I'm a very social person and enjoy meeting new and interesting people in my travels. When I'm not travelling, I live in a small beach town on the west coast of Florida, USA. I actually grew up in New Hampshire, but came to Florida to go to college and never went back (except to visit)
Although I enjoy sightseeing travel, I really enjoy adventure travel, ie: hiking, kayaking, sking, scuba diving, etc.
I have two beautiful twin daughters, whom I adore, who share my love of travel and adventure.
I graduated from the University of Florida, and am a big "Gator" fan. I host tailgates during the football season and really enjoy watching college football.
I'm pretty health conscious, but not fanatical about it. I do a pretty good job of eating right and staying in shape. Although I respect everyone's right to do what they enjoy, smoking and recreational drugs aren't my thing.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Couch surfing appeals to me because I look forward to the social interaction that comes with staying in a host's home. I love the thought of a host sharing their knowledge of their world with me. At the same time, I don't want to burden anyone and would be fine with a host that may be too busy to spend time with me, but is willing to provide a place for me to crash.
As a host, I like the idea of "paying it forward" and of helping fellow travelers who are also exploring our world.....

Interests

I categorize my interests into 4 categories: Athletic, Intellectual, Artistic and Travel. Each category is very important to me and really defines me as a person.

In the Athletic category, my interests include snow skiing (PSIA certified instructor), Scuba Diving, Ocean Catamaran sailing, and Beach Frisbee. I'm also an active runner and regularly compete in area road races, usually in the 5 to 10k distances.

Intellectually, I am always eager to learn new things and have discussions of substance with others. I'm not really into discussing politics, and any discussion of religion would only be to learn more about another's religion to broaden my understanding of the world. I have no interest in pushing my beliefs on others and I appreciate the courtesy in return. I love discussing sports, travel, film, theater and books.

My artistic/creative interests mostly revolve around music and theater. Musically, I have just enough talent to appreciate those musicians that have really good talent! I hack around with the electric guitar and drums, but my friends get tired of hearing me play the same 4 songs over and over again. I have participated in community theater and have had a lot of fun with that.

Finally, in addition to commercial travel, I really enjoy flying small airplanes. I am an instrument rated private pilot and have flown myself and family/friends all over the continental US and Mexico. When I travel , I really enjoy immersing myself in the local culture as opposed to hitting the tourist attractions. Certainly there are some iconic attractions that I would not skip, but I enjoy getting off the beaten path and going to those places that the hordes of tourists have not yet discovered.

• culture
• books
• theater
• instructor
• flying
• politics
• traveling
• music
• guitar
• drums
• hiking
• kayaking
• surfing
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skiing
• sports
• soccer
• religion
• adventure travel
• sightseeing
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I love all kinds of music and I love to dance to it!
My tastes range from rock to reggae to classical. It all depends on my mood.
Some of my favorite movies include:
Amadeus, The Matrix trilogy, The Terminator, Pan's Labrinth, The Sound of Music, Cloud Atlas
I enjoy books by Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Issac Asimov. Most recently, I read Mark Twain's " A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and am finishing HG Wells "War of the Worlds". I was drawn to those books because I like science fiction and I realized they were both written in the 1800's, when technology was in its infancy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

From a travel perspective, it was piloting a single engine plane from the US to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It was an amazing journey down and back. From landing on a shell beach on the baja peninsula to watch the migrating grey whales to being greeted by M-16 carrying federales in a remote mexican airport, it was an epic trip...
Oh yeah, I might mention that I learned to fly an airplane before I knew how to drive a car. I soloed just after I turned 16.

Teach, Learn, Share

Im a certified snow ski instructor...but don't get much opportunity in warm and sunny Florida. If I travel somewhere that has skiing, I would be happy to provide some pointers to my hosts.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'm a low maintenance guest, easy to get along with, and appreciative of the hospitality that I receive.

Countries I’ve Visited

Anguilla, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Macao, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, Saint Martin (French part), Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Virgin Islands, U.S.

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States