Blog Category: Travel

Adventures of a Google Guide - Part 1 Getting Started

Aug 25, 2021 07:44 PM Central
Echo Alexzander
Adventure, America, Google Guide, Travel
0 Comments

How did we adventure before Google Maps? Haha
Okay so that may have dated how old I am, but I have to say how very thankful I am for technology in the palm of my hand, and online resources for advanced trip planning. Did you know that if you are an avid user of Google maps for your travels, you can become a Google Guide?

This is another edition of my Travel Adventures Series blog. Sign-up to receive each new blog post delivered conveniently to your inbox when they arrive!

How it began

I started with Google mostly through Gmail in college, back when you had to be invited by an existing user to get an account (yes, that was a thing). That explains why early adventures like my trip to Puerto Rico didn’t make the star chart of my North America explorations featured in my cover photo.

Even James and my first cross-country road trip from Idaho to Washington, DC didn’t yet make the debut on my maps, though there were lots of adventures had!

What are my favorite ways to use Google Maps and other sites for adventure planning and execution? Keep reading for more.

Google Maps

One of my very favorite features to use after I research somewhere really cool to go, like a National Park, a restaurant, or a museum, is to mark it as one of my places within my Google Maps. Once I have all of my places marked, I can better see them laid out and plan how I want to visit them all throughout my travels (and it helps because I am a visual learner).

What other travel adventure planning tips are my absolutes to find these gems? I share them all here!

You can completely customize this to set up favorites, places you want to go, places you have been, and even create custom lists. I've used this for instance when we moved to a new state and I planned out local businesses that we wanted to visit.

How it's going, I'm a Guide!

Now that I have been adventuring for over 20 years, I've built up quite the collection of sites and experiences. So how can I share some of those with others? Here on my page and blog of course, but also with the larger world thanks to being a Google Guide.

If you are already on your way as a Guide, check your progress and contributions here.

Local Guides Connect is a forum where you can get to know others in the Local Guides community. You can participate in discussions, get exclusive announcements, and ask any questions about Google Maps.

We all know social media has gone bonkers, so it's been a fun new platform to use to share stories and connect with other Local Guides from all around the world.

The Local Guides community on Google Maps has been rocking together for a full five years now. If you are on there, find me!

I recently discovered that they give out prizes! What?! That is awesome.

You Know You Have Arrived When...

Yep, they send you free adventure socks! Did they know I am the Chief Adventure Officer?!?

Yes, my very own pair of Local Guides Special Edition Socks. I mean, clearly they at least know that I am out adventuring often and might benefit from some cool new socks for my next journey.

And I do love cats (not as much as unicorns, but still a lot). Unless you consider the cat unicorn lego, but that really isn't a fair comparison...

Stay tuned for Part 2 in the Google Guide Adventures series! In the meantime, check out all of the other travel blogs here and find inspiration for your next adventure.

Do you have any special socks or other items that were earned and can't be purchased?
Tell me what they are!

Information courtesy of Echo Alexzander

Guest Blog with "My Guide to Globetrotting on A Budget" Author Andrea Clemons

Feb 28, 2021 04:28 PM Central
Echo Alexzander
Adventure Life, Budget, Finances, Guest Blogger, Travel
1 Comment

Do you dream of traveling the globe but don't know how to pay for it all? The wait is over to find the answer to this conundrum and to get yourself started on bigger (and cheaper) adventures than ever before!

Get ready to learn about the ins and outs of dream vacation travel hacks on budget with our guest and fellow adventurer, Andrea Clemons the author of the book, My Guide to Globetrotting on a Budget.

Guest Blog with "The Remote Work Era" Author Rhiannon Payne

Feb 20, 2021 10:10 PM Central
Echo Alexzander
Book Recommendations, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Remote Work, Travel, Work At Home
0 Comments

Have you found yourself in a remote work position that you weren't originally set-up for? Or maybe you have dreamt of having the freedom to work from home or remotely, but you aren't sure how it could be possible.
Get ready to learn about the possibilities and where to find some incredible resources with our guest and fellow adventurer, Rhiannon Payne the author of The Remote Work Era.

The Best Bacon in the World?

10/19/2020 10:00 AM Central
Echo Alexzander
Food, Foodie, Travel
1 Comment

Have you ever eaten bacon so good that you had to apologize to your husband?

This year I have eaten two portions of bacon that I submit as contenders to the title of world's best bacon...

Foodie Adventures Series

Oct 11, 2020 08:57 PM Central
Echo Alexzander
Food, Foodie, Travel
0 Comments

Does anyone else love foodie adventures?

There is something so fun about exploring new places, trying new flavors, and taking advantage of eating out to embrace new food experiences.

