CURRENT MISSION

Enjoy life's principal pleasures: family, food, people and adventure

ABOUT ME

As said by my 10 year old daughter: "I work really hard but I love spending time with my family and friends. I love organizing all Island soccer, football and bike games." She is right. I might add that anyone who knows us well would certainly talk about the warm, inviting home that we create (wherever we may be living or bunking down), welcoming friends and friends of friends and friends of friends of friends with good hot food and merry cheer. They would say that we like nothing better than sitting near the fire and reading a great book aloud, or making music (actually the kids make a lot of music, and I try to hold down a rythym section on a washboard). They would say that we love games.

PHILOSOPHY

Follow all good smells, no matter where it leads.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Our family of five is eager to meet people from all over the world and to sit and exchange ideas, laugh, and talk over a meal. We are looking to host individuals to families who are seeking adventure or respite in our part of the world.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

My son and I couch surfed in Skanor, Sweden. We enjoyed traveling there on bikes, staying with our hosts, and touring the local communities.

Pre-couch surfing, My wife and I met in Denmark on a study abroad program, and had many wonderful adventures driving a VW Camper van from Copenhagen to Istanbul and back. We slept in the van, but also at the homes of embassy personnel and circus performers. Later we spent many months on couches of in-laws in central mexico, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Interests

Bicycle riding, sailing, cooking and eating delicious food, vegetable gardening, reading and reading aloud to my children, playing and coaching soccer (football) and spending time generally with friends and family. This summer we are going to sail around Orcas Islands in small sail boats and kayaks for a week with freinds and family.

Professionally, I'm lucky enough to still be intrigued by the task of collaborating, coaxing, conducting and charming the homes I build into existence.

• books
• dining
• cooking
• gardening
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• cycling
• camping
• surfing
• sailing
• soccer
• study abroad

Music, Movies, and Books

Recently I have enjoyed Freedom and Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, Eating Animals by Jonathan Foer, and Yes is More, an Archicomic by a Danish architectural firm. My music tastes are very open, but I have a special fondness for old time American music. My movie tastes tends to run towards silly comedies or serious documentaries.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

A couple of summers ago, during a hot spell, I read Twain's Unabridged Huckleberry Finn to my oldest son and neice, from a swing chair on the front porch of the home I grew up in. We read from dusk to dark night after night.

Working together, healed over, and riding that adreneline ridge that only comes from cold water, high winds, and a full sail, I had a totally memorable sail home from Jones Island last summer.

Cycle touring (more or less) through wind and rain in Denmark and Sweden.

Countries I’ve Visited

Belize, Denmark, Mexico, Sweden

Countries I’ve Lived In

Denmark, Mexico, United States