CURRENT MISSION

Shine a light!

ABOUT ME

I grew up in St. Louis and Danny grew up in a small town in Illinois. We met in 1969 in St. Louis while we were both in school. Danny recently retired as a self employed pharmacist of a little independent pharmacy and I work as a certified diabetes educator for the VA. We have three children: Kelsey 26 married summer 2012 and lives in Pittsburgh working as a pediatric ICU RN. Zach, 24,graduated from ISU, and loves traveling (the acorn falls very near the tree!) Lindsay, 22, just moved to Bettendorf IA to teach middle school math...her first real job! We have always loved traveling and through the years have enjoyed making lifelong friendships while traveling. We are just joining the Couch Surfing community and look forward to making new friends. As of 6/14, Danny spent last summer in Europe and we all took turns meeting him in Italy. Kelsey and hubby Will moved to New Orleans to attend LSU doctoral program. We still love visitors and are surprised how many people want/need to come to Peoria.

PHILOSOPHY

We are starting to realize that life is short. Gathering "stuff" doesn't seem really important anymore and we value our friends/family, travels, quiet times more than filling our home with things we don't need. We are committed Christians and open our home as a way to serve the Lord.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

We are new to the couch surfing community since 2012. We hosted surfers on a few occasions and really enjoyed the experience so we decided to enroll. In our "hippie" years we backpacked/hitchhiked extensively and always enjoyed giving strangers a lift and sometimes a place to stay. Nice to be able to re-live a bit of that in 2014.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Through our daughter, we hosted /met several surfers last summer. A couple of young men on their way through Peoria to Indy, a law student biking from CA to Canada, a Navy sailor on his way home to Alaska. It was fun meeting and helping them all.

Interests

Although we can't travel like we used to, we try to visit Chicago as frequently as possible. I like to hike, read books, being outside and getting to a beach at any opportunity.Used to clog and tried to learn to play the banjo, but never got past beginner. Skied years ago and Danny loves to snowshoe. Danny has been doing Tae Kwon Do for 34 years now and is a 7th Degree Black Belt master in Tae Kwon Do. He enjoys nature hikes, loves the beach as well and spends a lot of time discipling young men in the Christian community at our church and teaching Sunday School.

• books
• reading
• traveling
• cycling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• snowshoeing
• teaching
• law
• mathematics
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

Don't watch much TV (no cable, but hurray for streaming Netflix!). Danny likes action movies and martial arts films;Diane likes anything British ("Downton Abbey"). Danny reads Christian books mostly although is a Dickens fan. Diane reads as much as possible: Wilbur Smith, Maeve Binchey, Michner, historical fiction and thrillers. Music: oldies, some classical, jazz, bluegrass.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Attempting hiking the Appalachian Trail
Hiking and camping at the bottom of the Grand Canyon
Living in a cave on a beach in Kaui
The view from Victoria Peak at night.
The inside of St. Chappelle in Paris
The Pyramids
Taj Mahal on a full moon night

Teach, Learn, Share

Danny and I would both share our love of Jesus Christ if surfers were interested. I always love talking about healthy eating, diabetes, reading. We both would enjoy showing visitors what a small town in mid-western USA is like (think "Mayberry," we've been known not to lock our doors). We love hearing about other cultures and how other folks live.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Italy, Kenya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Panama, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States