Let your GPS take you beyond Starbucks and McDonald’s
I love using my GPS to locate the nearest Starbucks or McDonald's while traveling. Or to make sure there is a gas station up the road when I feel I can go a few more exits before stopping for gas.
Locations such as Starbucks, McDonald's and gas stations are known in the GPS world as points of interest, or POI. My GPS is loaded with hundreds of thousands of them.
But little did I know there were thousands more to be had.
After a presentation last Friday night, a gentleman walked up to me and asked me if I had heard of the POI Factory web site. I admitted that I hand't so he promised to send me the link.
I'm glad he did. Wow! I had no idea what I missing.
Apparently there is more to the GPS world than Starbucks and McDonald's. On the POI Factory web site, you can download such specific points of interest as:
- Non-Chain Mexican Restaurants
- Man vs. Food (based on the Travel Channel show "Man vs Food")
- Haunted Houses and Ghost Tours
- Offbeat Tourist Attractions
- Farmers Markets
And even...
- Red Light & Speed Cameras
All of the above points of interest can be individually downloaded as a file on your computer and then easily transferred to your GPS system.
Given the season, I may have to start with the Haunted Houses and Ghost Tours collection.
4 comments for this blog post so far...
October 27, 2009 at 9:07 am
Jim Kraft
Hi, Glad you liked the site. It is an amazing community of users. I use their POI files every trime I travel and they have saved me more than once. BTW, I added the Workingman’s Friend as one of the best hamburgers in the Mom and Pop burger file. There are threads that tell you how to use the files and load them onto your GPS. Just search or ask a question to the group, they are great. Jim Kraft
October 28, 2009 at 9:22 am
Patric Welch
Someone should create a new file called “Hole in the Wall Restaurants”. There’s a group on Smaller Indiana with that name and they meet once per month at a delicious restaurant most people have never heard of.
October 28, 2009 at 9:33 am
Jim Kraft
Anyone can create new POI files. Most of these are managed by one or two people. You just need to create a CVS file with name and coordinates, etc. I am not sure if there is an Indianapolis manager. There are instructions to do this on the POI web site. Maybe we could do that. jim
October 28, 2009 at 9:39 am
Patric Welch
Wow, I didn’t realize it was that simple. If only I had the coordinates for the restaurants without having to drive to each one of them. Wonder if Google Maps would have them?
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