Rosemary
Chelsea
Rosemary
I am Rosemary, the “responsible adult” as Chelsea puts it. This trip was my idea, as are most of our crazier adventures, like moving to the Czech Republic, and riding our bikes across the US. I love travel; I absolutely love adventure; I’ve been an entrepreneur my whole adult life; I love projects; I am extremely organized, though it doesn’t seem like it sometimes as I’m usually in the midst of some massive adventure or project; I love looking at different cultures and cultural values. I love thinking positively, and I really enjoy being around positive people.
This trip is awesome so far, and I just can’t imagine how much more so it will be by the time we finish. And who’s to say what “finished” is? We are already talking about doing the Greek islands and the Mediterranean countries after this.
Favorite Quote:
“Success is still dreaming and feeling positive in the unfolding.”
Abe-Hicks
Favorite Sports:
Cycling – I rode 350-500 miles a week in the early 80’s, going on a number of centuries and metric centuries; rode from the Oregon border to San Francisco pulling Chelsea in a kid’s bike trailer (she was 22 months old); did a 3 day tour in the Czech Republic, going from castle and hotel and restaurant to castle and hotel and restaurant; and rode my bike across the US in 2006 in a supported ride from St. Augustine FL to San Francisco CA. And of course, I’m now on a 40,000 mile, 4-year trip.
Kayaking – I’ve kayaked in Delray Beach FL; in the Florida Keys; in Alaska; in the Caribbean; and kayaked with the alligators and blue herons and owls and otters, and osprey and about everything else you can imagine, every Friday for nearly 4 years in the Loxahatchee River in Jupiter FL – a gorgeous narrow north-flowing river winding through cypress knees and oaks and ferns.
Snorkeling – I’ve snorkeled in Delray; off the Florida Keys (Key West and Key Largo), and a half dozen places in the Caribbean.
Favorite Leisure Time Activity:
Reading, without a doubt. I want to add learning the guitar to this list. I’m just waiting for the guitar to show up in my life.
Favorite Books and Movies:
Check our Amazon store on the website for an overview. I read and watch pretty much anything that is really well written and well-done. I avoid gratuitous violence in books and movies, and I’m not really a big fan of slapstick although I have been known to laugh pretty hard at some parts of the Mr. Bean movies.
Favorite Meeting Location:
Any comfortable local spot that has great coffee, breads, scones, and croissants. It’s a plus having a comfortable place to sit, and maybe sandwiches and soups and smoothies.
Education:
B.A. from San Diego State University in Psychology; almost finished an MBA with a focus on international business (moved to the Czech Republic to live and work before I finished the last few classes).
Work Experience:
Lots of accounting and tax preparation work; 6 years in the Czech Republic as a CFO (chief financial officer); real estate investment; public speaking; teaching taxes, accounting, and organizational systems; designing and setting up organizational systems for small businesses; and I’m sure there’s more I’ve forgotten right now.
Most Unusual Place I’ve Lived:
A thousand-year-old castle in a small village in Moravia, in the Czech Republic, about 15 km from Austria. It was the country chateau style of castle, not the war style of castle – our section was 3000 sq. ft; we had 18 ft high ceilings, 100-year-old wood flooring, and a view of the whole village and surrounding lands. It was truly awesome.
Favorite Accomplishments:
1. My three awesome kids – Paul, Chelsea and Alex. I’d like to take personal credit for Paul’s truly wonderful wife Denise, and my grandson Chandler, but I guess Paul gets the credit for those.
2. Swallowing fire; breaking a ½ inch pine board with my hand; and walking barefoot on 6 feet of broken glass without a single cut.
3. Overcoming my fear of deep water and being able to go on two cruises and go kayaking (now I love both of those – who knew!).
4. Curing myself of osteoarthritis and liver damage.
5. Getting a 4.0 in my MBA studies while working full-time running my own business and being a mom to two young kids (back in the days when I still thought ultra-multi-tasking was a really cool thing…).
6. Working with Chelsea in her amazing recovery from a serious brain injury.
7. Swimming with sharks in the Caribbean (they were more interested in the bait boxes than in us, but it was still a big adrenaline rush…ten to fifteen 6-8 foot sharks swimming only 10-15 feet away!)
8. Riding my bicycle across the US.
9. Being a chief financial officer (CFO) of young companies in the Czech Republic, and watching that country come alive in the immediate post-communism era.
10. Going on this trip.
Favorite Drinks:
Café mocha, decaf, with whole milk; really good chocolate milkshakes; mojitos; Becherovka; champagne.
