Big Bear

2019 | 8th Anniversary trip

Thursday: Jan 31

We slept in a bit. I finished packing. Mike was already packed so he made some salads with chicken for us to eat before leaving.

Mike drove this time. We stopped to get gas and coffee, then realized we forgot gin and tonics! Swung back past house to get those. Whew… vacation was saved.

It took about 2¾ hours to drive up mountain.

It started to get rainy. Then foggy. Then really foggy, and eventually big wet snowflakes.

We were both a little hungry by the time we got there. It was too early to go check in yet, so we decided to go to a BBQ place we found on Yelp. Drove there and realized it was just a little shack. There was no place to eat inside, and it was pissing down rain.

We left and found Oakside. Got out of the car, and it had started to snow, just a little.

I had a buffalo chicken with no bun. Was ok. Mike had a black and blue burger which was WAY better.

We watched the snow come down while we ate. Big wet flakes. They didn’t stick for more than 12-15 seconds, but still so neat to see.

Got to cabin. Cute little place. Back yard is a bit busted. There’s a jacuzzi, but it's probably not actually usable.

Relaxed a bit. I took some test pics with camera. We read comics and just hung out.

Left for dinner, but first stopped at Vons on the way to get some supplies and stuff like coffee and snacks.

The ski slopes are lit up at night. They look so beautiful. Brings back warm memories.

Got to Big Bear Brewery. Typical micro-brew kind of place, with a definite locals vibe

Because I'm fancy, I had a raspberry martini (Sooooo good. Made with Chambord and ... something else) Mike was excited to try this place because they had a beer flight. But when we got there, we found out that they were out of a couple of the beers, so instead he just had a Ruination. We got the avocado bomb: half an avocado deep fried, stuffed with crab and tuna poke, and other stuff. Good AF.

I got the Cali burger. Mike got jalapeño patty melt. So good. We both got shirts: Mike got a T-shirt, I got a work shirt.

Headed back to cabin. Listening to Depeche Mode and there’s a Duraflame in the fireplace. They smell like plastic, but it’s nice ambience.

Mike realized that the flue may have been closed. Then we realized there was smoke coming in the cabin! I got up to open the front door. Went outside to see if I could see smoke coming out the chimney. Instead, I saw the universe.

The sky was so crisp and clear. You could see so many stars in the sky. I told Mike to put on shoes and come outside. When i made him look up, he totally gay gasped, startled at the amount of stars and the view. Really was breathtaking.

Just absolutely stunningly beautiful. We just stared at the sky for a while.

... And then got cold and went back inside. Lol. Listening to Black Celebration on my little unicorn speaker.

We ended up just hanging out watching the fire and reading comics, then off to bed. Lovely end to the day.

Friday: Feb 1

Woke up normal time. Sat around and talked, then went to get brunch at the Teddy Bear Cafe. I was smitten with the super-cute waiter. Food was fine. Nothing amazing. Went back to cabin and changed. Then to Snow Summit so Mike could snow board.

We parked in a lot, and waiting with a bunch of other people for their people transport. Kinda like a flat-bed truck with railings to hold on to so they can take you from the parking lots at the bottom of the hill up to the gate.

I bought a new hat, and Mike got a patch. But mostly took some pics of Mike snowboarding. It was actually fun to watch him, and to be in the snow again. Not too cold. Started out cloudy and overcast, then the sun came out around 2:00 pm.

After about 4 runs or so, Mike was done. So we sat at one of the tables and shared a cheeseburger. Took the bus thing back to the car, then headed back to the house.

I downloaded some pics from camera and relaxed.

We both changed, then went to do some shopping before dinner at Captain’s Anchorage.

Mike got another patch. We walked around a lot. Stopped in a music store and Mike got a couple used cassettes. Stopped in a store that said they had the best hot cocoa in the area. So of course I had to order one. It was a major production: cocoa, topped with marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and butterscotch drizzled on top, more cocoa, and a few more marshmallows.

Pretty epic, but also damn delicious.

I also bought a bunch of socks for Mike (and a pair for me).

Then off to the restaurant. Got there early, so we sat in bar and had a cocktail (g&t for me, martini for Mike)

They tried to seat us in a remote room. All booths (strike 1) and three of the booths were occupied by a Persian family with squirrelly kids, yelling across tables to each other (strike 2)

Mike was not having it, so we just got up and walked downstairs to talk to the hostess, and see if we could get a different table. Ended up sitting in the bar area for a little while, until the sat us at a better table.

