CURRENT MISSION

To explore, travel and meet others while educating our daughter

ABOUT ME

OUR FAMILY:

Bill & Melissa (married 11 years in May)
Paige (our 10 year old daughter)

Currently traveling and seeking longer-term (6-18 months) volunteer opportunities.

We hope to continue to live the non-traditional life we have recently begun as travelers - able to contribute as much as possible while learning and exploring all that the local culture has to offer.

CURRENTLY:

Our family has been working since October 2010 to reclaim an original farm homestead cabin in the Oregon Willamette Valley while at the same time revitalizing the organic strawberry farm it now rests upon. We are managing the farm through the end of this growing season (Oct/Nov 2011) and will be seeking opportunities to volunteer our time abroad thereafter. If an ideal opportunity arose prior to the end of this season, we may consider an early departure from our time here if arrangements were able to be made for our obligations here prior to leaving.

Work to date:

CABIN: Roughly 1600 hrs to date in reclamation, repairs and renovation which includes: Initial structural repairs (roof, walls & floors), electrical (removal & complete rewiring), plumbing (fresh hot/cold water system as well as septic), bathroom addition (design, framing, tile work & use of reclaimed materials), drywall (installation & finish work), carpentry (rough & finish work) and finally work beginning on the addition of the kitchen.

FARM: Overall management including overseeing volunteers and Woofers, meal preparation, feeding animals (chickens, horse & goats) and field work (weeding, trimming, operating/maintaining equipment, growing & propagation, planting, etc.). We will soon be preparing fields as well as taking the organically grown berries to market.

Bill: Spent the past 13 years operating an industrial based international business in which I oversaw all aspects of the operations; including: general management, human resources, accounting, business development, design & engineering, manufacturing, logistics, website design, etc. I have many skills reaching far beyond business which include: mechanical skills (welding, maintenance, tuning, engine rebuilding), general building skills (plumbing, carpentry, electrical), farming skills (weeding, trimming, propagation, planting, harvesting) as well as being an easy and self-directed learner.

Melissa: Owned and operated a successful private preschool in which children were taught the basic fundamentals of reading, writing & arithmetic through a personally developed academic based program. Prior work with children through the local school district in special education as well as educating and taking care of children in a 1-on-1 basis. Melissa has a special connection with children and is able to accomplish nearly anything she sets her mind to - whether it be providing a loving & nurturing environment or offering a helping hand in the kitchen or around the home.

Paige: Wonderful with children, all varieties of people and a special affinity & connection to animals. Loves to learn from adults and develops life-long friendships with nearly everyone she has encountered in our travels. Avid hula hooper currently teaching herself to play the piano and a growing desire to travel and see the world.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

A life changing experience...

We have made the decision as a family that living the "american dream" is simply not for us. We have never really fit in or felt comfortable in the life you are suppose to live, so we have made the decision to change ours and pursue something different. I have left my cozy corporate job and Melissa has closed her preschool business so that we may pursue this dream. We have been traveling extensively in our VW bus with our 10-year old daughter Paige whom we have removed from the public school system. We will be unschooling her while we travel and hopefully continue to open her mind to the world everyone now seems to overlook.

We are exploring this wonderful world and plan to meet the many amazing people and cultures within it. There is so much to see and learn so we have no long-term plans and no long term commitments to fulfill. We will be traveling extensively in the foreseeable future hope to help when and where we can along the way.

Interests

hiking, concerts, foraging, brewing...

• animals
• chickens
• culture
• writing
• design
• concerts
• education
• environment
• reading
• traveling
• homesteading
• piano
• hiking
• business
• teaching
• engineering
• volunteering

Countries I’ve Visited

Mexico, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States