea about the property’s history, and it led us to learn about Johnny Morris, the founder of Bass Pro Shops, Big Cedar Lodge, and countless other vacation properties. We studied the history of the property before Johnny Morris purchased it, which led us to understand his love for conservation and nature, which then led us to discover all the properties Johnny Morris owns. We are now BIG Johnny Morris fans! We go to anything Johnny Morris does!
The next year, we decided we needed to go back to the area because we loved it! So, we started studying Sam Walton, and we packed up the camper we had purchased that year and headed to Bentonville, Arkansas. The following year, we packed the camper again and headed to Detroit, Michigan. Before you say, “Never,” just hear me out. We had come across a YouTube video about The Henry Ford Museum and this little place next to it called Greenfield Village, and I knew we had to make it part of our trip. My husband wasn’t too keen on hauling a 35-ft camper to Detroit through Chicago, but I was determined, and let me say—it blew our minds! We spent six weeks before the trip studying Henry Ford and his friends “The Vagabonds”—Henry, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs—and a few other men whose historic homes are preserved in Greenfield Village, such as Abraham Lincoln, J. H. Heinz, and many others. Greenfield Village is one of the top living history museums in the country, and I am obsessed. After seeing the attention to detail in the village, I became obsessed with Henry Ford. I’ve since studied a lot more about him and have a great appreciation for the preservation efforts he put in place and that his foundation continues. If you want me to talk for hours, just ask me about Greenfield Village! We spent an entire day there and didn’t see it all—it was the most incredible experience to date.
So, educational vacations have turned into a study of inventors, founders, and entrepreneurs who have made our world better with their inventions, as well as with their preservation and conservation efforts.