What We Do | Off Road Scholars

What is Off Roads Scholars?

We're a small business that creates combo adventure trips with hiking and stories, but first, here's a story.

There's a great vintage Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial from the 70s with a dude holding a chocolate bar collides into a woman with an open jar of peanut butter?

Never mind the obvious question, "who walks around the world with an open jar of peanut butter?"

The woman accuses the dude, "Hey! You got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" And the dude quips back in defense, "You got your peanut butter on my chocolate!"

Then they each try their respective snack, not contaminated by the other snack, and they are blissed out.

The announcer says, in his deep, husky voice: "Two great tastes that taste great together."

What can I say? I am a sucker for a good mash-up.

Ok. I, too, like Reese's, but I still don't know what Off Roads Scholars does.

Since you're a human being, I can safely assume you like stories. We all do. We can't escape it. Off Road Scholars is all about stories - reading and discussing and learning about some good ones, and then having enough adventures so that we have stories to take back home.

Let me introduce myself.

Hello. I'm Maureen, and this is my Reese's Peanutbutter Cup story. I teach world literature at the University of Alaska, and I am also an avid hiker. Last summer, I embarked on a 1200 mile thru-hike across southern France and northern Spain, and every single day I kept thinking about how I'd like to travel more and do more long hikes, but I don't really want to stop teaching. Teaching is life!

"How can teaching and travel go together?" I mused every day of that 77-day adventure on the Via Podiensis and the Camino Frances. When I returned home, the idea grew stronger, and Off Road Scholars was born.

The process of picking a book and a place is more organic than simply matching a cheese with a wine. The book and the place must be inextricably linked, with the one enhancing the other, like a fusion of literary and travel magic. So when I choose a book to teach, I look for a place that can help bring its themes and messages to life, while deepening my understanding and appreciation of its culture, history, and people. Off Roads Scholars trips are dynamic and immersive, and we create an experience that's greater than the sum of its parts.

Two great tastes that taste great together. Here are some of my other dream trips that I will offer some day.

Wait. Is this a class? A school? A book club on steroids?

Let me tell you what Off Road Scholars is not

This is not a book club.

We will have two experienced professors accompanying each group. This will be a seminar that his is far more in-depth than your neighborhood book club, although if you're in a good one - the kind that brings out the wine and the good food, you'll note some similarities because we will meet in restaurants!

This is not a guided tour.

We aren't tour guides - just teachers who are fellow travelers. I will never be standing in front of a fountain with a brightly colored umbrella and a shoulder pack microphone system. Nope. Not only is that so not my deal, but I certainly am not interested in taking a job away from one of the highly qualified local tour operators. When we have excursions, we will use local tour operators. What I am bringing to the party isn't taking anything away from a local. Pinkie swear.

This is not a free-for-all DIY trip
You will see the words"guided" and "self-guided" when you look at the websites for European walking holidays, and neither fully applies to what we are doing. It's a little of both, I guess.

You see, I'm the one booking everything for you once you get to town. So I'm teaching the course, and I'm in charge of the reservations. Those are my jobs.

Your hotel and dinner reservations? I have taken care of it. Getting your bags from hotel to another? I've got you. I'll make sure you have a train pass (for those that don't want to hike) and tickets to excursions. Maps for all the trails and where I recommend hiking? I've got it all laid out.

That's a big part of what I bring to the party.

But hey -you're an adult. There will be no hand-holding. My itineraries for each day are suggestions. You can wake up when you like. You can hike when and where you like. You should do what you like. If you want to skip the balsamic vinegar tour and instead sit on the hillside with a sketchpad and paint, you do you!

If you want to take a pass on the sunset boat cruise and instead put together a little picnic for your honey on the beach with some wine and bread and cheese, do that instead (oh, I do recommend blowing off one night for this if you are going with your honey).

If you want to take a train to a picturesque village not on our itinerary, and you want to do that tomorrow instead of whatever I have planned, by all means - go for it, and I will do my best to help you set it up.

Heck, I'll even provide a list of alternative things to do if you want to blow off the itinerary. I want you to have the trip you want.

This is not affiliated with any school, and there is no credit for it.

I considered talking to different universities with study-abroad programs and creating short courses for students on spring/fall breaks, but I decided against it. The education system is a hot mess, and I want to do my own thing.

This is a worry-free holiday you'll never forget. I've taken care of all of the meticulous details that make travel exhausting for most people.

You just have to show up.

Want to unleash the magic of Cinque Terre with me?

This is the site of our first trip, and you might be asking, "What's Cinque Terre?" Simply, Cinque Terre (literally, "Five Lands") lies nestled in the northwestern region of Italy along the coast of the Ligurian Sea, a picturesque and colorful collection of five small coastal villages. Each village is unique and distinct, yet all are connected by scenic hiking trails that provide stunning views of the rugged coastline and crystal clear waters below.

Our class in Cinque Terre will be called "Tales from the Trail: Boccaccio's Decameron and the Enduring Power of Storytelling in Human Experience."

And you will have some good stories to tell after this adventure.