The summer of 2016 was busy, busy at Rainbow Haven. In fact, Craig commented to me that he'd never seen such a summer. With the last big Summer Holiday almost upon us, I've been reflecting back on the Spring and Summer. We've made amazing progress since the end of March when we joined with Craig and began the rebuilding process from last December and the devastating flood. Many of the goals are left undone but the important stuff got back on track.........mostly!
We decided to not bring the two lower level units back. They had a reputation for flooding when the lake came up. Not the kind of epic flooding like December, but enough to make clean up and repair an issue more often that we would like. (Here are some amazing pictures of the flood)
In their place, we've begun the transformation of the old unit 8 over to a guest laundry, as of yet, incomplete. We planned a bait and tackle shop for the old office. Again, too many other priorities for us to even think about that. We bought several Kayaks to extend the guest experience. That's been okay but not really what we had expected. On a bright note, we did commit to buying two new pontoon boats and that has definitely been a big hit.
I suppose the big challenge lies ahead of us after Labor Day comes and goes. When the bank worked out the terms for transferring the property, they also seized the insurance settlement funds from the flood (which was significant). This left the rebuilding process to us to just work out however we could. We pitched in, Craig pitched in and everyone did double time all summer. We never could have made it without our faithful guests and for that we are all VERY grateful!
Thanks for making this a great summer and as we work our way through the Fall and Winter, we hope that you will consider hanging your hat at the Haven any time you plan to visit Rockaway or the Branson area during the fall, Christmas or winter season.
Here's a quick recipe for those who don't like any fishiness in their seafood. The sweet, delicate taste of trout is complemented well by Cajun spice for a healthy, flavorful entrée. Enjoy it with a sliced tomato salad and a fresh baguette with sweet cream butter
Ingredients: