Being a local guide was something that was totally meant for me! After graduating college with my degree in Musical Theatre, I left St. Louis and headed to New York. From there, because of my line of work, I was always traveling. I had shows in different cities every day. My mamma didn’t raise no fool - I was always pretty responsible with my money. That meant a lot of packed lunches. But everything in life should come with balance. So I knew that if I was going to pay to eat out, I wanted it to be worth the money. Not just great food, but also a fun experience. Now with acting for a children’s theatre company, we traveled to schools way out in the middle of nowhere. It was frequently hard to find any reviews other than the ones people wrote when they had one bad experience and wanted to throw a tantrum. Other times, I couldn’t find any reviews or pictures at all.
That’s how being a local guide started for me! I wanted to start writing the reviews and posting the pictures that I’d been hoping to find.
Now my circumstances have changed, but I’d say I use reviews even more and in totally different ways. I still travel a lot. We’re either taking a family vacation with our two little ones or we’re moving to a new city due to my husband’s job in the military. I feel very lucky that I get to do this. I’m all about experiences. I feel it’s the most worthwhile place to put our money. I don’t want new clothes or electronics. I want to build amazing memories with my family. These reviews make that possible when it comes to selecting where to go in each city. As a parent, I want certain conveniences due to having two kids under the age of four. As a wife, and as the main researcher in the family, my husband has come to expect that I’ve found all the action packed fun for us to have - I need to know parking, the budget, what we should bring along to make things run smoothly - all that stuff! And I enjoy every minute of that research.
Finally, I love when we get back home and I can share all these things on Google. I can share the successes and the failures. I can post pictures that will hopefully make entrances less confusing and menu items more appetizing. I want to do it all! And as I local guide, I get to.