Princeton’s most spirited cheerleader is Mimi Omiecinski.
She’s the owner of Princeton Tour Company, a full-service tour company that offers a dizzying array of walking, kayaking and biking tours, along with event planning assistance.
“I lived in Florida before moving to Princeton. Originally, I’m from Nashville,” Omiecinski says. “I just ended up falling in love with this town. It’s a beautiful place with so much history.”
After realizing quickly that she didn’t need a car to get around, Omiecinski started absorbing Princeton’s people, landmarks and architecture by bicycle.
She designed her tours of the area in collaboration with a number of local institutions such as the Historical Society of Princeton, Princeton Public Library and the various universities in the area to ensure her facts are straight.
“Princeton has a great story to tell,” Omiecinski says.
Some of the stories revolve around famous Princeton resident Albert Einstein. Groups can check out his two homes, university office, favorite restaurant and favorite clothing store. But along with the historical sites, groups get all the dirt. For example, did you know that Einstein was once married to his cousin? Did you know that Einstein couldn’t concentrate while wearing socks? A number of bike tours are available in which groups can check out the homes and dorm rooms of four U.S. presidents: Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, James Madison and John F. Kennedy.
Omiecinski recently coordinated a scavenger hunt for Tyco International.
“Our scavenger hunts are becoming more popular,” Omiecinski says. “In most cases, groups don’t want the tasks to be too ‘mental.’ They are already using their brains during their conference. It’s a great way to unwind, learn about Princeton and relate to their team members in a fun way.”
The tour company also offers a walking tour with Maximillan Hayden, a celebrated Princeton architect.
For groups that want a bit of a bike challenge, they can ride local routes of Princeton University’s cycling team.
Groups can also enjoy pub crawls and ghost tours of Princeton. They’ll learn which Princeton genius liked to drink, drive and read at the same time. (Obviously, don’t try that at home.) Some of the ghost tours aren’t for the faint of heart. One tour takes groups to local haunts by a tour guide who has been seeing ghosts since he was 12 years old.
Omiecinski recently organized a biking, walking and canoeing tour for one group. The canoeing portion took place on the Raritan Canal. The group was visited by someone dressed as George Washington, who not only gave the group an engaging history of the canal, but also commanded that the group turn their canoes around.