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Meet Echo Alexzander, Chief Adventure Officer

Overworked, burned out, and with waning loyalty to an industry that had lost its way and was no longer true to itself. Of course, career burnout was at an all-time high in my sector and amongst the worst in any field. It wasn’t all even just about work, though my perfectionism often got the best of me there more than other parts of my life. I look back and see that I was overwhelmed and questioning so many areas of my life. Was I doing the right things? From diet to products I bought, from how I was involved in the community to time I was spending with family, and from how I was walking out my faith and showing up in a meaningful way to my world. In this craziness is where I found myself.

Healthcare (watch my fingers make air quotes as I say that word and use the term loosely at best) in the US had long been bought and paid for and was no longer masking their symptom management and disease maintenance focus. It had lost its focus on health; they could give you a pill or cut you open. But to nurture your health and foster your body’s God-given ability to heal itself, they no longer knew how to do that. Or worse, no longer desired to be in the business of prevention and healing.

As so many professional people were doing in the modern economy, we, as healthcare professionals, we’re doing more with less. Mandatory overtime, poor ergonomics, and complete lack of an environment to practice self-care were the norm. And to make it worse? Because of our specific industry, we added in a loss of our medical freedoms just to stay and do our jobs. The days of job security were long gone, and I watched in fear as friends and colleagues in sectors across the board were being laid off just to help top leaders move the stock up for shareholders. How terrifying that this could be the reward for lifelong dedication and hard work!

At home, it didn't feel much better. I fought to find a non-existent work-life balance and to be present while feeling exhausted (have you ever come home from work to fall asleep on the couch and finally be awoken when your Mom calls? Tell me this isn’t just me!). I was disappointed in myself seeing my self-care fall away, time with friends and family slipping by, and I wasn’t spending the time I wanted serving with my church family or in my community.

Add to that the confusion and frustration of what should have been simple daily choices. What foods should I be eating? Is this trendy thing something I should try? Wait, is the product good or bad, I paid more for it, but I feel like I saw an article on them that there was a recall or they were green-washing. So frustrating and such a time-suck trying to keep up and have the health and abundance our family deserved! I felt like at every turn that I was running to keep up and felt like I ultimately just found more of the same lies in the name of profits, and more ways my health was ultimately paying the price, yet again.

How could anyone thrive in this culture when even those who were well educated and seeking out something better faced with such daunting challenges? I know, first-world problems, but I longed to create something more, a legacy for myself and others. To break generational chains and I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it stuck in this rat-race.

Set the stage for that something. I have, for so much of my life, been interested in learning, growing, and being a student of personal development. From an investment with top leadership development companies through their programs for years to Law of Attraction to Conscious Language and so many others, I was finding the mentorship and teaching I needed to make the changes I so desperately desired.

There wasn’t an overnight shift or an immediate awareness to change, but I began to find my path slowly and as a result, was investing myself in new ways. I was raised by a wise and visionary Mother who had shown me what it was to be an entrepreneur. I always admired that title and was drawn to it in many ways. As I dabbled in businesses from my youth through college and beyond, I was picking up pieces of freedom and a stage where I could work for myself to create something new.

As the years went on, I kept pushing myself in that path. I was helping others, and I was welcoming a team of like-minded friends and family to come with me. This was possible; we were doing it! It wasn’t easy, we were doing a side-hustle while still being full-time professionals and wives and Mothers, but we were doing it none the less.

I'm so excited to have found a platform to speak truth. To show up for others in "true health" in ways that I didn’t know could exist when I started down this path. But I know now that we don't have to settle any longer. Any of us, friends! It's time to live the great adventure that you were made for.

Now it’s time to move beyond business beyond vocation. Now we are building a blessing. That has so many meanings, one being the definition of “a herd of unicorns,” in case you didn’t know. I was given the title of ‘unicorn’ from a dear friend when she came to know me and saw what I was capable of achieving. And now it’s my turn to see that light in you. Join me, and together, we can create a community and movement with a vision to change it all.

I don't care what your background is. What education you received growing up in business, finances, or medicine. Those things don't matter. We are walking a new path to freedom in all areas of our lives.

I'm writing a new future and destiny for myself and my family, and I won't journey alone. A mentor taught me to carry the confidence that God has called me to rise, but I will not rise alone.

I'm reaching out my hand to you (don't worry, I recently used a plant-based hand sanitizer) so that you are not alone; we will do this together!

You are so worthy.

Your family and your dreams are worth it.

Together we can do this, but you must take the first step. 👊

I can't wait to connect with you via text, email, or on social media!

Contact Me

Blog Category: Travel

Adventures of a Google Guide - Part 1 Getting Started

How it began

Google Maps

How it's going, I'm a Guide!

You Know You Have Arrived When...

Guest Blog with "My Guide to Globetrotting on A Budget" Author Andrea Clemons

Guest Blog with "The Remote Work Era" Author Rhiannon Payne

The Best Bacon in the World?

Foodie Adventures Series

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

Meet Echo Alexzander, Chief Adventure Officer