CURRENT MISSION

On a continuous quest to refine my Top 10 list of the World's most awesome benches...ready for the day when I lose it all and retire to an exotic bench with a view!

ABOUT ME

By nature a soft-spoken introvert, after college I was determined to break out of my shell and expand my boundaries by dedicating myself to the eye-opening experience of independent travel, both domestically and internationally. Over the years, I have enjoyed 7 coast to coast driving adventures in the US where I coined the phrase "Mooch Across America", making good use of couches and fully appreciative of the exceptional kindness of friends and strangers alike. Foreign travels include a liberating 8 month stint in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, 4 adventurous months traveling overland from CapeTown to Nairobi (Africa) 3 week Freighter excursion from Miami through Panama Canal down to Chile followed by a rejuvenating 2 month public transport tour around Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru, an awe inspiring taste of China/Tibet and more than a dozen trips to various regions of Europe. Along the way I have made a mountain of life-long friendships and been molded into a proud, card carrying citizen of the world!

PHILOSOPHY

Our fellow inhabitants on the planet and how we relate to them is all that really matters. Regardless of how many great friends we have, making a new friend always refreshes one's spirit and expands one's possibilities! New friendships are the gift that keep on giving!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

My circumstances during the 1st 18 months had made hosting my primary focus. But with my recent european travels, I have now experienced the joys of surfing as well. The level of contact is much greater than I anticipated and I hope I can keep pace and satisfy as many requests as possible. These adventurous young travelers continue to impress with the level of enthusiasm with which they approach their bright, but uncertain futures (much as I did a few decades ago). Finally, some of my most memorable experiences in Travel and in Life have been as the grateful recipient of the amazing kindness of strangers...CS is allowing me to pay forward these past kindnesses and hopefully be a participant in what might become some fond memories for others.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Too many great experiences to list here, but the finest example of hospitality above and beyond the call of duty would be my 1st NZ hitchhiking experience. After a day of climbing glaciers, my friends who were returning to their Christchurch home assured me that i could easily catch a ride to the opposite side of the island. after what seemed to be an eternity without seeing a single car, a young couple returning from a ski weekend stopped and took me to the west coast. Since there was no bus heading north that afternoon they took me to their home, gave me a tour of the town, treated me to a hearty, home cooked NZ dinner and gave me a couch to catch a very brief sleep after enjoyable conversation took us into the wee hours. Next morning they informed me that all the buses in their town went south so they offerred to drive me to the next town to the north (approx 20 miles). Arriving to find that we had just missed the only bus of the day, always the optimists, they said they knew where the bus stopped for tea. We then proceeded to chase the bus 50 miles up the road until we found them at the scheduled Tea stop...Amazing! Just stop to think if any of your "best friends" would make that sort of effort on your behalf. I've had a love affair with Kiwis ever since!

Interests

Live Music is my Medicine, World Travel is my Cure! I nurture friendships and eat sushi on a regular basis! Most non-working hours are devoted to beach activities.

• flying
• music
• surfing
• skiing
• rock climbing
• medicine
• hitchhiking

Music, Movies, and Books

My music collection has grown to well over 1000 cds(100 gigs of music for the digitally inclined)...where would you like to start?

ON average I attend 80-100 concerts a year

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

My week long Sierra Nevada Mountain crossing at altitudes between 8,000-12,000 ft and culminating in the ascent of 14,000+ ft Mt Whitney stretched me to my ultimate physical limits...a nice place to discover but I need never explore those limits again!

Teach, Learn, Share

The young who fail to find the time or create the opportunity to travel and discover are sadly squandering their youth. Those who have seen more than a few decades fly by and still manage to preserve their passion for travel never surrender their youth.

For the introvert (I'm a recovering one), travel experiences give you something to talk about...they give you your voice.

Never let the "plan" interfere with the pursuit of a great unexpected experience...flexibility is the key to optimizing your travel experience.

I believe in retiring early and often!

What I Can Share with Hosts

After a lifetime of international travel I have plenty of stories to share...or if you prefer, I am perfectly capable of sitting quietly and being a world-class listener.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, England, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Malawi, Mexico, Monaco, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Scotland, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Wales, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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