A favorite quote of mine:

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike." ~ John Muir

ABOUT ME

-I'm 44, but sometimes feel and act like I'm 24 - lovin' life!
- My professional life is going exactly where I want - I really enjoy working in the renewable energy industry and helping to build large solar projects around the world.
-I travel as much as I can afford and hope to make it to South America this Fall.
-I can't imagine living in one place my whole life, the thought completely eludes me, when there are so many interesting places in this world.
-When not off to somewhere new I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and other odd people.
-I love to cook for others, dance (sometimes while cooking) hike, go camping and rock climbing, snowboarding, walk on the beach, take photos of beautiful things, and explore this beautiful world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I started Couchsurfing in 2009 while backpacking through Europe by myself for 3 months. I met amazing people and had a fantastic time. My experience would have been completely different if I hadn't discovered Couchsurfing one week before I left. I feel blessed to have found such an incredible community.

I am open to hosting anyone that I can. I have hosted several times, and absolutely love the energy that travelers bring into my life. I'm hoping to host more often in my new home.

I hope to become more involved with my local CS group, and look forward to more surfing of my own this summer.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've surfed several times in Geneva, London, Budapest, Prague and Athens, and all along the west coast in the US. I loved it, and look forward to future adventures in Asia. Couch Surfing has changed my life, I love it!

Interests

Traveling (of course), Photography, Art, Music (all kinds), Camping, Hiking, Rock climbing, Trail running, Snowboarding, Reading, Movies, Board games, meeting new people.

• arts
• photography
• beauty
• dancing
• cooking
• running
• movies
• board games
• reading
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• surfing
• snowboarding
• trail running
• rock climbing
• beaches

Music, Movies, and Books

I love all movies, music, and books. I'll be more specific later, if we end up talking.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I saved my own life.

I almost died once while rock climbing by myself in Oregon, here’s the short version. I was getting ready to repel down a 120 ft. cliff and made a simple but stupid mistake. I had forgotten to clip myself into the anchor before I tossed my rope over the edge. Well somehow the rope had gotten looped behind my feet, so when I stood at the cliffs edge and tossed my rope over the full weight of the rope falling swept me right off my feet. In a split second I was flung over the edge of the cliff and was falling toward the jagged rocks below.

To this day I have absolutely no idea how I managed to turn 180 degrees while in mid air and at the same time reach up and blindly grab a rope no thicker than my thumb. I grasped the rope with one bare hand and slid down it about 15 feet before I could reach up and grab the rope with my other hand bringing myself to a stop. My hands burned, thick white blisters formed immediately, but I managed to connect myself to the rope in mid air dangling by one burnt hand and using the other to work the rope though my figure 8. I lowered myself another 15 ft or so to a small ledge and paused to sort of freak out a bit. After I collected myself, I realized my hands were so badly burned that I could not hold the rope and would not be able to lower myself down the rest of the way. So I had to free climb the 30 feet up the rock face with painful swollen hands, it sucked. But I made it, and have never made that mistake ever again, and never will.

Teach, Learn, Share

Anyone who has questions about rock climbing, please ask. I'll do my best to share my knowledge and anwser to the best of my ability.

I would like to learn French, so if anyone knows of a good resource to do this please let me know.

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Spain, United States

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