What to Do with Those Stray Boots

by Lori Cunningham

One month ago my just turned 10-year-old daughter and I took our first mother daughter trip to San Francisco.  She was doing her California state report and we decided to do it on Chinatown, as San Francisco has the largest Chinatown outside of Asia…besides, it was a great excuse to go to see the sights of San Fran!

We were in San Francisco for three days and each day we visited Chinatown.  We learned a few new things like the deeper you go into Chinatown, the cheaper you can find touristy items.  We also learned that the Chinese come out at around 5pm to buy their fruits, vegetables, and Dim Sum to Go , so it’s fresh for dinner.  We may have learned a few other things, but that’s about it.  At this point, our only option was to go to the Internet to learn more about Chinatown to write her report.

Fortunately, Stray Boots had contacted me before the trip and asked if WellConnectedMom was interested in reviewing their app.  Stray Boots is walking tour of interesting tour spots in big cities.  It’s  part walking tour, part scavenger, part adventure.

Within San Francisco, there were 5 tours available.  We chose the Chinatown tour.  Stray Boots recommends each person in your group download the tour on their own phone, to keep people more engaged.  But as my daughter doesn’t yet have a phone, we shared the app on mine.  On the tour, we learned some fascinating facts about some of the buildings, history of Chinatown, how much a pound of some tea leaves can cost (over $100/lb!), why there was a Christian church in Chinatown and how it thrives today, the symbolism of oranges in one of the temples, and much more.  Once you take the tour, you cannot repeat it, so unfortunately  I can’t show you pictures from our tour, but I can show you pictures from another tour for Union Square.

When you’re ready to start your tour they give you a starting point.  Using GPS and a map, you can find the starting location.  You will then be told where to walk to first.  Once you’re there, you will be given a question, like “Find the Victory standing proud atop the monument in the middle of the Square.  What does she hold in her left hand?”  You then type in the answer.  In the example above, I got it wrong a couple of times, so the app encourages me to try one more time.  Once I either answer or skip the question, I receive a number of historical photos and facts about Union Square.  So much more interesting than glancing at a statue and walking by.

Interesting that San Francisco’s first mayor only lasted a year, but he did donate the land for Union Square.  It was also neat to see pictures of how the city used to look after the 1906  earthquake, when you’re standing in the city and seeing how it looks today.  I can only imagine how tragic those days were.

Scattered throughout the game are fun photo opps to do as well.  They remind you to take pictures of your adventure as a part of the game.  The picture shows up in the game you’re playing as well as in your camera roll.   It’s just another way to make the tour fun.

There is no time pressure to finish the tour, in fact, you can finish the tour anytime up to a year from when you purchased it.  It took us about 3 hours to do our tour, but we also stopped to sample teas in the tea store the tour took us to as well as have lunch and do some shopping.

Stray Boots tours range from $2 to $60 – but the $60 includes a bunch of city tours wrapped up into one discounted price.

A Mom’s Perspective

How often have you traveled to a city and walked by interesting buildings,  parks, or statures and not know anything about them?  Often times we settle for eating at restaurants and doing some shopping to “get a feel” of a city.  Perhaps you’re interested in learning more but going through the trouble to arrange a tour can be tedious.  And of course, the tough thing about taking a tour is that you are on “their” time, not on your own time, so you often lose opportunities to stay in a place longer dependent upon your interest…or even worse, forced to stay at a location longer when you’re bored to tears!

I love the simplicity of Stray Boots.  It’s last-minute, spur-of-the-moment, relevant walking tours right when you want them.  And better yet, you can take the tour at your own pace.  Stop for lunch, linger in the park, shop a little, it doesn’t matter.  The tour picks up when you’re ready.  The only thing I didn’t like was the fact that you can’t replay the tour, without paying for it again.  I can see why they designed it this way.  That way you don’t give your phone to someone else who can take the same tour without paying.  And for the most part, I wouldn’t need to take the tour again.  It was just that there was so much good info., my daughter and I wanted to use it for her California report.

I noticed in New York, Stray Boots even has a Serious Treats , East Village Sugar Rush tour and a Time Out East Village Bars tour, which takes you to 5 bars at night.  What a fun way to get to know a town!  If you’re looking for a fun, last-minute walking tour, either with your family, a good friend, yourself, or even as a company team outing, download the free Stray Boots app and buy a tour or two, it’s a fun and informative way to paint the town!

*  I was given a code for the Chinatown and Union Square tours in exchange for my honest opinion.  All opinions are my own.