meet your neighbors
The Smith Family By Pam Smith | Photography by Mort Mulliken
Where are you from? This question used to stump all the members of our family. Since we met in 1972, we have lived in 16 homes in 13 cities and towns in five countries on three continents (but who’s counting?). Our daughters, Brittany and Linsey, lived in three countries outside the U.S. for most of their school-age years. These experiences obviously stretched our family’s horizons, but also challenged our notions of the concept of “home.” When we were living in Hong Kong, we bought a painting by Chinese artist Yu Anjun. It is a simple calligraphy of the Chinese character that means home, based on a door in a Beijing hutong (walled neighborhood). The painting has an honored place in our hearth room, and reminds us of the special effort it takes to create a sense of home no matter where we are. With all that gallivanting around for so many years, we both knew that when we retired, we wanted to put down roots in a place where we could still roam.
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Rick needed a break from the constant international business travel required during his 30-year career with Eli Lilly & Company, but neither of us wanted to sit on the couch and vegetate. Especially after living in Hong Kong, with the highest population density in the world, we yearned for wide open spaces and plenty of outdoor recreation. We looked all over the Rocky Mountain region before Rick remembered Cordillera from a long-ago business retreat at the Lodge & Spa. It was like a dream. Clean air, millions of stars visible at night, hiking paths and golf and wildlife and friendly people! When Rick was retiring in 2006, a condominium came available on the Big Island of Hawaii, right next door to Pam’s dad’s place. We pounced on that