Chincoteague Island on list for new My Hometown tours

Road Scholar, the tour operator offering Educational Travel since 1975 and whose “mission is to inspire adults to learn, discover and travel,” has a new program for 2015 called My Hometown (roadscholar.org).

The series showcases the history and people of various communities around the United States with an aim toward helping visitors experience these towns through locals’ eyes.

Each tour has people who enthusiastically want to show guests how life unfolds in their hometown, and they do so through their friends and their knowledge of the local economy, natural resources and cultural traditions.

In the first year, there will be tours in several small towns and cities such as Macon, Ga.; Park City, Utah; Saint Paul, Minn.; and Carmel Valley Village, Calif., Upper Lake, Calif., and Mendocino, Calif. In Virginia, for instance, is a six-day My Hometown: Chincoteague Island — The Buoyant Outlook of a Barrier Island Community tour.

The Road Scholar group leader is John Nelson Jester, a member of the Chincoteague Island town council who can trace his roots on the island back to the 17th century. He loves to share his knowledge of local history with outsiders. Other residents will give you insights through planned special sessions.

There are four departures offered in June, September, October and November (roadscholar.org/21997) with land-only prices from $879 US.

Included are five nights’ accommodation, some meals, seven lectures, nine field trips and one hands-on experience.

You may have heard of this small out-of-the-way sliver of Virginia, which is separated from the rest of the state by the Chesapeake Bay. Wild ponies live on Assateague Island, and it is possible to see them wandering the beaches. If you want a guaranteed sighting, go to the Pony Swim during the July Pony Penning and Carnival (virginia.org/ponyswim). For 85 years, Chincoteague’s Saltwater Cowboys have herded the wild ponies from Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island across the Assateague Channel to Chincoteague Island.

Sea horses aside, if you are an aficionado of that slick member of the phlegm family — oysters — this seashore is full of them and they are coveted.

This year is the 43rd annual Island Oyster Festival (chincoteagueoysterfestival.com). It starts Oct. 10. Because the oysters are rounded up for you, there is a charge of $42 US to attend. Tickets generally sell out by September.

There are other things to keep you busy, especially during the summer. Check out virginia.org for ideas.

Barbara Braidwood and Rick Cropp (rickandbarbara@telus.net) are Vancouver-based writers.