Chelsea
Favorite quote
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
Favorite sports
I love fencing, kayaking, bicycling, snorkeling, and cast net fishing. I fenced competitively starting in 2001, and I continued until I left on our first cycling adventure in 2006. I absolutely love the sport, and when I settle down again one day, I’ll most likely pick it back up.
Kayaking on the Loxahatchee River was the most balancing thing that I did regularly when at home. I had a weekly date with the river, every Friday, and the hours spent there reoriented me to peacefulness after the week that ended, and relaxed me into the upcoming week.
I got lucky when I started snorkeling, because it turns out that Key Largo, which is less than a day’s drive away, has some of the best snorkeling in the world. I fell in love as soon as I put my mask down in the water, and I haven’t looked back since. I took my love of snorkeling to new levels when I snorkeled with reef sharks in the Caribbean.
Cast net fishing is something I learned in North Carolina, while we were pedaling along the Outer Banks. I discovered I have an aptitude for it, and I enjoyed the process of perfecting the cast. I LOVED catching dinner for us. I seriously contemplated buying a cast-net to bring on the trip, but even a small one is too heavy.
Favorite leisure time activity
In my quieter, more reflective times, I love listening to music, reading good books, writing poetry, and – on the trip – eating. I have loved reading since before I could read by myself – My parents once read to me for 4 1/2 hrs straight, and they still tired before I did! I love listening to music and singing along, and luckily for those around me, I’m usually not too off key. Poetry is my favorite way to put emotions and thoughts and experiences to paper, so I’ve always got my poetry book on hand. Lately, being on this trip and getting so much exercise, I have fallen in love with eating. I enjoy food and eating far more now that I’m always active and burning so much energy each day.
Favorite music
I really like most kinds of music. Even in the genres I don’t enjoy so much, there is usually one song or maybe one artist that I like. I especially like all kinds of rock music – hard rock, soft rock, oldies rock, rock ‘n’ roll – and I love dance music. I love music that either inspires thoughts or emotions, or that gets me moving around and feeling alive.
Favorite types of books/ author
My favorite types of books to read are mysteries, historical mysteries, and some fantasy. For more info about my favorite books, check out the Amazon store under Chelsea’s favorites.
Favorite movies
I love romantic comedies, and any movie that leaves me feeling really good at the end. My favorite actors are Humphrey Bogart and Jackie Chan. For a list of some of my favorite movies check out our Amazon store.
Favorite meeting location
My favorite meeting location is any coffee shop around the globe – preferably with comfortable chairs, an outlet for the laptop, and really good café mochas.
Favorite drinks
My favorite alcoholic drink is an herbal liquor found in the Czech Republic – Becherovka. My favorite non alcoholic drink is either root beer, or an oreo cookie or mint chip ice cream shake.
Favorite place I’ve lived – or most unusual
Zamek Drnholec – a castle in the Czech Republic, near the Austrian border, was my favorite place to live. We had huge rooms that filled with sunlight every day, no shortage of space to think, dance, play, do artwork, etc, and a really beautiful view of the village and the surrounding countryside. Life in the castle was peaceful all the time.
Another favorite place I’ve lived is now – living on the road in the tent. Home is wherever you pitch the tent at night. There are so many wonderful places to pitch “home” – by the ocean, in places with beautiful trees, and in most of the stunning places in the world.
Favorite accomplishments
1. Swallowing fire
2. Breaking a board with my bare hand
3. Swimming with reef sharks
4. Re-growing brain cells and creating new pathways in my brain
5. Learning Czech
6. Bicycling across the US
7. Medals in fencing
8. Three third place awards for poetry
9. Award winning poem published in a magazine
10. Doing a loop and a roll in an aerobatic airplane.
Skills
I am an accomplished wordsmith, a creative artist and I have a strong technological aptitude. I feel that one of my greatest skills is that I acquire new skills quickly and easily. I am also quite good at learning languages. Some of my more notable skills include bike mechanicking, poetry, photography, and data entry.
I am a published poet, and have won several awards for my poetry. I love playing scrabble, acquiring and using new vocabulary, and decoding cryptograms. Among the items that made my short list for packing are a cryptogram book, and my notebook for poetry.
Work experience
My work experience has been widely varied. Over the years I have done:
Best educational experience
The movie character I identify with the most
Donkey – from Shrek – is the animated movie character with a personality most like mine: loyal, upbeat, friendly, funny, talkative, and sometimes annoying.
For more information about us, check out more details.