Beth Homicz is a national award-winning former local reporter (The News-Gazette) and a co-author of AMC’s Best Day Hikes Near Washington, D.C. (Appalachian Mountain Club Books: 2023, 2017, and 2011). She has also written for The Washington Post and Destinations magazine. During her four years at Georgetown University, Beth fell in love with the capital city’s beauty and grandeur, and its uniquely alluring history. She often found herself playing tour guide for friends and family who came to visit, and this increased her sense of curiosity, wonder, and purpose. Later, as a licensed professional tour guide and tour director based in the nation’s capital for many years, Beth hosted more than 15,000 travelers from many nations and all walks of life — primarily student groups, her favorite guests — on their own memorable Washington adventures. For more than a dozen years, Beth has lived in the mountains of Virginia, where, as a local newspaper reporter, she received a National Newspaper Association award and two Virginia Press Association awards for her writing and photography. She’s now at work on a likely sequel to Some Guy Wants to Buy the Fourth of July,™ plus several other stories.