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| Lace Madonna and Child from Burano, Italy |
Greetings from the Rembolds!
December
is almost a third done, so it appears we better get going on our
letter for the year 2018! It has been an ADVENTURESOME year!
After
spending the winter at home, we again traveled to Albuquerque in
March to visit Mom R, Luke, and brother Randy’s family. We
continued south to Tucson for a few weeks volunteering at the
emergency home repair nonprofit called CHRPA. We explored Sedona on
the way north for some red rock hiking. May found us in Kalispell,
MT for a two week build at our favorite Habitat for Humanity
affiliate.
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| The view west to Elkhorn Peak from our property 10 miles outside of town. |
June arrived and a huge decision was made. (FIRST BIG ADVENTURE!) Rick had been making noises about getting out of town and enjoying views of the mountains. (Go figure!) After looking for about a year and not being impressed, we found a five acre lot that we love! Only problem – it’s empty, no house! It was never on our
wish list to build a house, but here we go! We are learning ALOT, but overall enjoying the experience.
We now have a well, septic tank permit, road, and a plan. Ginger used her artistic skills to blend some ideas together into, what we think, will be our ‘dream home’: a little 2100 sq ft abode with a vaulted great room in the middle with views of both the Elkhorn and Wallowa Mountains. Time to get a loan so we can get started in the spring of 2019 and celebrate Christmas next year in our new home! (Check out the ‘High Country Journey’ blog under 2018 August)
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| Hiking near Zermatt, Switzerland - the Matterhorn! |
Sounds
like enough for the year, right? But wait! There’s more! (I
couldn’t resist! SECOND BIG ADVENTURE!) We had planned a trip for
our 35th anniversary. So at the end of August off we went
for a five week trek through the Swiss and Italian Alps, Venice,
Florence, the Cinque Terra, and Iceland. What an amazing (and
exhausting!) trip. We were on planes, trains, gondolas, funiculars,
narrow gauge railways, boats, and rented a car for two different
weeks. You can check it all out on Ginger’s 2018 blog under August and
September. LOVED those Alps!!
Home in
October for two weeks, then back to Albuquerque, with stops in Moab
and Telluride on the way. Home again for two weeks, then
Thanksgiving at the McLean home in Bandon, Oregon with Jed. After
living out of suitcases for the fall, we are happy to be home again
for the WHOLE winter!
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| Luke took us to Tent Rocks National Monument near Santa Fe in Oct. |
Mom
R turned 88 this year and is still enjoying her apartment in
Albuquerque. She enjoys visits with Luke and with her two
great-grandsons.
Luke
is doing a fabulous job (no bias here!) as coordinator for the
Albuquerque Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program of the Presbyterian
Church. He has explored extensively in the Rocky Mts. of New Mexico,
Arizona, and Colorado. He still finds time to play tennis.
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| Jed and Ginger enjoy a Thanksgiving walk on the Bandon beach. |
We
are excited to have both boys home for the holidays. Hoping you all
are so blessed as well to be surrounded by family and friends. 2019
will be a fun year!
Rick and Ginger
Our phone #'s haven't changed. Email if you need an update.
https://remboldsroad.blogspot.com
And just a few more photos....
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| Elkhorn Peak mid summer from property. |
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| Rick in awe as we hike in the Dolomites of Northern Italy |
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| Trail above Monterroso along the Cinque Terra coastline of Italy. |
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| Fall colors, waterfalls, and Iceland! |
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| Hiking near Telluride, CO in mid-October. Incredible area! |
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| Happy New Year! (Alpenglow on mountains behind Telluride.) |
