Recently, our St. Didacus fourth grade class had an “in-house” field trip. A woman by the name of Maggie Espinosa came to visit our class. What made Maggie so special? She walked ​800 miles to discover all 21 California missions! Maggie was like a Superwoman (at least to our twenty fourth graders). The stories she shared with the class for over an hour and a half were jaw-dropping, to say the least. She told the kids stories about the “Pink” mission, the “King” of missions, and all about the blisters on her feet. The kids were completely enthralled and enjoyed all her stories. They asked question after question, and she was more than delighted to answer them all.

     How did she manage this journey? She divided it out over the course of 12 months, taking four days each month to cover about 75 miles. She walked a total of 49 days. On the days she didn’t walk, she was home for holidays, births or special occasions. She invited friends to join her along the way and even made acquaintances, who joined her or invited her to stay for dinner and spend the night. I highly recommend inviting Maggie into your classroom this year to enlighten your students about California’s history of the missions! Maggie is an Award-winning travel journalist and has written a book about her travels, entitled On a Mission. Check her out at www.travelwithmaggie.com.

Maryann Paul. (St. Didacus, 4th grade teacher.)