Subj:     145. Where are we?
Date:     Saturday, April 3, 2004   

We left El Centro on April 1 and traveled west. We are now in a major city that is often called the birthplace of California. It's also a City by the Bay but we are way too far south for it to be San Francisco. However, as far as cities go, we are in a very nice place.

Leaving Rio Bend RV and Golf Resort was kind of sad. Like when we left Crater Lake last fall, it's kind of like when a summer camp ends. However, this time we think we made what we hope will be more lasting friendships. We were a lot closer to some of the people we worked with at Rio Bend than we did with the people at Crater Lake. But there is a sensible reason for that. At Crater Lake everyone was working full time and, on their days off, had to take care of things like grocery shopping, laundry, etc. Rio Bend was different because we only worked 25 hours a week per couple, most of the workampers were in the same area, we certainly had time to socialize, play golf, have happy hour, etc. So in general, we got to know the people at Rio Bend better than the people at Crater Lake.

We also received another telephone call from Crater Lake. There is a new Operations Manager at Crater Lake. Since we wrote a letter to the General Manager outlining some improvements that we felt Xanterra should pursue, the new Operations Manager called to get some detail on some of the things we mentioned. It sounded like he is using our letter as a starting point for some improvements. That telephone call really made us start looking forward to returning to Crater Lake.

All in all, it was a good winter. We worked a little, played a lot, met some great people, and, in general had a good time. Of course Larry played a lot of golf and Adrienne even started playing golf. We both took some golf lessons. It was a good winter.

Now, Where are we? We are in San Diego at Campland on the Bay. The major reason for coming to San Diego is to visit Larry's younger daughter Denise and her husband Aaron.

The Brauers
Havin' Fun in San Diego

---

Subj:     146. Where are we?
Date:     Friday, April 23, 2004

We are now camped right on the Pacific Ocean at a state beach. In fact, as we write this we are looking out the front window of the RV at the Pacific Ocean. We may be camped in a parking lot but it does have full hook ups and the scenery is beautiful. Of course we are almost under the flight path of a major international airport. Oh well, that's the price of staying in California's largest city.

We've added a bunch of names to our mailing list, those email addresses are the ones of the people we worked with at Rio Bend in El Centro. If anyone wants to be deleted from the mailing list, just send us a message and we'll delete you from the list.

We enjoyed our stay in San Diego. In fact Denise and Aaron (Larry's younger daughter and her husband) took us to a San Diego Padre baseball game. Ever since we've been married, Larry has wanted to take Adrienne to a major league baseball game and it finally happened. It was great, even if the Padres lost.

After San Diego it was a quick trip up to Inyokern. The RV park had a change in management and we were welcomed back. It was great driving into the park and have about 8 or 10 people come out to give us hugs.

We only spent two nights in Inyokern before we took off again with Breanna (one of Adrienne's grand daughters) to take her to Phoenix to see her daddy. Although it was a long trip, it was fun, especially with Breanna. While we were in Phoenix we were even able to play a 9-hole round of golf. Yes, both of us.

After returning to Inyokern, our next trip was to Bakersfield to have some work done on the motorhome. The work took most of two days but we were able to get some shopping done as well as a sightseeing trip. No the sightseeing was to the mountains, not in Bakersfield. The dealer where we bought the RV moved to a different building right across the freeway from their old building. However, now there is a Camping World in the same building as well as over 60 motorhomes, fifth wheel trailers, and camp trailers in the same building. The place is huge.

After Bakersfield, we drove right to Red Rock Canyon, a state park about 30 miles south of Inyokern. We had promised Daniel, Adrienne's grandson, that we would take him camping for his birthday. So we drove the truck into Ridgecrest to pick up Daniel. We camped right next to a father with a daughter and son who were just a little older than Daniel. They also had two friends with them. These four kids were great, very well behaved, polite, and very interested in everything. It was really fun.

After that camping trip, we returned to Inyokern before we came down here to see two more grand children.

We've still got a few things to get finished in Inyokern before we head north to Crater Lake, where we will be working this summer.

Now, Where are we? We are at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles.

The Brauers
Havin' Fun