If you really want to know about us, here’s the uncut version:
Mimi Omiecinski – that’s me – I own Princeton Tour Company.
My husband, son and I moved here in 2006. It took me about two seconds to realize I had raise our son in this adorable town.
It took me another two seconds to figure out I didn’t need a car. I started biking and noticing all the landmarks, the architecture and the people on the sidewalks …
One day, I saw Dr. John Nash walking on the sidewalk so I mentioned my “celebrity sighting” to a merchant. He was quick to let me know Princeton has more Prize Winners than any two square miles on earth. I started google-ing Nobel Prize Winners, Pulitzer Prize Winners, National Medal Award recipients, etc. I started recognizing them in my grocery store, coffee house and library!
It wasn’t until I audited three courses at Princeton University that my infatuation turned to something else. It was a done deal… transplant or not, Wannabe or not, I had fallen in love with this town.
I wanted to create a business that would honor all of Princeton – her history, culture, residents, university and merchants so I knew a touring company made sense.
There were only a few problems: I wasn’t a historian, I didn’t grow up in Princeton, I didn’t go to Princeton University and, of course, never led a tour group!
- History – I collaborated with Princeton Public Library and various historical groups to verify my content. I don’t present anything as fact unless they told me I could. (Early in the tours there were even spots in the tour where I read verbatim the facts because I was terrified to get it wrong!)
- Touring – I LOVE touring people around Princeton! Now, I’ve been at this for 16 years but I started with ZIPPO experience. Check out our TripAdvisor, Google and Yelp reviews and you’ll see we’ve designed these so that customers love the content, route and price!
- Being a Princeton Wannabe – Here’s the deal. I’ll always be an outsider in Princeton. It’s OK with me and I hope it’s OK with you. I just want to do my best to sustain Princeton’s gorgeous landscape as well as her academic, economic and cultural diversity.
- Becoming a Full Service Tour Company – We started as a bike tour business and gradually moved to walking tours, pub crawls, ghost tours and corporate events. If someone wants to celebrate Princeton, we’ve probably got something for you.