Pathfindr
"My mother bore me,
And my father begot me,
in the middle of a storm
So I would wander like a cloud."
- Ayacucho folk song
elcome to my travel and hobbies page...
This page originated as my first real attempt at a personal home
page on the Internet, circa 1995-1996. WBS (WebChat Broadcasting System)
was the original host site, and "Pathfindr" was the
logon I established since "Pathfinder" was already taken.
"Path Seeker" would actually have been a more
fitting choice, but I happened to be driving a Nissan
Pathfinder, at the time. There was little else at the entire web page,
besides the background, text and a couple of links.
With the publication of my first novel, in 2000,
I began to use the page as a publicity and promotional tool, and soon
started adding more types of personal information
(Marcotte genealogy, family photos, magazine articles, etc.)
The Genealogy portion has outpaced the rest of the
site, but I continue to use these pages
to dabble and gain experience with Web design and
different aspects of Internet programming.
Different people have Web pages for different reasons.
For me, it has evolved into an ultra-contemporary, effective medium
to express various creative endeavors (such as my
writing, travel experiences, photography, Web design,
artwork and genealogy research, which otherwise
easily might not have an outlet.
Professionally, I retired as of
August 2015, as a Vice President for
Technology (information & communications systems).
Link to My Main Web Page
In addition to English, I speak French and German, as well as a little Portuguese,
Spanish, Italian and Swahili, and bits and pieces of
a few other languages that I've studied.
One of my greatest passions in life is traveling.
I have traveled outside the U.S., in 1971, 1973-1978 and every
year since 1984,except in 2013, 2020 and 2021. In 2020 and 2021,
the COVID-19 pandemic caused cancelation of my scheduled
international travel. Kit(David) and Marissa traveled outside the U.S.
every year until the year they started college, except for the two
years they instead accompained us to Hawaii, and in
2013, when we just did a family ski trip to Park City, Utah.
As of May 2023, I had made 66 separate trips outside
the United States (since 1971, and not counting a couple of
day trips to Tijuana). These include 60 different countries*,
on six continents (only Antarctica remains).
Countries and Territories that I have visited
outside the United States include:
CANADA, MEXICO, FRANCE, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND, SPAIN, MONACO, ENGLAND,
AUSTRIA, ITALY, GREECE, DENMARK, SWEDEN, NORWAY, PERU, LUXEMBOURG,
LIECHTENSTEIN, THE NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM, FINLAND
The FORMER SOVIET UNION\RUSSIA,EGYPT, ISRAEL, TURKEY,
BAHAMAS, MOROCCO, HONDURAS, KENYA, BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS,
JAMAICA, U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS, PUERTO RICO, BELIZE, BRAZIL, TAHITI/MOOREA/BORA BORA,
DOMENICAN REPUBLIC, ST. LUCIA, ST. KITTS, SINT MAARTEN / NETHERLAND ANTILLES,
PALESTINE, the PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, TURKS & CAICOS, IRELAND, SCOTLAND,
DOMENICA, COSTA RICA, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, THE VATICAN, PORTUGAL,
ROMANIA, BULGARIA, HUNGARY, CZECH REPUBLIC, THAILAND, CAMBODIA,
SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA, INDONESIA, NEPAL, NORTHERN IRELAND, WALES and ICELAND.
...with no plans to stop traveling anytime soon!
I have had 3-4 hour flight layovers in Japan and South Korea, and sailed past Vietnam,
but had no opportunity to sightsee, in any of those countries.
(I've also visited All 50 U.S. States; Alaska was my last one, in 2019.)
My Travel Map
HOBBIES:
I very much enjoy SCUBA, snorkeling and beaches in general.
I have a 2nd Dan black belt in Taekwondo, via the Rugh Institute
branch of the Tae Park Institute of Taekwondo, and I enjoy sculpting
(even though I haven't made much money at it...)
...view a copy of my western sculpture "The Chase" : Click here
or view some of the pieces from my chess set (only 5 copies exist).
I also enjoy skiing, hiking, technology, photography, genealogy, reading,
writing (I've had several magazine articles and one novel published)
occasional rockhounding, archaeology, painting, craft beer and I watch a lot of movies.
I was married 35 years (to Robin), but we divorced February 8, 2021.
I have two terrific, intelligent and creative children: a thoughtful
and amiable 28-year-old son, who is a graduate of the University of
Oklahoma, with a degree in International Studies, and an athletic and beautiful 25-year-old
daughter, who is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma,
with a degree in Creative Media and Film.
I like spicy foods and remote, rustic destinations.
Favorite Quotes