CURRENT MISSION

To step away from my computer

ABOUT ME

I've grown up with the philosophy of 'see your own country first' so spent many a summer traveling throughout Canada and going on various wilderness expeditions with my three girls. Have only been traveling abroad for about 15 years now. When I travel I like to learn as much as I can about a culture and to meet people - and what better way to do that than to stay with a 'local'! It's an interesting diverse world out there. I'm 'young-at-heart', (have to say that now that I'm closing in on 60) and try take care of mind, body, and soul.

We prefer going out the door, than in. When we're not working to save the world with our quixotic ideals, we're sleep deprived pleasure-seekers, that likes going to new places to connect with new people, eat new foods, and see new sights. We're coffee snobs and foodies. Ruth's passion is preparing food, and Tom's passion is eating it.
Tom also likes taking photos, writing (blog is incouragelife.wordpress.com), swimming, tennis, soaking in the Hot Tub after too much tennis, wilderness canoeing, hiking, drinking wine (especially from Argentina), smoking the occasional cigar (especially from Cuba) and sipping drams of Scotch (especially from Scotland!).

As a parent I care most about my three girls, our granddaughter and their future.

PHILOSOPHY

"Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it" Andre Gide

"the only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion" Albert Camus

Adventure is not something you must travel to find, it'€™s something you take with you. Diane Ackerman

I haven't been everywhere, but it's on the list

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

When we surf, we do a lot of research to find people who we think we'd connect well with. Our intention is never to show up and sleep, just to save a few bucks. We'd prefer to cook, eat, drink and connect with our hosts. Even if we're not staying overnight with our host, we like to connect with others in the community for a drink/coffee/meal.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Since 2009 on a trip to New Zealand and Australia, and then in BC , North Carolina, Ottawa, New England and Cape Breton and had fabulous experiences with all of our hosts. Tom has also connected with a few couchsurfers in Thailand while he was there and they were incredible 'tour guides'! It is great connecting with interesting people who have local knowledge. Tom has travelled solo much of the time as he is dialled into adventure travel. Ruth, while she loves adventure travel cannot do it anymore due to a medical condition. The generosity of everyone I've stayed with was well beyond expectations, which proves that good nature and kindness in people is endemic. Hosting has been awesome too, but don't get too many requests. Eden Mills is lovely, but hardly a 'hot spot'. We get more requests from WWOOFers and that has been an awesome experience for us too.

Interests

Courage, Community, Leadership, Art, Nature, Human Nature and how to live on the planet without destroying it.

• arts
• culture
• writing
• photography
• music festivals
• wine
• coffee
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• blogging
• live music
• hiking
• canoeing
• tennis
• swimming
• genealogy
• food
• wilderness
• environmentalism
• sustainable living
• birdwatching
• canoe

Music, Movies, and Books

Music - In the right mood I can get into any genre, but the artists that gets lots of plays on the playlist include Ray Lamontange, Cat Power, Lhasa de Sela, Pink Floyd, Del Bel, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Ry Cooder, The Shins, Patrick Watson, Fat Freddys Drop, Wilco, Fink, Half Moon Run, City and Colour, The Tragically Hip, Leonard Cohen - er, to name a few.

Fav Books - Barney's Version (or anything) by Mordecai Richler, A Fine Balance (or anything) by Rohinton Mistry; An Equal Music by Vikram Seth; The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston; Life of Pi by Yann Martel; Blindness by Jose Saramago; Birth of the Chaordic Age by Dee Hock; A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright; The Upside of Down by Thomas Homer Dixon; Jaber Crow by Wendell Barry, Independent People by Halldór Laxness - er, to name a few.

As far as movies go, as a rule, the farther from Hollywood the better. Exceptions would be 180 degrees South, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Adaptation, Lord of the Rings, Born into Brothels

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Watching a shuttle launch, tramping on volcanoes, sleeping amongst funnelwebs in Australia, dodging the odd moose or bear in the Canadian wilderness, having deep dialogue with the Moai on Easter Island. Er, I guess that's more than one.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, British, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada

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