Three years ago, Tim Schenck sat in the same hospital room Mother Teresa once occupied at Scripps Green Hospital, gazing out over golfers teeing off with the wide-open ocean as a backdrop. He was to spend two weeks in that room recovering from heart surgery after contracting a virus on his honeymoon three years before. With plenty of time to ponder his life, Schenck’s mind wandered to his first job working at the front desk of a Hilton Hotel in Maryland, advising tourists on sites to visit. After a career in finance and accounting, 36-year-old Schenck decided to take a new direction in his career and launch his own business in tourism. “I became fully committed to the idea after thinking about how many people could be sitting in a hospital room right now with the type of view I have,” Schenck said. “I was thinking what a unique place La Jolla is, and wanting to be able to see it with so many more people than just friends and family.” Schenck now runs guided tours in San Diego and has built a website at www.thebestplacesinsandiego.com. Now, Schenck plans to run a guided tour bus from downtown’s Santa Fe Depot to La Jolla, starting in March. His tour would enable people to get off to roam at the cove, at La Jolla Shores or continue to the Torrey Pines area. Visitors could also opt for a guided tour through La Jolla. Guided tours currently offered in San Diego typically center around downtown, Old Town and Balboa Park, with a few that pass through La Jolla but do not stop. “I’ve not found any hotels that offer tours,” Schenck said. “If a larger group wants to go to La Jolla, the hotel will get them up there but it’s not a guided tour. Right now, people are taking a taxi to get to La Jolla or are renting a car, none of which is cheap. “For the rate of them being able to do that, I want to provide them a guided tour and to give them a lot more background of what there is to see, and about the history and unique aspects so they get a lot more for their money.” Schenck is working with Greyline Tours to use the company’s buses and reservation system. He plans to shuttle visitors from La Jolla to downtown a few days a week at the start, and eventually would like to run multiple tours each day. Schenck spoke at the Promote La Jolla meeting Jan. 13, and said he wants to work with the community to find the best stopping points for the bus. Since his days as a young man behind a Hilton front desk, Schenck has resumed his passion for guiding visitors to worthwhile places. After targeting San Diego as a place to live, Schenck left Wilmington, Maryland in 1998. “People would call me to ask about San Diego and to get information because I had targeted it as place to live for my life. I have constantly been learning more about San Diego,” Schenck said.