Welcome to our annual holiday e-card!
Towards the end of January, we moved out of the bottom floor of our house (basically, all of our living area!) and took a cruise while our hardwood floors were being redone.
Hint for cruise ship passengers... attend the CruiseCritic.com reception, get a little special treatment! :-)
We sailed on the the MSC Divina, an Italian cruise ship. One of the highlights of the ship's design was the Swarovski crystal staircase.
First stop, Bonaire, the least developed island of any of our stops. Known for incredible snorkeling you can enjoy without having to board a boat. We were super lucky to have friends Mark and Brenda staying on the island as our personal tour guides for the day.
Had to try Iguana... (JFYI... lots of bones!)
Mark and Brenda in Bonaire. An action packed, fun filled day!
Lock your love together in Curacao.
We took a bus ride to the Sea Aquarium in Curacao...
and met some pink flamingoes that were happy to pose for us.
Next stop, Aruba! Before leaving Salida, I reached out to
Tony Boone who consulted with Aruba on building mountain bike trails. He got us connected with
Tri Bike Aruba. Our bike ride had a combination of semi-arid cactus country and...
The island was celebrating a national holiday (many stores closed), so store owners Gert and Annemarie gave us a wonderful personal tour! So thankful to make a personal connection with great locals!
It's Teresa's Birthday and we are on Jamaica experiencing their Mystic Mountain "adventure" park with zip lines...
canopy chairlift rides...
and a Jamaican "bobsled experience."
We found this nice note in our cabin...
and ended the day with a sushi birthday dinner followed by cake of course!
Silliness happens when the camera is that close to Andrew's face!
Back in the states now, enjoying a bike ride at Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. No sharks, but plenty of alligators.
Aggressive ones too! Poor Photoshop-ing courtesy of Andrew, but that sign did exist elsewhere in the park!
Finally, off to the family reunion where Teresa created this custom puzzle for the family to work on over the weekend.
All of Teresa's siblings together again in Florida.
Our annual 5k run/walk with Teresa's family that benefits sister Dianne's school.
Back in Colorado, in our back yard, and the skiing is fine... just before we drop into an area called "perfect trees."
Andrew's first time on an "magic carpet" lift. Andrew managed to stop the lift by lowering his poles at the end where the sign says "keep poles up!" Doh!
The famous Manitou Incline in Manitou Springs (near Colorado Springs). 2744 steps to the top! Teresa almost made it to the top!
And oh yeah, we picked up a new car in Colorado Springs a week or two later. Meet Punkin!
Andrew with fresh tracks in May - earning your turns at Monarch after the resort has closed for the year.
Browns Canyon, one of the nations newest National Monuments, just a few miles north of us.
Happy dogs Max and Millie just finished their walk.
Backpack with Martin into the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness, at Music Pass.
We were Atlanta in August to help host Andrew's Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary party! Here's Andrew's mom and dad at an early age.
Happy 50th to Ellen and Jack!
We celebrated our anniversary in Creede colorado, hiking Up and Over through the copious wildflowers, and enjoying their fabulous repertory theater in the evenings.
Gorgeous wildflowers and rock outcroppings just above the town of Creede.
Andrew had about 2 weeks off between contract and full time work with TTCI. To avoid driving Teresa crazy, Andrew went backpacking with Mark along the Colorado Trail, Collegiate Peaks Loop, Western leg, two nights.
We ran into this gal just off the trail. She thankfully didn't seem too concerned with us.
My second outing along with CT West with Martin, one night.
Martin and I had a little bit of exciting weather once we arrived at camp. This type of precipitation is called graupel, little soft ice pellets.
The next morning hiking over the pass towards Hancock Lakes. And still has another stretch to complete, but have mostly completed CT Collegiate Peaks Loop West!
Fun for the camera during a trip to Chicago for a 2nd cousin Charlotte Reese's Bat Mitzvah.
Fun for the camera during a trip to Chicago for a 2nd cousin Charlotte Reese's Bat Mitzvah - Brother Todd and his wife Meghan, Mom, and Teresa.
Fun for the camera during a trip to Chicago for a 2nd cousin Charlotte Reese's Bat Mitzvah. Mom, Teresa and nephew Jordan.
To get to Chicago, we decided to take Amtrak's Southwest Chief instead of flying. Andrew is getting off the train from Chicago in La Junta, Colorado and heading to my first day of full-time work at...
Transportation Technology Center, Inc, (TTCI) - Andrew's new employer. Located in the middle of nowhere 25 minutes outside of Pueblo Colorado. It's an amazing facility!
More Info Here
The scarriest, most active night of the Decker Fire, a fire that got uncomfortably close to us and our home town. Homes across the valley were evacuated this evening around 2am. Our house is a couple of miles away, but too close for comfort. (photo credit: Kimmie Randal)
We went as "Anonymous" whistle blowers for Halloween. Hard to drink beer out of that mask!
Visiting with good friends Donna and Gautam in Lyons.
Thanksgiving trip to Atlanta - visit with Wade, Andrew's friend from high school.
Thanksgiving trip to Atlanta - visit with Anita and Phil in Birmingham.
Thanksgiving trip to Atlanta - visit with Eric.
Thanksgiving trip to Atlanta - Nephew Reid and Teresa alway have fun creating a gingerbread masterpiece!
Thanksgiving trip to Atlanta - Gingerbread masterpiece - the aftermath.
Visiting with Atlanta friends Ken and Laura.
On our way back from Thanksgiving in Atlanta, we stayed overnight in downtown Denver at a hotel with a handy skybridge over to the Brown's Palace Hotel where we enjoyed a night in town including dinner and drinks.
Andrew and Teresa attend TTCI's company holiday party in Pueblo.
As usual, we get caught up in Krampus's net this year around Christmas!
We made the front page volunteering for the community Christmas dinner.
Teresa and I wish you Happy Holidays and a peaceful and prosperous new year!
HO HO HO... Oh no! Is it time for the 2019 Holiday Card already!?!
Keeping it brief again this year, although you can find more details in the photo captions.
We are doing pretty well, and still loving life in our hometown of Salida, Colorado.
We did a pretty big cruise to the Caribbean in January. As usual, we also did a few trips to visit other areas
of Colorado this year as you’ll see in the photo gallery.
Andrew is now working full time for
Transportation Technology Center, Inc. (TTCI) based in Pueblo, and
the housing boom in Salida is keeping Teresa's business
(TandaCAD) busy as well, but we still
find time to play and enjoy this wondrous part of the world we live in.
Jack Koransky (Andrew's dad) is also doing well... Although he had a brief setback this year
with some hospitalizations, we think he's mostly recovered to about where he was last year,
and we are all very thankful for that.
We hope this finds you well, and.....
May the Universe smile on all of you with Peace and
Happiness!
Teresa and Andrew
What a long strange trip it's been...
Here's a live shot from our webcam (mounted on the front of our house)...
