BACK BAY — It was a day just like any other day, just different because I was going on a field trip to Pungo with my friends.
I’m homeschooled, but every Tuesday we go to a school building right across from Holy Trinity Catholic Church with all the other homeschool kids.
Now we were going away for a field trip to Coastal Cattle, a Hereford beef farm in the Back Bay area near Pungo.
It was a wonderful experience.
They raise chickens and cows, and sell pork from another farm, Cartwright Family Farms. They also have you-pick strawberries this year from Vaughan Farm’s Produce near the Meat Shack, which is Coastal Cattle’s retail store.
When we first got there, we went inside the Meat Shack. It was an actual shack that sells many types of meats. Then a couple of employees showed everyone around.
She told us an interesting fact about the cows. She explained that they turn only the males into meat and keep the females, but sometimes they process the females, too.
A friend of mine said she felt bad for the cows because they would get turned into meat.
Here’s what I thought: Food is fuel. If you’re picky about what you put in the tank, your engine is going to die. That’s from the movie Ratatouille.
Then we got to learn how to help build a fence. It was hard work but, in the end, it was a job well done.
Eventually, we got to pick strawberries, and I picked a whole basket full.
Later on, before we left, we got to go inside the chicken pen. Everyone tried to hold one.
The field trip was amazing, and I learned so much.
The author, 11, lives in Pembroke Meadows in Virginia Beach.
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