Thirty years of walking tours could exhaust even the most dedicated guides from telling the same stories over and over again.

But not Nancy Cobb, co-founder of Coronado Walking Tours. She keeps going, leading tours around Coronado and its environs every Thursday and Saturday morning. What keeps her so interested in this small Southern California town of 25,000, on the outskirts of San Diego?

Well, for one thing … ghosts. And architecture. And history. But mostly it’s about telling a good story. “It’s like storytelling,” said Cobb.

But Cobb had yet to learn about all these things. At first she was in search of sunshine, ambiance and the sea.

She brainstormed with her friend Gerry MacCartee about starting a business that would be fun and interesting, yet leave them time for raising their children. And thus, Coronado Touring was born.

It was only in after starting the local tours that Cobb even learned about Coronado’s mystical history. They were so inspired by all the events that shaped the area that they even wrote the book on it … Coronado, the Enchanted Island.

In their tours, Cobb and MacCartee have been able to show visitors from locations all over the world Coronado’s famed architecture, stories and most of all, its ghosts. Along with presidents and titans of industry that built homes along the coast, the Duchess of Windsor’s cottage also remains. Author L. Frank Baum, lived in the area and wrote much of the Wizard of Oz series. And around Halloween, visitors always ask about the female ghost that is rumored to haunt the famed Hotel Del Coronado.

And that is what keeps Cobb inspired by her adopted hometown, after all these tours, and all these years. “I came from San Francisco and lived all over the word,” said Cobb. “But we choose Coronado.”

By Cara Tabachnick for PeterGreenberg.com

Listen to Nancy Cobb on Peter’s radio show this weekend.

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