Field Trip

Someone had asked about the field trip I mentioned in my last post, so I thought I'd share some of the details.

There was a setup out at Bull Run called Native Lands. It was a weird amalgamation of Native American and African cultures. There were 4 live demonstrations you could rotate between showing various animals (llama, bison, zebra, cow), birds of prey, an African village, and traditional Native American dances. It would have been pretty fun it there weren't 30 thousand other schools there. The bleachers around each performance area were full to overflowing, so visibility was poor and conditions were hot and cramped. At the end, the kids thought it was just "ok." I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I hadn't already been to Africa and seen the real thing and attended actual Pow-Wows. I had taken Will down to a local bison farm a few months ago, so even seeing the baby bison in the Animals of the Lands exhibit was a bit uninspiring. The highlight was when I had my group of boys make a port-o-potty run before we got back on the bus. None of them listened to me when I said the portable sinks were out of water, so they all (including my son) applied soap and had no way to wash it off. Nice.

I don't want to complain too much about the experience. It was geared at 2nd graders after all. And I did get to spend 3hrs in the sun and not in my office - an experience that can never be overrated. I didn't realize until the next morning that I got a bit more sun than planned, and am sporting a gorgeous pink farmer's "tan" and lovely pink facial mask. Oops. Guess I should bring out the SPF lotion, huh?