Whether you found us online. Saw a shiny Airstream driving down the highway.
Or this is the very first time you have ever heard of it.
You're probably wondering what the heck is WanderLocal?
It started like most good things do over a cold brew.
Rewind two years ago, we had just decided to sell everything. The house, the cars, the stuff
we were embracing a life of minimalism. And we were hitting the road to travel the world.
When our friends first found out, they thought we were crazy. And, the first thing that came
to mind was that they said we should start a YouTube channel. The only problem with
starting a YouTube channel, is it needs a name. So, we started brainstorming about what our
favorite travel experiences had been in the past. And two major things stood out.
We know we love to wander. We love to experience new things. I mean, after all our first date
was skydiving jumping out of a plane so the bar was set very high to begin with.
And, the second piece was our best experiences weren't the ones that the
big chain hotels or the all-inclusive resorts. It was when we were experiencing the culture,
the history, the places, the shops that locals visited. And, that's how WanderLocal was born.
The more we talked about this concept of WanderLocal, the more we realized that traveling
this way had made us better people and better people tend to make the world a better place.
And, we wanted to make the world a better place, but it requires you to take action. So,
we started to do a little bit of research. Did you know that when you shop with a local
business for every a hundred dollars you spend, 73 of those go straight
back into your community. Compared when you shop with a non-local business, only 43 of
those dollars do. So, $73, 43, making new jobs, improving your roads, improving the schools in
your community. It seems like a no-brainer. Wandering Local is more important now than it
ever has thanks to the pandemic. Your favorite bars, restaurants, accommodations, arts,
culture. They need us to pull together and support our local communities.
In a world where we're all busy and we need conveniences. How do you shop local and still
make it work for your life? And, over the last two years,
we've gotten this down to a science. Well, we're in Santa Fe, New Mexico this week,
we figured we'd show you exactly how we do it. But first.
We are super serious about this initiative. So much so, we got the license plates.
One of the easiest ways we contribute to local communities is by booking local camp grounds.
But, that's what Lauren does so I'm going to have her explain.
Booking local accommodations doesn't have to just be for campgrounds.
If you're not RVing, you can do these exact same things by searching for Airbnbs or for
local boutique hotels. But, since you guys know we're full-time RV life, I do a lot of research
about campgrounds and how to find local. So, I figured I'd share some of my favorites. There
are tons of other applications like Campendium which I like as well, but when it comes to being
able to quick and easily search to find local businesses, it's pretty hard to beat Google.
I usually just start with RV parks and we're in Santa Fe, New Mexico,
and I search. Google maps is really where I like to find the best ones. What I love about this
is that you are going to get so many results,
but I don't want to see everything. I want to see the best. So, I go up to ratings and say 4.5
stars or more is a starting point. KLAs are great for a quick need, but they're not locally owned.
So, I'm always looking for the best locally owned spot. Santa Fe Skies RV Park is actually
where we're staying this week. And, as you can see with over 400 reviews, it looks pretty legit.
So I would just simply go to their website and see what it looks like. When you click on the about,
you could easily see Santa Fe Skies RV Park is family built, owned, and operated.
And that's exactly what I'm looking for. Locally owned, great reviews. Can't really go wrong.
One thing I will know about searching for local accommodations, especially campgrounds,
it often means that you do have to pick up the phone and actually call them, which is a little
bit inconvenient but, in the long run, your stay is going to be a lot more unique and the
customer service tends to be a notch above. So, it's worth it in the long run. I kind of
sprained my ankle really bad last episode so one of the things that we have to shop for this week
is hiking boots with ankle support. The same way we searched for a local campground is
exactly how we found this hiking shop. Google. When Lauren and I first started this WanderLocal
journey we wanted to shop as American made as possible, but unfortunately that's not always
the case. So, we created a four tiered WanderLocal shopping system. The first we try to buy locally
source products from local business owners, think of your farmer's markets and things like that.
Secondly, we'll buy American products that are maybe not necessarily sourced from local areas,
but are sold by local business owners. We consider this our tier two shopping experience.
Three, we'll buy non American made products, but they're still being sold by local business owners.
Think of your local retailers. They have some American products,
but they also have some non-American products. It's still a local business.
And fourth, this is where it's really just a last ditch effort. We'll buy American products
that are sold by some of the big retailers like your big grocery store chains. You'll have a
lot of stuff that can be local, but you're also going to have some stuff that is just not local
and you just kind of do the best you can at the end of the day.
All right, let's see if we can't find some hiking boots with some ankle support.
She twisted her ankle a few weeks ago.
Go ahead and put your left heel for me. And, then go ahead and stand up. You need a bag?
You guys are walking around?
No. Okay.
We can throw it in our truck. Boot success.
Another really good local tip is if you don't take the bags, not only are you helping the
environment, but it's another thing that costs a local business money. So, you can help them save
a couple dollars sometimes even. While we're out the other day,
somebody recommended that we check out La Montinita co-op, which is-
A local grocery store. A local grocery store.
