And On Your Right!! by Gary Woods

If you've ever played tourist often the venue instead of having guides talk you through the displays will rent you a tape recorder with a tape in your appropriate langue and you'll follow the prompts to turn it on and off to enjoy the wonders of whatever you're currently staring at.

Recently I became aware of a service that can be accessed from your Cell Phone that has celebrities telling you about various towns around the country. For instance Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler tells people about his old stomping grounds of Boston. Tyler is only one of the celebrity tour guides who host pre-recorded sightseeing journeys accessible via the cell-phone-based service Talking Street.

To access a Talking Street tour, visitors dial a local number on their cell phone, and for $5.95 plus airtime they can access any part of their tour for a week. The service currently offers excursions through Boston; Washington, D.C.; and the Lower East Side, financial district, and former site of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

The tours are hosted by such celebrities as Larry King, Jerry Stiller, and Sigourney Weaver. The guides talk visitors through about 15 stops along each route, often offering little-known trivia or personal anecdotes about a location.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910