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More on Dorie's Life Adventures!

So I carried the Mickelson family's zest for living, high standards for excellence, and passion for fun, art, music, nature, travel, and adventure into my own life after leaving home, spending a year overseas after graduating early from high school.  During that time, I lived on a Kibbutz in Israel for six months, and then spent another six months backpacking through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India with a Danish friend I had met on the Kibbutz (yay, Nina!).  It was an amazing year where I was exposed to fascinating cultures, art, architecture, people, perspectives, experiences, and the incredible beauty of the natural world! 

When I returned to the United States, I attended the University of Michigan, where I earned two degrees, and continued living and working in Ann Arbor.  While engaged in my professional career as a publishing/IT manager, I continued to seek out new experiences and achievements (anything worth doing is worth doing well, as my father used to say).  So I went on to earn my black belt in two martial arts systems (Shorin Ryu and Shudokan), as well as a brown belt in another (Aikido), and founded a Dojo where I taught martial arts classes for ten years.

On the side, I also had fun doing things like white water rafting, hiking, skydiving, rock climbing, rollerblading, horseback riding, downhill skiing, and motorcycle riding, to name a few!  I continued traveling whenever possible, visiting Spain and England back in my college days, and in more recent years spending time in Switzerland, as well as traveling throughout the United States (for work and play), visiting Colorado, California, Florida, New York, Arizona, Wyoming, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Mexico, Chicago, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Georgia, Maryland, Washington, New Orleans, and various other locations.

I could go on (and on and on and on), but will end by saying that I would probably not be doing any of the ambitious, creative, adventurous, artistic, entrepreneurial things in my life today were it not for the wonderfully creative, passionate, achievement oriented, and pioneering values my parents instilled in me (see there, I knew I'd make a connection eventually). I would probably also not be doing what I am doing today were it not for the endless love and support of my extraordinary partner Mark, with whom I am sharing the greatest adventure of my life!

And so, this site is in honor of my mom (who at 78 years old is still walking five miles a day, singing in the choir, volunteering at the hospital, traveling all over the world, and more), in memory of my dad, who as a force of nature unto himself, taught me that anything was possible, and in appreciation of my life partner, who makes all my dreams come true...