There are few surprises left in the world, do you
agree? Those of us old enough to remember Santa Claus picking out our gifts
without a wish list on Amazon may be the last generation to really appreciate a
surprise. Wedding gifts are registered if not gift carded. I miss the days of a
young bride acting excited over floral pot holders and Tupperware. Parents
don’t even get to be surprised with the “It’s a boy/girl!” announcement. The
baby has already worn out its name by the time it debuts. Alas, as Your
Fearless Leader, I find one of my greater tasks and treats is to offer
travelers an occasional mystery or surprise trip.
A mystery
trip isn’t a “who done it?” The
destination is a mystery. Given only a few clues, travelers sign up and yes,
PAY to go somewhere, and do something, and stay somewhere-all unknown to them prior to traveling. For those
that have a sense of adventure, a sense of humor and a sense of trust, we have
made some wonderful mystery memories through the years.
The shorter the tour, the closer to home and the
greater the chance that I’m taking travelers to places they have been before,
or maybe even lived or worked! The challenge is to guarantee folks that they
will see or do something that they have never
done before. This is where the need to be creative comes in very helpful.
We have eaten in feed stores. We have made movies. We
have ridden in hay wagons. We have slept in bunk houses. We have caught trains.
We have been wined, dined, arrested and taken hostage. It was all a surprise to
the travelers. We have seen things hardly anyone knew existed. And we have gone
behind the scenes on things that everyone knew existed. It was all a surprise
to the travelers.
Coming up
with attractions to visit that aren’t really attractions, convincing local
people to let us see their collection, or look at their place, or show us how
they do something. In my tourism world, I call this “Knowing How to Play.” I LOVE going into a community that gets “How
to Play.”
This might not be everyone idea of a great vacation
or travel opportunity, but I can testify that there are lots of fun folks who
still love a good surprise.
Traveling is about learning, and exploring and
creating memories. Sometimes it is a mystery on how it will happen, and that is
a lovely surprise. Come play with us sometime.
