CURRENT MISSION

To welcome those who want to see what America is like with their own two eyes.

ABOUT ME

I tend to do things that make me seem braver than I am. Wandering off-course isn't a trauma, even if I'm in another country where I can't speak the language or read the signs. ("You're not lost," I tell myself, "just adventuring!") I once packed up my kids, loaded up the U-Haul trailer, and drove from Pennsylvania to Texas to take a new job. I must have a bit of golden retriever in me, because I can get frenetically enthusiastic. But there's a core of common sense under the impetuous exterior. I really do look before leaping. It's just that once I decide to leap, I do so with great abandon.

PHILOSOPHY

The only thing you take with you when you die is the person you spent your life becoming.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I've surfed both for business and pleasure, and have found Couch Surfing hosts to be the most gracious, pleasant people anywhere. My hosting experiences have been delightful, and I particularly enjoy having people to cook for.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Two nights with a delightful couple in Oxford, UK; several days in Muskegon, MI, with a gracious young lady who helped me to navigate for the Buster Keaton Festival, and two nights with a pleasant couple near DC for a job interview. A Vietnamese family took me in for the Tet festival, which was amazing.

I have hosted far more people than I expected, given my out-of-the-way location. They're typically folks breaking up a long road trip. I enjoy hosting so much that I'm always excited to see a request in my inbox.

Interests

I bought a crackerbox of a house that pre-dates the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889. It's as much something to play with as someplace to live. I recently finished upgrading my bathroom. I'm inexperienced and having to learn as I go, but I love every minute of it.

• dogs
• arts
• festivals
• dancing
• dining
• cooking
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• snorkling
• boats
• bridges
• home renovations

Music, Movies, and Books

I love documentaries and Pixar flics, and am a huge Buster Keaton fan. My tastes in movies are pretty quirky.

For books I prefer non-fiction, biographies, and classic novels -- Jane Austin, Thomas Hardy, Mark Twain, Dickens, etc. Of modern fiction I like the Barbara Hambly vampire novels, the T.R. Pearson Neely Trilogy, the Hitchhiker's Trilogy, and "A Confederacy of Dunces."

My musical tastes lean toward "classic rock" (code for "old people music"), though my daughter keeps me abreast of newer music. I love Evanescence.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I helped two cetologists from the Smithsonian do a necropsy on a beached whale. I've rafted and ridden elephants in Thailand and gotten lost in Korea. I've actually had a reason to say, "Eww! Now I've got a hand all full of tiger snot!"

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm learning-by-doing renovations on my elderly cracker box of a house. If there's a project you'd like to participate in I can possibly tweak my schedule so I'm working on that while you are here. I also love cooking with people and learning new things to cook.

I have a guitar and ukulele but don't play either one very well..

What I Can Share with Hosts

I love to cook for people, play games, and share experiences.

Countries I’ve Visited

China, France, Japan, Mongolia, Peru, Spain, Thailand, United Kingdom, Viet Nam, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Germany, South Korea, United States

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