Live on a sailboat for five days. Or, spend a couple days gliding through 30-foot-high trees at 20 miles per hour. How about taking a weekend to redefine what your own health means to you?
Is this your idea of a vacation? For many, it is. Increasing numbers of people are taking time off to learn something instead of taking time off to do nothing.
The Annapolis Sailing School is a popular “learning vacation” site for locals and out-of-towners alike, said Jamie Lane, sales manager at the 52-year-old school.
“We had a family come from somewhere in Massachusetts: a mom, dad and three teenagers. They actually lived on the boat for five days,” said Lane.
Learning to sail in Maryland is a favorite learning vacation for those both living inside Maryland and traveling here for a short stay.
Another Pennsylvania family arrived by sailboat, anchoring near the school. While the parents planned their own activities, their kids were enrolled in a sailing camp vacation, with sailing school instructors picking them up by dinghy.
“Another dad brought four or five boys in their 20s,” said Lane. “The dad had been here 20 years ago and had such a great time.”
Vacationers also arrive as singles, couples and groups of friends. Businesspeople hold corporate retreats, customized team-building exercises and even crab feasts on the property, which is ideal for relaxing with its scenic marina and private beach.
Swinging From the Trees
Some vacationers crave adrenalin, and those are the people flocking to Terrapin Adventures, an outdoor adventure site in Savage that offers a zip line, high ropes course and giant swing.
“Many people come out for multiple days,” said Chief Adventure Officer Matt Baker, and most spend at least one day meeting the “Terrapin Challenge.” During the challenge, which lasts for four hours, adventurers try to conquer all 32 elements of the adventure center, with a promise from Baker and his team that “you’ll be tired but happy at the end.”
Vacationers usually spend one day taking the Terrapin Challenge, then extend their trip by kayaking or biking. Families and other groups sometimes camp out in the Patapsco Valley, and Terrapin Adventures also has partnerships with local hotels.
Like the Annapolis Sailing School, Terrapin Adventures also offers customized team-building events for corporate groups, usually a half-day or full-day program. “We have a lot of sports teams come out as a reward,” said Baker.
A taste of local history as well as environmental highlights have helped Terrapin Adventures draw both locals and out-of-state adventurers. “People get so excited when they learn about the history of the quarry in Granite Park, and when they get to see things like the great blue heron and the turtles of the Chesapeake Bay,” said Baker.
Ancient Wisdom, Modern World
For vacationers wanting a more cerebral learning experience, the Tai Sophia Institute offers a popular weekend package called “Redefining Health.”
Participants emerge with more than 20 practical skills they can use to cope with their emotions, handle relationships, improve their health and enhance their lives.
Tai Sophia, founded as a small healing arts clinic in 1975, has grown into an academic institution for wellness-based education, clinical care, research and public policy discourse. Its integration of eastern and western thinking appeals to individuals on many levels of their professional and personal lives.
The “Redefining Health” weekend is the most popular vacation package, said Lisa Connelly-Duggan, vice president for marketing and enrollment management. “It redefines how you think, live and prioritize your life,” she said.
The course focuses on how to set priorities within the context of partnership and interconnection with others and self. The skills that participants practice carry forth through business meetings, classrooms, health care facilities and families.
Based in Laurel, the institute also offers a bookstore, herb garden, herbal dispensary, art gallery and library, all open to the public — and to people who may want a one-hour vacation from their daily grind.
Be Radical … With a Sabbatical
One Tai Sophia graduate, Lynn Gardner, used her skills to launch her own learning vacation business concept, “Radical Sabbaticals.” These custom-designed vacations focus on bringing stillness, meditation, creativity and yogic practices into people’s lives so that they can cultivate their divine purpose and service in this world.
“Radical Sabbaticals are for those of you who want to address your stress and go beyond simply existing in status quo,” explained Gardner, “and instead seek to genuinely experience the inner workings of your mind and soul that eventually guide you to new ways of being and doing.”
Based in Annapolis, Gardner develops programs that help people handle physical and emotional stress, release tensions in their psychic energy centers and eventually achieve advanced healing and personal transformation.
“We design each sabbatical trip carefully so that you discover new ways to access personal and group dynamics through meditative stillness and unique adventures,” said Gardner. “Meditation has many different forms and practices that uncover your unique information and codes.”
Radical Sabbatical adventures are based in either one or a combination of the creative arts, nature, dance, music, cultural and ancient traditions, cosmic mysteries, metaphysical phenomenon and yoga practices. “Meditation and adventure to the unknown expand your awareness, compassion and respect of yourself, mother nature and each other as a world community,” Gardner said.
