One day I woke up and realized my life was boring and typical. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but its not the life I imagined for myself. So I did something about it. I quit my job and started writing and taking pictures. I also started my own travel blog. I sold all my stuff and began traveling and I am in love with my life now. I've met the most amazing people and have had the best adventures. The stupidest thing that I've done was to run with the bulls in Pamplona. I like to connect with people, which is why I am on couch surfing. Most of my best friends are people that I have met traveling. I am outdoorsy and active and up for just about any adventure. I also quite enjoy just sitting an chatting. I love learning about others, their culture, the way they think, everything.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

I am on couchsurfing to help others out that are in need of a place to stay.I absolutely love travelling and meeting new people and I understand how expensive travel can be. I want to be able to help someone else see the world even if they are on a tight budget. After all, " The world is a book and those who don't travel read only one page."-St. Augustine

I am going to travel through Europe and the rest of the world and hope that someone will share their couch with me as well as their culture and customs.

Interests

I am really interested in learning about new cultures and seeing new places. I am a history buff and absolutely love architecture. I also love nature and being outside. Hiking to a waterfall? Yep, I'm in. Lava fields! Definitely! biking in Amsterdam. Now that's an experience! I prefer the more authentic local experience than the average tourist experience. There isn't much I don't do.

My favorite thing is going off the beaten path so to speak. I like finding the different and unheard of, whether that be a restaurant or museum or farmers market, which leads me to another thing that is pretty important to me and that is buying local. I am a big believer in supporting the local economy.

I love taking pictures. Pictures capture the things that our eyes miss and looking at them, you can sometimes see the story that you missed in the moment. I've opened my own photography studio and my goal is to become a travel photographer.

I enjoy riding my motorcycle and just going for a Sunday drive. I also enjoy surfing but haven't surfed any big waves! I've recently gotten back into Scuba diving and had an amazing dive trip in Cozumel. I particularly like wreck dives and cave dives. My last dive, we swam literally with the sharks which was both a little nerve racking but incredibly exhilarating.

I also enjoy drawing and painting. It is incredibly relaxing to me. I am very creative and like making things. I've made some very cool cakes as well.

I am willing to try just about anything and because of that, I have a lot of interests.

Which takes me to another of my interests. I love animals, especially dogs.

I love being outside and going for hikes and camping. My favorite place so far is Sedona, Arizona for camping under the stars. Sometimes I will just get in my truck and drive to see the scenery and throw a blanket and pillow in the bed and spend the night under the stars.

Food is one of the things I enjoy but man, I can't cook to save my life. I am an excellent baker and can bake from scratch but the day they were giving out the gift of cooking, I must have been distracted, because I missed it. I do love trying new foods and eat organically when ever I can. There is nothing like a good cooked meal shared with a bottle of good wine, or hey, even a bottle of cheap wine. We can't have it all!

• animals
• dogs
• birds
• culture
• writing
• books
• architecture
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• traveling
• blogging
• painting
• drawing
• hiking
• camping
• hunting
• cave diving
• surfing
• scuba diving
• archery
• history

Music, Movies, and Books

I absolutely love music. I listen to just about anything. I like to discover the undiscovered. Mainstream music is ok but it all starts sounding the same. Bands like Fun and Foster the People, the Lumineers, Jack Johnson, Gotye,Damian Rice, The Pogues( I really like Irish music. It's so upbeat and happy), Ryan Adams to name a few. I do like country music as well. Rock and Classic Rock and also pretty cool but it really depends on the band. Live music is always at the top of my list of things I enjoy doing. Whether its a local band at a pub or a music fest, I'm there.
I don't watch a ton of TV because honestly I would rather be doing something than being hypnotized by TV. I do like to watch documentaries especially the ones about history and cool places to visit. The travel channel and I are great friends!

As far as books, there isn't anything that I don't read. Well except for politics. I am not a political person. I read both fiction and non fiction. I find that I gravitate more towards non fiction because I like learning new things. Whether its a book on photography or great painters, or even how to score a deal at the farmers market, I generally start reading and can't put the book down until I finish. Again, I know this sounds cliche, but I read the Hunger Games trilogy long before it became popular in a day and half. Luckily the last book had JUST come out! I liked that it was quite different.

Some of my most favorite books are the classics. Animal Farm was the first book that ever really MOVED me. That probably sounds crazy but I read it in ninth grade and we did a bunch of study on it.
Brave New World, All of the Jane Austen books, Shakespeare, East of Eden, Huckleberry Finn( I love the journey, it reminds me of my spirit), One Hundred Years of Solitude, Catcher in the Rye, Anna Karenina(I have a first printing of this), 1984, Timekeeper. I also collect old books. There is just something about opening an old book, the smell, the feel of the cover, knowing that you aren't the first person to have read it and that at the time, it was treasured because it wasn't taken for granted like books today!

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I took helicopter lessons and flew through the Grand Canyon and around Lake Meade and flew over the Hoover Dam! That was an amazing experience.

I went scuba diving in Cozumel and went through Devils Throat! It was an amazing experience. We swam with a school of sharks and that was incredible. Are they going to eat me? Thankfully they didn't disturb us. A sea turtle also swam up to us and it was just amazing to see nature happening under water all around me.

I hiked the Camino de Santiago which is a 500 mile walk across Northern Spain!
I've been parasailing, parachuting, and rode a bull. I am always up for an adventure! I know that's more than one but it's hard to narrow it down.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can most definitely teach others. Traveling has taught me to be trusting and open. I've learned to be flexible and accommodating and to relax and just roll with it.

I have a lot to learn in this life still and I am looking forward to meeting many more people and learning about their lives and struggles and how they have overcome or what cool stuff they have done. I love listening to other peoples stories. After all, I already know all of my stories!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I know that people have a bad feeling about Americans in other countries. I want to break that stereotype. I want to show others that I am friendly and appreciative for their hospitality. Ghandi said something that has always stuck with me: "Be the Change you wish to see in the world." That is how I live my life. If you host me, it will be a great experience and most definitely give you some stories to add to your "book"! I would like to be involved with my hosts. I know that people have jobs, but I am honestly not just looking for a bed or a free place to stay. I would like to stay with people who will interact with me, show me things, talk to me, explore the town with me! If I just wanted a bed, I'd book a room!

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States