About

Intro

I married my soulmate in 2011. Whenever we could, we’ve been traveling ever since. We took our honeymoon to the World Heritage Sites of the Historic District of Old Quebec and Old Town Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. So far, we have been to over forty U.S. states and Canadian provinces together, including Washington, DC. Worthitplaces.org memorializes those trips. Worthitplaces.org also includes my observations of what makes a place “worth it” – a place worth caring about, a place worth living, for work, school, and play.

Values (F-Words)

Christmas Nativity
Christmas Nativity
1. Faith

Mainline Protestant Christian (Lutheran – ELCA)

Charlie and Mister
Charlie (beagle mix) and Mister (dachshund mix) – rescue dogs
2. Family

Loving my soulmate-wife and my family members, including our two rescue dogs – Charlie and Mister!

Kayaking in Louis J. Sima Great Lakes Marsh Preserve, New Buffalo
Kayaking in Louis J. Sima Great Lakes Marsh Preserve, New Buffalo, Michigan
3. Friends

Good friends to count on, help, and have an enjoyable time – fellowship.

American Nations
American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America (by Colin Woodard – 2011)
4. Fulfilling Work

Passionate and caring social studies teacher

I am a transition-to-teacher secondary education social studies teacher. In World/US History I scored 192 of 200 on the teacher qualification test. In Geography I scored 191 of 200; and in Government/Civics I also scored 191 of 200.

I previously worked as senior planner for Saint Joseph County, Indiana’s Division of Planning and Zoning. This is the county in which South Bend is located. I started there in the August of 2019, focusing on planning, zoning, code enforcement, MACOG TTAC (macog.com – About), and special projects.

I was also a planner the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission focusing on economic development, transportation, and community planning. I have also been city manager for the City of Bangor, Michigan (harborcountry-news.com). And I was assistant city manager/assistant zoning administrator for the City of New Buffalo, Michigan.

Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
5. Fortitude – Travel makes me happy!

Pursuing happy, positive, enjoyment of life in spite of adversity

Fundy National Park
Fundy National Park
6. Fitness
      • Hiking & walking – My most common exercise
      • Swimming – My favorite exercise in Summer
      • Paddling (kayaking, canoeing, whitewater rafting, rowing) – My most favorite activity!
      • Caving – Over the last ten years I have explored about one cave per year, on average
      • Snorkeling – On my list of things to try!
Scarlet Nantes carrots
Scarlet Nantes carrots
7. Food

Plant-Slant/Plant-Based Eating Lifestyle

Healthy eating: heavily plant-based eating lifestyle (not a diet of deprivation, but a lifestyle choice), when possible using community-supported agriculture (CSA), farmers markets, eating local/in-season, and temperance.

Rainbow Swiss Chard
Rainbow Swiss Chard
8. Food Garden

Grow food, not grass!

An ornamental Japanese cherry tree
An ornamental Japanese cherry tree
9. Flat

Home with flower gardens and food gardens – seeking elimination of lawn grass.

Sturgeon Bay, Door County
Merchants Exchange Bank, Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
10. Finance

Pursing financial security, not materialism.

Field Museum, Chicago
Field Museum, Chicago
11. Fact-based

Life-long learning: Don’t know? Google it! Critical thinking. Problem-solving. Prudence.

U.S. Capitol Building, inside the dome above the rotunda
U.S. Capitol Building, inside the dome above the rotunda, “The Apotheosis of Washington”, a fresco by Constantino Brumidi in 1865
12. Fairness
    • Progress
    • Justice
    • Equal Rights
    • Environmentalism
      1. Water Quality
      2. Renewable Energy
      3. Sustainability
      4. Land Conservation
      5. National Monuments
    • Universal Health Care
    • Net Neutrality
    • Space Exploration
    • Science (climate change, evolution, etc.)
    • Teachers
    • Veterans
    • First Responders
    • Reconciliation* (see below)

* Reconciliation: the progress of social relations through wide-spread social understanding and redress of grievances for the harmful effects dealt to some populations through long-standing, significant institutional discrimination against them by the government of the United States and of the states, e.g., for African Americans, American Indians (including honoring American Indian treaty requirements), and Mexican migrants (including immigration reform and supporting “Dreamers”); anti-Confederacy.

Carcassonne
Carcassonne
13. Fun

Geography, history, travel, blogging, photography, art, architecture, bird watching, genealogy, books (mostly non-fiction, e.g., U.S. trip books), Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Transformers G1 (1980’s), and the Legend of Zelda.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
14. Film Fan

Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek, Babylon 5 and Firefly, Fantasy

Timeline

See also: Timeline of Trips

New Buffalo Harbor, Michigan
New Buffalo Harbor, New Buffalo, Michigan

2009

Arch Rock, Mackinac Island State Park
Arch Rock, Mackinac Island State Park, Michigan

2010

Château Frontenac, Quebec City
Château Frontenac, Quebec City, Quebec

2011

Mount Katahdin from Sandy Stream Pond, Baxter State Park
Mount Katahdin from Sandy Stream Pond, Baxter State Park, Maine

2012

Badlands National Park
Pinnacle Overlook, Badlands National Park, South Dakota

2013

Grand Prismatic Spring
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

2014

French Quarter, New Orleans
French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana

2015

Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park
Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

2016

Cool Springs
Cool Springs, Route 66, Arizona

2017

National Blueberry Festival, Downtown South Haven
National Blueberry Festival, Downtown South Haven, Michigan

2018

The Alamo
The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas

2019

    • Spring: San Antonio, Texas
    • Summer: Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
    • Work highlights: Senior Planner, Area Plan Commission/Area Board of Zoning Appeals/Division of Planning and Zoning, Saint Joseph County, Indiana
Kitch-iti-kipi, Palms Book State Park, Michigan
Kitch-iti-kipi (“big cold water”), originally called the “Mirror of Heaven” by early Native Americans, is Michigan’s largest natural freshwater spring – part of Palms Book State Park

2020

    • Spring: Backyard Garden
    • Summer: Hartwick Pines State Park, Kitch-iti-kipi – Palms Book State Park, Fayette Historic State Park, and Pictured Rocks Country
    • Work highlights: Senior Planner/Interim Executive Director-Interim Zoning Administrator, Area Plan Commission/Area Board of Zoning Appeals/Division of Planning and Zoning, Saint Joseph County, Indiana
Monument Rocks (Chalk Pyramids)
Monument Rocks (Chalk Pyramids), Kansas Badlands

2021

    • Summer: American Heartland
    • Work highlights: AICP Certified Planner, Area Plan Commission/Area Board of Zoning Appeals/Division of Planning and Zoning, Saint Joseph County, Indiana
La Porte County Courthouse, La Porte, Indiana

2022

Fort de Chartres State Historic Site

2023

    • Summer
      • Leelanau and Grand Traverse
      • Ithaca, Perry, Covert, and Fennville, Michigan
      • Michigan Underground Railroad Sites in Schoolcraft and Vandalia
      • Illinois Old Route 66
      • Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (a World Heritage Site)
      • French Colonial Illinois Country
      • Saint Louis, Missouri
    • Winter: Carmel Christkindlmarkt, Indiana
    • Work: La Porte Middle School, Indiana
Fish Town, Leland, Michigan
Fish Town on the right bank, in Leland, Michigan, port to the Manitou Islands of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

2024

    • Work: La Porte Middle School, Indiana
    • Spring
      • Aladdin at the Morris in South Bend, Indiana
      • Trillium Ravine Preserve in Niles, Michigan
      • Tulip Time at Holland and Grand Haven Pier, Michigan
    • Summer: Leelanau and Grand Traverse