Al Fresco

When I was a student at White Oaks Elementary, our entire fourth grade went on an overnight field trip to Prince William Forest Park in Triangle, Virgina. In preparation, we spent an afternoon selecting the courses and activities we would participate in. Pond Life was very popular and a required course. We toted our mason jars down to the pond, dunked them in the water, and used magnifying glasses to peer at the murky water. I also took Coat Hanger Kingdom, in which we placed a coat hanger on our chosen spot of earth and examined everything within the triangle. If you were lucky, you’d find a spider or rolly-polly, in addition to grass and dirt. We also had a choice of soccer or kick ball before dinner, and then everyone would take part in square dancing in the evening.

We were given a detailed list of required and optional items, all of which needed to fit in a large trash bag labeled with our name, which would be tossed into the back of the school bus on the morning of the trip. I remember the optional items I brought: a camera with two 24-exposure rolls of film and a compass. We were directed to write our names on coffee can lids with permanent black marker, which we would hang on a string around our necks for the duration of the trip.

It’s interesting what has stuck in my mind about the trip: how hot and sunny the kickball game was, even though it was nearly evening; the daddy longlegs I adopted and kept in a jar until he escaped while I was at Pond Life and Coat Hanger Kingdom; the awkward square dancing, where I was partnered with Brian H. with sweaty palms; and the sound of the screen door perpetually banging shut on our cabin.

Years later, I would plan a similar trip for our fifth graders during my second year of teaching in Falls Church. The two trips had differences, for sure (besides being 20 years apart): this one was to Hemlock Overlook and focused on team building activities – no Pond Life or CHK; instead of square dancing, we had a bonfire and smores. Some things were the same, though: I had the kids pack their belongings in a big trash bag (so easy to smoosh into the back of a bus), the cabins rang out with the same banging of screen doors, and the smell of insect repellant hovered in the air as sweaty children ran through the forest.