Apparently is one of the largest co-op grocery stores in the country so we just got lucky on
that one. We're looking forward to checking this place out because usually one of the only places
we can find local groceries and produce is farmer's markets, which typically won't
have everything that you need for the week. And sometimes they have limited hours as well.
It's not like they're open seven days a week farmer's market, so this is a great option.
I forgot my reusable bags in the truck so we're just going to load them up into
the bags when we get there. This is easier inside the store.
In addition to some beautiful produce by local farmers, we also found a Santa Fe magnet,
which is something we collect on all of our travels. But, now that we have groceries,
it's time to head back to the Airstream, get them in the refrigerator and get fresh
and back because We have an exciting cultural experience to share with y'all tonight.
We love to check out local restaurants as part of our WanderLocal adventures. Usually when I'm
doing that, it's kind of spur of the moment, break out my phone and I hit Google maps.
When I'm looking for here, it's pretty quick and easy to spot a local restaurant. And, one of the
quickest ways to know whether or not it's local or not is just taking a look at the site. About us,
original concept, been a part of the Santa Fe community for more than 60 years. But,
we're not going to Bumblebees tonight. We had picked out somewhere extra special because
since we're in Santa Fe, New Mexican food is not the same as your normal Mexican food
that you would get anywhere else across the country. And, this place is known for some of the
very best New Mexican cuisine in Santa Fe, so we're really excited to share it with you.
Still treating that sprained ankle gingerly. Getting better though. But, tonight we are eating
dinner at Gabriel's and it looks delicious. Another thing that Santa Fe is known for, is their
margaritas. In fact, they even have a margarita trail you can do, but this place is known for
having some of the best in the area. We're really excited about trying their homemade jalapeno
one. Of the things Gabriel's is famous for, is their table-side guacamole.
And although Daniel doesn't like guacamole
kind of, it's one of my favorites so I'm really excited about us trying this.
Definitely doesn't disappoint. There are quite a few reasons why we love
to go to local restaurants over the big chains. I would say my number one thing that I love,
is you're always going to find something new and unique on the menu that you can't really find
anywhere else, making it a real experience. And, I would say for me, it's that the best local
restaurants are a representation of the local communities that they're in. And, there's so much
of that in the food they cook the drinks that they serve. And that's what makes it special for me.
Not to mention it's a great way to talk to some of the locals. The people who are working here,
whether it's the bartender or your server, ask them where some of their favorite places are.
They're always going to give you great recommendations.
Speaking of unique food, I got El Pastore tacos, except I got them vegetarian.
So, they're cauliflower and pineapple. So sure, maybe that's not your cup of tea, but this menu
has so many cool, unique things like this that you really can't get anywhere else, which
really makes it cool. So, I went with the combo platter,
and here's the most interesting aspect. When asked if I want to Christmas, I said yes. But,
what Christmas actually means is that you're getting a green chili and a red chili, which
is why it's called Christmas and they'll combine them in the dish. And that is a New Mexico staple.
Who doesn't love Christmas? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is
my favorite movie. What's your favorite Christmas movie, now that we're talking about
Christmas. Leave it in the comments below. I'm pretty much obsessed with pineapples on
everything. So, I'm really excited how beautiful this taco is. When you've had a great service
at a local business, another really strong way to give back is to tip appropriately.
If you've never been a server, you may not know how this works. So, 20% is a good tip
for good quality service. If you have the ability to tip above and beyond that, that's just more
you're giving back to the community and that's a good thing. Not to mention, when you give a tip a
server, a tip that's higher than 20%, you probably just made that humans day so there's that too.
After an incredible dinner at Gabriel's, one of my favorite things to do at a local restaurant is ask
if they have favorite menu items that you can purchase to go, like this guacamole.
It's incredible. I would normally pick it up at a grocery store anyway, but now I have a
local favorite and it's wicked better than your normal grocery store. guacamole. It's always
a win. Almost all local businesses have featured products like this that you can purchase to go.
So, you've seen how we've shopped local in Santa Fe.
But our efforts to shop local alone can only do so much.
Together though, we can make a difference. And this is your call to action.
There are three things that you can do today to help us get the WanderLocal message out.
The very first one is tell us about your favorite local business. Leave a comment
below and give us their name and the city it's in because we're going to be using this information
to help determine what local businesses we're going to be featuring on our channel.
The next thing you can do is to share this video. Share with your friends,
share with your family, just get that WanderLocal message out there to the world.
Last, but certainly not least, is when you're going and shopping there
make sure to take a video or take a quick photo and share it on your social profiles. When you do
make sure to use the hashtag WanderLocal so that we can then share it on ours and
feature your favorite local businesses as well.
But, until next week, wanderers. Take the time to go out and support a
local business near you and WanderLocal. After all, it's good for the soul.