For dinner, we had:

Both

Salad Bar

Mike

Prime rib

Me:

Filet Mignon

Both were hella good. Ordered an ice cream Sunday for dessert. Also ordered a Fernet Branca. The taste of the two together is magical. So good. Next diet cheat day, I'm going to have those together again.

Even though there was a little bit of a rough start to the evening, overall we gave them high marks for dinner. Really yummy.

Observations: lots of Mexican and Persian families here. Not just at the restaurant, but also Snow boarding / skiing. Interesting that they are no longer a “white sport”. I like that. More people are enjoying it.

Back to cabin. Chilled. Fire. We played Black Panther themed connect 4. Lots of fun. Then we just chilled, and I played a selection of old school Depeche Mode, leading into all kinds of other avant-garde music.

Saturday: Feb 2

Rained a lot over the night. This morning the wind was really whipping the trees around, and big fat rain drops. The cabin had little insulation, so we could really hear the rain on the roof. Speaking of little insulation, the bathroom had even less. Every time I would go in there to sit down, I thought i was gonna get frostbite on my butt, it was so cold!

It’s been raining pretty hard all morning. Rain, and a little sleet. So far, no snow.

We went to The Bone Yard for lunch, a BBQ place that was super yummy. I had a burger with pulled pork and cheese. Mike had the beef ribs. Right after we were served, some woman who was waiting to use the restroom walked up behind Mike and said “excuse, but... what IS that?”.

Came back to the cabin, and relaxed a while. There was originally supposed to be snow today around noon, and again around 3-ish. That’s changed to about 7 tonight, and it’s supposed to snow until about 3 AM.

I made reservations at Nottingham’s for dinner. It’s a Robin Hood themed restaurant.

We played MasterMind for a while. It’s cold and rainy outside. Still no snow.

It finally started to snow around 5. Very exciting. We watched it build up pretty quickly outside.

Got changed, and drove to dinner. Mike has never driven in snow before, so I had to coach him on how to start, stop, etc. He did really well. It was snowing and building up. By the time we got to dinner, there was at least an inch or so on the ground.

Went to Nottingham’s. It was ok.

Both

Baked Brie (and bread)

Mike

Prime rib with tomatoes, onions, and lobster on top

Me

filet wrapped in bacon and covered with blue cheese crumbles

By the time we left, the snow had almost stopped falling. The trip home went well. Got back to the cabin and chilled.

Mike decided he wanted to jump in the jacuzzi. So this mad man went out, naked, in the snow to jump in the jacuzzi!

I stayed inside, like any sane person would.

He came back in about 5 minutes or so later. Then while he was in the shower, the power went out! The only light in the cabin was from the fire.

He put on a jacket and shorts, and ran around the side of the house to flip the circuit breaker. Then back in to shower off and warm up some more.

Sat by the fire, and Mike made some awesome gin and tonics. He really got the proportions right. Tasty and delicious.

Stood in front of the fire and watched the snow falling.

Sunday: feb 3

Got up this morning, and it was beautiful outside. The snow was still on the ground, the air was crisp and cool, with light flurries of snow falling. Absolutely perfect. The way the morning sun reflects off the bright white snow on the ground, and the clear, crisp blue sky, the cold air, and the relative quiet of the neighborhood... so beautiful, and such an emotional memory to my youth. It was really special, and I'm so glad Mike got to experience this, too.

I had some tummy issues, (mostly because of all the G&Ts the night before), but nothing that a little food wouldn't take care of.

We got packed and loaded up the truck. I suggested that we go down the back road, since the way we normally go is

1. very twisty and turny
2. had lots of traffic
3. was probably a bit dangerous with all the snow and ice

.The road outside our cabin was crunchy ice covered with snow. Not great to drive on, especially when we didn’t have snow tires on the truck.

Mike got a little stuck coming out of the driveway, but we were able to get out. Then we started the drive back. The scenery was so pretty and white and clean and pristine. The roads weren’t too bad, and as the sun rose they melted and were a lot less icy, turning to mostly just slush

While still in the mountains, we saw coyote run across road!

Drove down the mountain. WAY easier way to go, much fewer turns, and the snow and ice quickly gave way to just regular roads. And then suddenly we were in the high desert.

Stopped to get gas in Lucerne, and then continued on 18 to the 15.

The beautiful sun gave way to fog, and then rain, and then a downpour, and then rain, and then sun, then rain again… and eventually sun and clear skies. We really had all the weather on the way home: snow, rain, sun.

Got home, unpacked, relaxed.

Another great vacation!