July 2004
Subj: 152. Where are we?
Date: Friday, July 9, 2004
Well, we left Crater Lake early. We resigned our jobs because of
Professional Differences. After five weeks we decided that we just
needed to be somewhere else. So, we are now headed to somewhere else
where we have jobs waiting.
When we arrived at Crater Lake the campground was covered in snow. Yes,
covered with about 5 or more feet of snow. Frankly, we were wondering
if the snow in the campground would ever melt. It was amazing, within a
week after the loop roads in the campground were plowed, much of the
snow was gone. The campground opened on June 18 and was full over the
July 4 weekend. There was still patches of snow in the campground but
they were melting fast.
Today, after leaving Crater Lake National Park we first headed West
into Medford where we bought groceries at Costco. Then we continued
west to the coast. Then we started heading south on US 101 to where we
are spending the night.
We are in the coastal mountains of California in Elk Country. There are
even Elk in this campground. We are also near the ocean. In fact we had
beautiful views of the ocean on the way here. We also had beautiful
views of the Redwood Forest.
It's kind of hard to describe where we are. But, along the Northern
Coast of California is a little town called Trinidad. It's between
Cresent City and Eureka and that's where we are spending the night.
The Brauers
Havin' Fun Again
Subj: 153. Where are we?
Date: Friday, July 9, 2004
We have arrived in the place where we will be spending a few months
working. We are in an area of wave-swept beaches, rugged cliffs,
rolling sand dunes, sleeping sea lions, soaring pelicans, towering
redwoods, glowing sunsets, and vast expanses of ocean. In the time
we've been here (not much more than 12 hours) we have seen most of
these things plus we've also seen many vineyards. We'll also add that
this is not the easiest place to drive to, especially when you are
driving a 35 foot long vehicle and pulling a small pickup truck.
We've already agreed to be here until the end of Ocober, except for a
week in August when we will visit Eugene Oregon to see our new
grandson. He hasn't arrived yet but he's due any time now.
The drive from Trinidad, California to our current location was
beautiful. But driving US 101 in norhern California is always
beautiful. We stayed on 101 until we came to Cloverdale, then we headed
west to California Highway 1. That was an interesting drive, lots of
hills, curves, narrow roads, vineyards, redwood forests, and other
wonderful sights, fortunately there wasn't too much traffic. Once we
reached the coastal highway (CA 1) we headed south for a few miles to
our current locations. We've driven parts of CA 1 before, just not in a
motorhome. It was certainly a thrilling drive.
The campground is very nice and so are the people. We think we will
really enjoy working here for the next few months.
Now, where are we? We are at the Manchester Beach KOA on the Mendocino
Coast. The campground is very pretty. We haven't been able to explore
much of the area yet, but we certainly will in the future. If you want
to see where we are, check out www.manchesterbeachkoa.com.
The Brauers
Havin' Fun
Working for a KOA
Subj: 154. Where are we?
Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2004
We are still workamping at the Manchester Beach KOA. But there is some
great news that we wanted to pass on to everyone. But first, we'll tell
you about our activites since we last sent an email.
Adrienne is working at the desk taking reservations, registering
campers, renting bicycles, selling fire wood, providing information
about the area to our guests, and many other things.
Larry is working in the campground doing all the normal things like
cleaning up campsites, making sure the fire wood bin is stocked,
hauling trash, answering questions, and the like. Larry also drives a
Massey Ferguson tractor. The tractor pulls a hay wagon for hay rides.
At least once a day, and sometimes as many as three times a day there
is a hayride which starts at the campground, goes down to the beach
(just under a mile away) and returns to the campground. Larry really
enjoys doing the hayrides.
On Sunday mornings, the KOA puts on a Pancake and Sausage Breakfast.
Guess which two people have been doing the pancake breakfast? Yes, we
do. Actually they are a lot of fun. This past Sunday we served 94
breakfasts in about 90 minutes. Larry does the cooking while Adrienne
serves and makes sure everything is available for the guests. We have
about 90 minutes to get everything set up and cook a supply a sausage
and pancakes. Then we serve pancakes and sausage for 90 minutes.
Finally, after all the guests who participate have eaten their fill, we
invite the staff for breakfast. It's a lot of work, it gets very
hectic, but it's a lot of fun.
Before you think that all we do is work, we should mention what we've
done on our days off. So far we have driven the coast as far north as
Fort Bragg, visiting several towns along the way including Mendocino, a
very quaint art community. Mendocino is a small town but is very big on
tourism. All summer they have art shows, music festivals, and lots of
other activities to attract tourists.
Fort Bragg isn't nearly as quaint as Mendocino but, compared to the
other towns on the coast, it's a thriving metropolis with a population
of about 6,000 people. It even has a major supermarket, and is the only
town on the coast where we've seen fast food restaurants. Fort Bragg is
only 42 miles north of Manchester but it's about an hour's drive along
the twisty Highway 1. That's without making any stops to view the coast.
Heading south you pass through Point Arena. Point Arena has an
interesting lighthouse and is one of the tallest on the West Coast.
Although there has been a lighthouse on the point since 1870, the
original lighthouse was destroyed in 1906 by the famous San Francisco
earthquake. The lighthouse was redesigned and rebuilt to withstand
earthquakes. The designers, an engineering firm who specialized in
designing and building large smoke stacks, used the same technology
that they used for smoke stacks. The result is a rather unique
lighthouse that looks like it could have been a smoke stack. If you're
into movies and want to see the lighthouse, watch the movie "Forever
Young." Much of the movie was filmed at the Point Arena Lighthouse.
A few miles south of the lighthouse is the town of Point Arena. We
haven't explored much of the town but it appears to be interesting and
could easily be a place to wander around for an afternoon.
South of Point Arena is another small town call Gualala (pronounced
Wa-La-La). This is another place that we want to explore.
Continuing south on Highway 1, you come to a place called Fort Ross.
Fort Ross was actually a Russian outpost built to support the Russian
trade with Alaska. The state of California is in the process of
restoring the original fort. It's an interesting place to visit.
Inland, there are the towns of Willits, Ukiah, and Cloverdale. Ukiah is
the major town with all the amenities needed for grocery shopping,
going to Wal-Mart, and other necessities. We were even able to pick up
a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the Albertson's in Ukiah.
What's the great news that we mentioned in the beginning. Michelle
Nicolson (Larry's older daughter) gave birth to an 8 pound 7 ounce baby
boy on July 18. Both mother (Michelle) and baby (Tristan) are doing
fine. Daddy (Keith) is also doing fine. In mid August, we will be
taking a week off from the KOA to visit our new Grandson. Of course we
will also be visiting Michelle and Keith.
The Brauers
(Grandpa and Grandma)
Havin' Fun
being the proud Grandparents of Tristan Nicolson