CURRENT MISSION

To see the world and challenge our assumptions as often as possible

ABOUT ME

We live below our means, planning for an early retirement with lots of travel. When we aren't traveling, we generally stay within about 5 miles (walking distance) of our apartment. Going any further requires thought and commitment. We try to keep our baggage to a minimum.
Kimberly-I'm an introvert and shy. Perhaps an odd couchsurfing type, but meeting interesting people that I have something in common with brings me out of my shell. I can be a bit of an intellectual and love long discussions about most anything--or nothing.
Tom- I am pssionate about travel. For me this includes the places I go, the situations I find myself in and the PEOPLE I encounter while on the road. I have found that couch surfing has really enhanced the later. It has also brought some of the excitment of travel to me while at home. I am now equally excited to host as surf. The two other things I enjoy almost as much as travel are food snd SXSW (film). For those unaware just Google. Better yet come and see it. Austin has many couches!

PHILOSOPHY

"When a man's biggest dreams include seconds on dessert, occasional snuggling and sleeping in til noon on weekends, no one man can destroy them."
Marge Simpson, describing Homer.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

It sounds trite but couchsurfing really has changed our livesWe joined couchsurfing mostly to save money and meet people when we were traveling--I suppose that's a common enough reason people join. We planned on hosting a few people to build up couchsurfing karma, but didn't expect it to have a real impact on our lives. But along the way, an unexpected thing happened. We had a few amazing couchsurfing experiences in Greece and came back home committed couchsurfers. It's a disappointing day when we don't have at least 1 surfer on the horizon.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Interests

It seems self-evident, but traveling, reading about traveling, talking about traveling, planning trips, meeting travelers. We also like to hike, hang out and drink coffee (preferably in foreign countries, but also at home). We're into food--we love the local farmer's market and love to cook. Lately we've been doing a lot of yoga.

• dining
• cooking
• coffee
• yoga
• walking
• drinking
• reading
• traveling
• socializing
• hiking
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

We always love a good documentary. Politics, social theory, history, culture, music, biography--like them all. And small independent movies. We love the SXSW film festival here in Austin, where we can see all sorts of movies that will probably never be released. One of our favorites was "The Order of Myths". Also love Hong Kong action movies--which always surprises people, but Chow Yun-Fat-- just can't get enough of him. Tom--not much of a fiction reader, but loves researching travel--for us, for other people, for a trip 10 years from now. But he is a fan of Doctorow and Steinbeck and Hunter Thompson. Kimberly--constant reader, fiction and non-fiction, significant literature, crass commercial trash and everything in between. Big science fiction fan, especially along the lines of Philip K Dick and Joe Haldeman.
We both like a wide variety of music. Just about everything but commercial Nashville type country music. Lately Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Rufus Wainwright, the Clash, the Raconteurs, White Stripes, Foo Fighters, Audioslave, Linkin Park, Velvet Underground, Genesis (with Peter Gabriel, not Phil Collins), Mumford and Sons, Johnny Cash....

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

We sat on a dune in the Sahara watching the full moon over the seemingly endless desert.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

• 

•