go to big bear

Have I been to Big Bear, and that was in 2001. So much has changed since that time, and my husband really wants to check it out! I think we’d make it a very special memory being there together :D We are planning to check it out this winter and take a snow boarding lesson! We’re quite excited :D

everything that could go wrong on a vacation went wrong.
we drive 80 miles to the first grand mountain on the 18 leading to big bear. just past the 6,000 foot elevation, the ice on the road was inconquerable. we made it here with my husband’s fancy sports car which no place makes chains or cables for his fancy sports car tires. not to mention the handbook to his car states that placing chains or cables on the tires would damage the car. we didn’t read that till 80 miles into the trip. so we attempted to cancel our reservations to the cabin. we figured, the car was packed for a trip, so we may as well go the extra 3 hours to either san diego or las vegas. but we could not cancel. and that’s 500 bucks. 500 bucks to me…. is a lot of freakin money. so we drove back home and took my car, bought chains for it and headed back to the mountain. so that’s 240 miles to go to and from and to again. good thing we left around 10 AM. by the time we made it back to that point, it was 6 PM. we drove up the mountain and into big bear that night with the chains. we finally made it to our cute, quaint and quiet cabin in the mountains.
next day, we get up early to go eat breakfast. walk the dog, get dressed, hop in the car. the battery died to my car. we call AAA, but they said that it would be a while before someone would come. to our luck, our neighbor agreed to jump start the car. but we had to wait till he dug his car out of his driveway. it was surrounded by 3-5 feet of snow. and he refused us to help him. so we ordered delivery. we watched a movie and ate hamburgers and by 11 AM, the neighbor jumpstarted our car. it worked! i revved the engine. turned it off and turned it on and revved it some more. by that point, though, we no longer needed to go to lunch. so we pulled out some maps and things to figure out what to do. it was too late to enjoy a day pass for skiing. so we found a hiking trail, a mexican place to eat dinner and a place to get a couple’s massage. so then we hop back into the car… and again… the battery died. so we called AAA again and they said they’d be a while. so we built a snow bear and played in the snow with the dog. afterwards, still no AAA. so then we decided to keep our reservations for the spa and take a cab. well worth it. the massage was awesome and it was fun to get the massage in the same room as my husband. the masseuse ladies were very nice. an hour later we find out that we missed the AAA guy while we were getting the massage. then we decided to go to k-mart. my husband needed a pair of pants and underwear considering the only ones he had were the ones he was wearing and he got his pants dirty when we were playing in the snow. we called the cab for the ride home but she was very busy and it would take about an hour for her to show up. so we sat around for a while. ate sandwiches at subway. and bought jumper cables hoping that we could convince the cab driver to let us use the cab to jumpstart the car. she actually showed up about 2 hours late because the people she was picking up were being stupid. when i asked her for a favor, she replied, “i made you guys wait long enough, i’ll do anything you want me to!” so she easily agreed to the jumpstart. we jumpstarted the car, all is well and we drove it around town for a good 20 minutes or so to get the battery charged. by that point, it was 9:30 PM, approaching the second night of our trip which by now is feeling sort of wasted. we felt the regret of all the things we missed out. and sighed as we stared off into the distance… knowing that we had just one more day to actually get to see the town we were taking a vacation in. on the patio, amidst the snow, we warmed the jacuzzi and lied in it for 2 hours under the stars. we saw shooting stars, mars and jupiter. orion and his belt and the big dipper. our bodies were in heaven, especially after a wonderful massage. it was kinda cool too, to be in a 100 degree hot tub in the middle of the 30 degree winter wonderland in the woods. the next day, we ate breakfast at the place we wanted to eat the day before. we packed the car and handed in our keys and took a long drive around big bear lake. we got to see much of what we missed and it made me ache to come back soon. especially since halfway around the lake, the battery died on my camera and i didn’t get to take pictures of some of the most amazing sights and scenery i’ve ever seen. and this comes from a woman who’s lived in hawaii, before. GORGEOUS peaking mountains of 8,000-9,000 feet. snowcapped. layered mountains, chained, skyscraping in the distance and massive rock walls straight ahead our faces. the car zig-zagged, ascended and descended steep mountains covered in the tallest evergreens i’ve ever seen. the roads were still covered in ice, so driving 20 mph helped us take in the view. it was breathtaking to look over the end and see sea level 8,000 feet away and tall mountains in the distance. the valley was as green as emeralds and the mountain tops capped with snow. we took the front way this time to leave big bear so we could get onto the 15 and stop at polly’s bakery cafe in norco, CA. best. pie. ever. and i don’t get to eat there as often as i’d like. we decided to take the 71 north and when we made it to the 210, i drove the rest of the way home. or as close to home as possible. about 6 miles south of home on the 14 freeway, my transmission gave up. the car refused to shift anymore. i pulled to the side and opened the hood of the car. smoke. everywhere. AAA came in 20 minutes and towed us the rest of the way home. now i am left to figure out how to financially and chronologically get this taken care of. we are at the beginning stages of moving into a better apartment and i start school on monday. the car will be taken in to the mechanics tonight and a friend of mine will be driving me to school on monday. the rest of the week, my husband will. we have hope that the transmission isn’t completely destroyed because when my husband drove it into the parking space after the tow truck dropped it off at home, the car drove forward and in reverse no problem. things just may be lose from all the mountain driving and the bumpiness from the chains. if it’s not so bad, we’ll get it fixed. if not, we may as well just by a new car.
so there. my big bear vacation story. didn’t see much of big bear, though. we’ll go again. and this time, we’ll take our friend with us -who happens to have a jeep.

i will be there tomorrow! we rented a cabin for my birthday. it’s got a jacuzzi and i can bring my dog!!! yay!!! but it’s snowing pretty bad now. we have to buy chains tomorrow morning for the car. hopefully they won’t snap on us!

I like to go their and play in the snow

i want to go snowboarding