Six of us are in Forks, Washington, on our Future Learning in a Networked World 09 Pacific Northwest US road trip. We are at Manitou lodge, all with our laptops, uploading pictures, writing and having a conversation with each other all the while.
Five of us started out in Vancouver after the OpenEd conference. I joined up at Mt Vernon Washington, where we drove down Whidbey Island and hopped the Keystone Ferry to Port Townsend, a quaint old seaport town now quaint tourist town. Then we drove to Port Angeles and the Thortown Hostel where we stayed Sunday night. Monday, after learning we could not drive up Hurricane Ridge (Olympic National Park) due to a rock slide, we hiked the 3.7 miles (2000 ft elevation gain, all up going, all down coming back) to Angeles Lake. Alas, my legs made me turn back – only 10 minutes from the destination. But others made it, one swam and I savored the stories as I nursed my knees back at the car. (Hey, when the sign says Strenuous, pay attention, Nancy!) Then we drove to Forks where we had a lovely dinner hosted by local educator Marsha West and her friends, complete with stories around the campfire. And all along the way marvelous conversations about learning, openess, reinventing education, the pros and cons of the m-word (manipulation) and of course a bit about food. Yeah. I want to share those stories. But…
If I were to put a mood on our collective travels, it would be epitomized by this picture of Derek Chirnside: Laid Back. I made a commitment to myself to blog (each day?) and share my learnings, but I sit here at the computer, more interested in talking with others, going outside, letting things percolate.
Laid back.
So I’m going to go with the flow and simply point you to our photos for now, and hope I can savor, distill and share a bit later.