Jill & Thayer

Travel information

We are currently

Description

Greetings to you, from the Pacific Northwest in Washington State, U.S.A.! We are a couple of adventurous 67 year olds, retired from the work-a-day world and looking for more interesting things to do with our time and energy. We have been together for over a decade and spent a year on the road in our 22 ft. RV – so we travel well together. We kept a blog of our journey, which you can visit at http://jillandthayer.net/travel and perhaps get to know us a little better. We enjoy working on joint projects as long as we know who the leader is!

Jill is a recently retired elementary school teacher trying to figure how to spend all of her new-found time. She enjoys kids, painting, gardening in her large yard, yoga, arts & crafts and sewing, and many hands-on types of projects. Hiking, biking, and swimming are also favorite activities. She is an experienced competitive sailor and gives much of her free time at our community sailing center. She also does private tutoring for elementary grade levels.

Thayer's work history includes life on a farm, an aquatics instructor, 6 years in the US Navy, then a climbing instructor and mountain guide, and many years in high tech and computers. He worked as a magazine editor, was competitive in hang & paragliding for a while and now does occasional boat deliveries. Interests include engineering projects and tinkering with machinery; carpentry; sailing; and, of course, computers (expert Apple HW/SW tech!) He is also great with kids and has a reputation as a "baby whisperer", getting infants to stop crying and fall asleep in a very few minutes.

We are both experienced sailors and river rafters. Our last big shared sailing venture was cruising from Bermuda to the Azores to England in a 44 ft. boat. We enjoy white-water rafting and have spent years running rapids in Idaho, Wyoming and other fine rivers, including the lower section of the Grand Canyon! Additionally, we raise and promote mason bees for fun and profit – this year ending up with over 10,000 of the industrious little pollinators! We would love to help you get started with a mason bee project of your own.

We are politically liberal, environmentally conscious, and try to live in a sustainable, non-wasteful way. We are non-smokers and very light social drinkers. We're fairly quiet, pick up after ourselves and are respectful of others' privacy and property. In our travels the thing we have enjoyed the most is meeting local folks and getting to know a place by spending extended quality time there. We participate in an organization called 'Boondockers Welcome' with our RV. We've met many very wonderful people around the USA and made lasting friends, both while traveling and also when hosting at our home. This is what we hope to do with Workaway!

Interests

Languages

Languages spoken
English: Fluent

More details about my language interests
Would love to learn enough to get by when visiting a foreign country.

Find a language buddy

Skills and knowledge we'd like to share or learn

We're interested in:  

Languages

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Some knowledge of:  

Gardening

DIY and building projects

General Maintenance

Creating/ Cooking family meals

Animal Care

Art Projects

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Able to teach about:  

Babysitting and creative play

Helping around the house

Helping with Computers/ Internet

Teaching

More details about your skills

I (Jill) have 30 years of professional teaching experience and enjoy working and spending time with children, especially on projects and outdoor activities. I also manage and maintain a fair sized yard and a small vegetable garden. I can dig, plant, prune, turn compost, build simple things, and help competently on more complex projects. I enjoy painting projects, organizing things, and am a diligent cleaner (though it is not my favorite activity). Cooking is not my strong suit but I can make simple, tasty meals using fresh ingredients. I can follow directions and am a hard worker. I enjoy helping people with their projects and like to accomplish goals and finish projects. I am responsible, respectful and expect the same from the people around me. I am patient, willing to try new things, and generally very cheerful and easy to get along with. Being outdoors is important to me whether I'm working, hiking, sailing, bicycling, or goofing around, I love to be outdoors!

Thayer has worked in the navy (so he can take orders) and has also worked in the high-tech industry, as a climbing instructor, flying instructor and boat captain (giving orders). He is mechanically, electrically and technically inclined, fixes vehicles and toasters and computers and boo-boos and whatever is in between. Although he has not performed any major surgeries, he is pretty good at removing splinters. He bakes cookies with the neighbor kids and artisan breads for fun. He does wood working, welds, designs and builds websites, served on a national magazine as a content and photo editor, including layout, graphic design and proofreading. He rides big motorcycles but doesn't drink beer or curse. He was captain on a real brigantine pirate ship but doesn't have any tattoos or piercings. He's a walking enigma! And he still does offshore boat deliveries for enjoyment. Thayer studied architecture in college, is interested in alternative or traditional low-impact building techniques and would like to build a straw-bale/cob house. He's imaginative, entertaining and great fun with most kids but does not indulge bad behavior. He is a solution looking for a problem! But alas, for all that, ...he also snores. :o(

Age

66 & 67

Some more information

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  Smoker

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  Driver's licence

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  Allergies
  no allergies

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  Special dietary requirements
  We are carnivores but eat a lot of whole grains, veggies and fruit.