I had a case of ‘Holy crap it’s a small world!’ this past weekend that finally made me write this blog post.
I was volunteering at Take Pride in Acadia Day, which is this yearly event at Acadia National Park that organizes volunteers to do outdoor projects like raking leaves and cleaning out culverts to get the park ready for winter. In exchange for manual labor, participants get a t-shirt and a lunch of chili and cornbread (which is so good, I heard about it before I even moved to Bar Harbor). In other words, this event could have been a whole Marketing Monday post because it was so well organized and publicized.
But this is about a random coincidence.
To organize the masses of people, everyone is put in a work group with a number. My friend Sarah and I were in group 13, as was a very familiar looking couple. (Keep in mind there are at least 50 people in each of the 21 groups.)
The woman I recognized as someone I went to college with and her husband also looked familiar.
“Wait a minute, do you blog?” he asked.
“Wait a minute, did you design the Acadia National Park application?” I asked.
So Kerry is this super nice guy who gave me a preview of the Chimani Acadia National Park application when it came out. A review of it has been on my to-do list for months. Seeing him reminded me to finally do it. (Full disclosure: He was so nice that he didn’t nag me at all…Those of you who read this blog regularly know me a little better!)
Mobile web is getting bigger with a 230% increase this year alone. And anyone who has ever been in Downeast Maine knows that ATT (iPhone) coverage here is spotty to say the least. So what does Kerry do? Designs an app that requires no cell service. Brilliant! Because the last thing you want to do is carry heavy guidebooks up Cadillac Mountain.
I’ve fired up the application a few times and see that the GPS capabilities and maps alone will keep me from getting lost (again). I have yet to do the voice over audio tour of the Park Loop Road. Information is up to date, including bus and tide schedules (handy for those venturing to Bar Island as every year a tourist parks there and comes back to a flooded car).
For $5, this application costs less than a guide book. You can buy it on iTunes or get it on the Android market.
And to those of you going to other national parks, Chimani has applications for several other national parks and historic areas already created and some in progress.
But my favorite part is Kerry Gallivan, the developer, was actually in Acadia National Park taking part in service event this past weekend. It’s clear that Kerry’s passion is the real deal and I as a user of the application appreciate that.
So Kerry, I’m sorry this review is so late. Your application for Acadia National Park is fantastic!