Haven't yet decided. Procrastination is a fine art.

Henry Clay

9th - freshman year

Detention regular. My teachers would all be chuckling, that I have a wife and a daughter who are both professors. My wife at Miami Dade College, and my daughter at The U! University of Miami. My old teachers are fully aware of why I deserved this fate!

Wittenberg, Wisconsin

College, drafted, college, alternative life styles.

University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, Milwaukee

MATC Phi Theta Kappa

Brown Baquette Restaurant, owner, Whitefish Montana, winter 1983-1984
Breakfast cook Kalaloch Lodge, Olympic National Park Summer 1984

Broiler Chef Arizona Biltmore Winter 1984-85

Executive Chef Fisher Island, Florida 1985-1991

Owner Urban Trails Kayak Co. My commute was either jumping into my kayak, from my Miami Beach backyard, paddling 4 miles in Biscayne Bay, or bicycling the bike path, along the Atlantic Coast, when I was in a hurry. 2 locations, near Bal Harbour. I taught thousands what a kayak is, and how to paddle, and how to value and enjoy life on the water. I also hired a lot of people, that changed the course of their life, of which I am most proud of!

After retiring, I ran a B and B for Alaska Discovery, for two summers. 2005-2006, in Gustavus, Alaska, the most beautiful and favorite place I have ever lived. If not for the winters...Next door to Glacier Bay National Park! Kayaking with whales, sea lions, killer whales, camping near brown and black bears, bald eagles, either by myself or with Cynthia, and sunlight all day and all of the night! Cant sleep, 3am, I go for a bike ride and ride with the moose, etc. Go back to sleep at noon, or whenever. Exactly a 5000 mile car ride from Miami Beach, to Haines, Alaska, ferry to Juneau, and a 4 seater airplane ride, to Gustavus, through some of the most beautiful country, in the world..

Bicycled the perimeter of the United States, with wife, Cynthia, daughter Mariah, 3 years old, 22 at finish. Wintered at Whitefish, Montana, lived on Wisconsin Avenue, waterfront, Whitefish Lake. Near Glacier National Park. Uninsulated 2 br, cabin, lr, kitchen, 1 gas space heater and stove, to keep us warm, in our sleeping bags, mattress on floor. Temps, -50. Summered on the Olympic Peninsula, Kalaloch Lodge, then Phoenix, Arizona, winter, and Mariah, turned 5, and we stopped in South Beach, in the midst of Miami Vice, which turned into our permanent home. Mariah turned 8, she pedaled her own bike to Cape Cod, approximately 2000 miles. Another trip when she was 13, and Cynthia and I thought we would then be finishing up the trip by ourselves. Mariah was accepted at Smith College, and at her urging, we took summer vacations to finish up the trip, finishing when she graduated, in 2002. She said she was prouder of finishing the bike trip, than graduating. She told me, it is now our trip, not just your trip anymore! A very happy and proud mother, and father.

Spending time in Lincoln and Estabrook Parks, and Lake Michigan, on summer days off! Did we call it Jailhouse Beach, at the end of Silver Spring, where it met Lake Drive, or am I mistaken? The memory is there, but sometimes it is a little faulty.

I had a great life, after I left Wisconsin! Fresh out of college, my wife interned at the American Embassy, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. I took care of Mariah, then 2 years old, although we did have a live-in baby sitter, and a part time housekeeper, who was included with the rent. The ninera cost us about $10.00 a week, which we could afford, even fresh out of college and with no income coming in. Mariah, Ibelises, our ninera, and I spent a lot of time, hanging out at the ambassadors pool, while Cynthia worked in Cultural Affairs. Scuba dived in Thailand, visited China(twice), once while my daughter was in the Peace Corps, and then when she worked for the University of Nebraska, in Xian, home of the Terra Cotta Warriors. We honeymooned in the Bahamas, visited Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, Italy, all 50 states, except for Hawaii, which is being planned for in the near future. Rafted the Grand Canyon, kayaked the 90 mile, Wilderness Waterway, through the Everglades, along the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, multiple times. Looking forward to lots more traveling, when Cynthia retires, in 2020!

Lesson # 1. The way to a womans heart, is through her stomach!
There is nothing else to tell!


Create a new life for yourself, every 5 years or so! Life is much shorter than you think! Why value redundancy?

Live life! Love life!


You will never understand what life is all about, so enjoy it, while you can. Do what you find is interesting!
Do not be bored!

Worked as a waiter, while, Debra Lubotsky Whitcomb, was the bartender, at La Bistro, in the Marc Plaza, at which time, I met and fell in love with, Cynthia, my future wife, who was from Fox Point and graduated from Dominican. As a waiter, I cooked, appetizers, entres and desserts, flambe, table side, and I fell in love with the cooking aspect! Finally, at the age of 29, I figured out, what I wanted to do in life, sort of! I then went to chef school. Pat Houlehen had been trying to get me into the cooking field for years. We had worked together at Barnabys, after my discharge from the Army. Making pizzas didn't do it for me. For a number of years, I worked at Jackson Liquors, at 5th and Center. Most of the time, delivering to the inner city bars and homes. This was a great experience, I loved working there, found some great jazz bars, and did so, full time and part time, for quite a number of years.

4801 Riverside Drive Yankeeetown, Florida 34498

305-490-4841 cell, more likely to reach me at home, 305-868-4621

kayakmiami@gmail.com