Having that license in hand (or at least, in letter), I dedicated myself to getting the New York license. The processes could not be more different. The NY application takes about 5 minutes to complete; you can do this on line or in person. Once you complete the application, you take a picture, and go into a testing room where, having kept up with technology, the NY Department of Consumer Affairs tests you on your knowledge of the Big Apple. The test is comprised of 150 multiple-choice questions. Although some of the questions are as obscure as those on the DC test (On what street was the Huxtable's house filmed? That is St. Luke's. Better yet, what does the Satmar Jewish sect in Williamsburg believe about Israel? ), I had almost all of the questions in advance thanks to tour guides who previously sat for the exam as well as sample questions on various sites on the Internet. (Since then, my ITMI colleague, Bob, who is staying with me in preparation of his DC tour guide test this Tuesday, has found many of the DC questions on the internet as well!) Most amazingly, after answering the 150 questions online, I press a button labeled "submit" and 30 seconds later learn that I passed, and this time not by the skin of my teeth! I leave the city with my tour guide license number in hand with the actual license to follow. I am thinking NY might even arrive before DC if history is any indication.
In this picture Justin Ferate, New York tour guide and the author of the NY sightseeing guide test, illustrates how everything in Grand Central Terminal is designed around the human body. I took his free tour of Grand Central in preparation for the test; it was a very smart move!So now that I am licensed to guide in New York and DC, all I need is a job! Not being the kind of person to sit around and wait for a job to come, I decided to start my own tour business, one for local tourists to show them all the wonderful places I have discovered after 36 years in DC limited to the monuments and museums on the tourist itinerary. The fastest, easiest, and least expensive way to offer tours is through a meetup site, so I set up DC Local Tourists with the first tour free. Eight of us enjoyed a trip to Meridian Hill Park, the U Street Corridor, and the African-American Civil War Monument. I was terribly nervous. I previewed the tour twice to be sure to know where to walk and what to say, with hours of research before and after, including listening to an audio tour I found on the official DC tourism site. I had all of the details on 3 by 5 cards, and I practiced in the metro on the way. Since the tour was free and the forecast was hot and thunderstorms, we had almost as many people show up as not, but I know from the reviews on meetup that those who came had a very good time and appreciated the information.
I am reading Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad about his travels with a group to Europe and the Holy Land, and I took note of one of his many observations about tour guides. "These are the people that make life a burthen to the tourist. Their tongues are never still. They talk forever and forever, and that is the kind of billingsgate they use...If they would only show you a masterpiece of art, or venerable tomb, or a prison house, or a battlefield hallowed by touching memories or historical reminiscences, or grand traditions, and then step aside and hold still for ten minutes and let you think, it would not be so bad." After arriving at Meridian Hill Park and a very brief introduction, I gave everyone 20 minutes to enjoy the magnificent site and listen to the falling water. Time for pictures as well.
Yesterday was my second tour: The Brewmaster's Castle and the Dupont Circle Area. This one cost $15 which included the $5 admission to the Heurich House. I only had 3 paying, but I still think it was a great success. After we finished at the Dupont Memorial Fountain, a gorgeous sculpture of sea, wind, and sky by Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon (Lincoln Memorial), we headed to James Hobans' Irish Pub and Restaurant. Having a beer or martini and something to eat and giving everyone a chance to talk and "meetup" really added a significance to the day. I will definitely add some type of food, wine, or other time for people to socialize.
I will never get the business going limited to weekends; there are just not enough free weekends. I am trying to create tours that might bring people out after work; I just posted two -- one of Old Town with a wine-tasting at Prince Michel Tasting Room on King Street and one of Lincoln Park and the Eastern Market with a light picnic dinner. Both are still only $15. As my good friend Susan told me, I need to be patient and build my database in order to build the business. I am also trying to be patient as my son Josh and daughter-in-law Kristin design my website and business card.
It's a journey, and, I suppose, I am well on my way with a long way to go. However, I like the work getting me there. My favorite part of the whole process surprises me: I absolutely love researching the sites and finding interesting and intriguing stories to tell. Therefore, I will end with a story. The most lavish mansion in Dupont Circle was once the childhood home of Evalyn Walsh McLean, the last private owner of the Hope Diamond. Unfortunately, she also seems to have fallen under the legendary curse of the diamond, losing her son in a tragic automobile accident and her husband to a mistress and then to an insane asylum. The strangest story, however, was her involvement in the Lindbergh kidnapping. It seems that a former FBI agent devised an extortion scheme, asking Evalyn Walsh McLean for $100,000 to ransom the Lindbergh baby. After she gave him the money, he absconded with it, only to return much later to say that it wasn't enough and asking for more. This time she didn't fall for the plan; her contacting the police led the arrest of Gaston Means.
