Subj:     156. Where are we?
Date:     Thursday, December 23, 2004

It's been four months since we last sent out a "Where are we?" so we thought we would take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We also thought we ought to let everyone know what we are up to.

First of all, we are still at the Manchester Beach KOA in Manchester California. Yes, we were supposed to leave here in October. But the manager talked us into spending the winter and next summer here. When she asked us to stay, we had to talk about it for some time. Finally we decided that we would stay. However, we do get the month of January off so we can see the grandkids (all six).

In October there were several things going on. We cooked a Chicken Dinner for a Motocycle group. Of course we had to make the Rec Hall suitable for a nice dinner so we did lots of decorating. The last weekend in October we had an Octoberfest. Larry made about 20 pounds of hot german potato salad, and also grilled bratwurst. Meanwhile, Adrienne did the salad, the beans, the rolls, and really decorated the Rec Hall. Of course the Octoberfest was on Halloween weekend so the Rec Hall was decorated for Halloween. Oh yes, Adrienne made about 500 cookies (they looked like fingers and even had red fingernails). The cookies were a big hit.

The campground was relatively busy through Thanksgiving when the owners put on a pot luck Thanksgiving Dinner. The campground provided 8-20 pound, deep fried turkeys and all the campers brought a dish to share. Boy, was there a lot of good food. We figured there were about 140 people for dinner. The day after Thanksgiving, Santa Claus arrived at the KOA (Larry really had a great time). We also served two pancake breakfasts that weekend and did all  the decorations.

We've only had a few campers since Thanksgiving but the campground is really decorated for Christmas. There are lights everywhere on the Kabins, in the bushes, on the trees, and around the buildings. In fact, there have been a couple of nights when the campground has been empty. Things will pick up again from now until New Year's Day. Then, they will get really slow until March.

So what are we doing during the off season. Well, since the cleaning crew has been laid off, Adrienne cleans the restrooms and Kabins when needed. We both work in the campground cleaning sites, gardening, raking pine needles, and anything else that needs to be done. Larry has painted a bathroom, put up shelves, and painted the Rec Hall ceiling, researched a burgler/fire alarm system, and updated the magnetic key-card lock system. When we get back in February, there will still be a lot of things that need to be done; in fact, we have a three page list of things to do. In the meantime, we still run the store/gift shop. We get locals in to purchase store items, gifts and propane. We get calls for reservations 6 to 12 months in advance. We also still get campers driving by or as Larry mentioned have reservations for the holidays.

Meanwhile, we are having fun in a very beautiful area.

Have a safe, fun, and very happy Holiday Season.

The Brauers
Havin' Fun
As Always