CURRENT MISSION

To find more spontaneous people instead of those who ALWAYS order the chicken.

ABOUT ME

Me first... After serving my country and going to school for 10 years. I found myself in need to travel and found myself in a professional identity crisis. Several jobs, several cities in the states, I decided to quit working and purchase a large travel bus. I traveled throughout the US living in my bus. I was so lucky. I visited all the county fairs, convention and visitor centers, and points of interest along the way. My trip lasted almost 1 full year en route to Traverse City Michigan. A place I had never been to, but looked like a place I wanted to call home .... At least for a few years. Never made it. The cost of the car ferry across Lake Michigan (S.S. Badger) was to much for my bus, pulling my pick up and trailer.

JULIET - I traveled light. In 1994 I moved to France with all my belongings in two suitcases. (Remember when you didn't have to pay for checked baggage?) A year later I moved across the border to Germany in three suitcases. A car accident while traveling through rural Mexico brought me home to heal in 1996. I was not injured, but my father died. While in Oconomowoc, my hometown, I met and married Fritz in 2000. Having kids and owning a home have kept us benched for the past decade.

PHILOSOPHY

Fritz - I know it all, and what I don't know I am learning.
Juliet - Fill your mind with compassion. Also, I know more than he does, but he can fix things.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

After gaining confidence with this community " CS ". I see opening up this neck of the woods so to speak to share what my family has to offer. We do everything to do with water. Drink it, bathe in it,swim, water-ski,scuba dive, wake-board, kayak, snorkel, canoe, sailing, ( my 79 year old dad lives on his sailboat full time during the summer),wind surf, ice skate, hockey, ice boat..... check that out on you tube some time.

Juliet loves the water as well, but given a preference for drink, it would be wine, paired with handcrafted Wisconsin artisan cheese or seasonal fruit.

The kids current interests include penguins/birds, dragons/acting, and pulleys/tools. (two girls ages 9 and 7, and a boy age 6)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

New to the CS community. We hope to meet people willing to host a family of five in some corner of the world, and would open our home to those willing to explore a less traveled area of the U.S.

Interests

Water activities, nature, culture, languages, plants.

Recently interested in gluten-free cooking since son is intolerant to wheat.

• birds
• culture
• writing
• poetry
• acting
• cooking
• wine
• cheese
• drinking
• gardening
• boating
• clothing
• flowers
• traveling
• socializing
• drawing
• canoeing
• kayaking
• scuba diving
• snorkeling
• sailing
• skiing
• sports
• hockey
• swimming
• ecology
• languages
• sign language

Music, Movies, and Books

I am a technical publication non fiction lover living in a family that loves fiction. They are all Harry Potter fans, including the six year old.

Music and its associated sounds.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Ellen (9) I've seen a bald eagle from 2m away from me. IN THE WILD! (not a zoo.) (Mom and Dad say, "She also taught us her own made up sign language when she was 6 months old, and taught herself to read at age 2).

Fritz - I've seen a band on stage remove all their clothes.

Juliet - I've hiked in remote desert canyons, and showered under hanging gardens where fresh water runs directly from the rocks. (Coyote Gulch in SE Utah, USA).

Eva (7) I've caught air on my wake-board.

Erik (6) I've lifted 50 tons with an overhead crane.

Teach, Learn, Share

Water sports (skiing, wake boarding,knee-boarding. Family life. Fresh water ecology. Paper mache. Judo. Flower gardening. Writing/poetry. English. How to draw birds.

These are things we can teach.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Canada, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Germany, United States

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