CURRENT MISSION

To meet new people and learn new things; To be an ambassador for other travelers; To get to share what I love about my hometown; To, eventually, be able to accept reciprocal lodging when i am away from home

ABOUT ME

I have raised 4 sons, partly in Princeton NJ and partly in my 15-passenger van as we roadtripped the county. Through these travels, i appreciated the personal learning experience as well as the profound group bonding experience, and i decided to create Tough Love Travel to share this passion for adventure with others. i love all outdoor activities - see below - and incorporate that passion into my explorations. i am also particularly intrigued by cultural uniqueness, both internationally and within our own country!... and am studying cultural anthropology to augment my travel, both as an individual and as a guide.

PHILOSOPHY

coming soon... (this is a complicated one)

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

coming soon...

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

After the usual college couchsurfing and parent/friend couchsurfing of my 20s, i have both enjoyed OTHER'S couches (at ski huts and beach homes) as well as shared my OWN couch (most recently with the visiting Australian rowing team when they were in town for training)
Not on couches, but from a variety of bunks and mats, i have had the thrill of sleeping in all kinds of situations -- in tents near grizzlies and by rumbling volcanoes, on ferry decks...and on all kinds of boats (moving and not), in bedouin desert tents and jungle huts and a host of trail lodges, in many hostels and on the ground in more places than i can count -- even on the stage overnight with 300 strangers at the annual Groundhog Day celebration in Puxatawney, PA!

Interests

Most of all, i love all outdoor pursuits... backpacking and trekking, kayaking, sculling, biking, sailing, scuba diving...
i love to read -- mostly memoirs and travel essays and histories -- and i love music (but don't ask me to sing!).
i enjoy cooking and eat everything that can't walk off my plate.
i love photography and am currently taking a class to learn the finer points... i put lots of pics on my website!
i just love to learn new things, but can't do more than a few hours in a museum (at least without snacks!)
i have a most serious passion for travel, into which i incorporate almost all of these other interests!

• singing
• photography
• cooking
• traveling
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• backpacking
• kayaking
• scuba diving
• sailing
• skiing
• rowing
• anthropology
• tourism
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

The Female Nomad
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (an old musical that most are too embarrassed to claim!)

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

i have swum with the manta rays off the coast of the big island, Hawaii.
After dark, the manta rays, with wingspans of up to 30 feet, come out of the deep to feed on plankton.
They barrel roll, with their mouths agape, and when i was floating on the surfact, the tip of their "wing" fluttered across my belly as he barrel-rolled.
it was as prehistorically terrifying as it was amazingly beautiful.

Teach, Learn, Share

i have a good bank of wilderness and/or athletic skills.
i have lots of experience with research and implementation of travel plans.

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