Well, it’s official. I’m BACK. Big Bear was SO much fun and I so wish I was still there! I’m already trying to figure out when I can go back.
This past week was FULL of activities, so I’ll get right to it.
We arrived in Big Bear last Monday around 2pm. Luckily, we didn’t hit any traffic, so it only took us just over 2 hours to get there. The drive up the mountain was gorgeous, as always.
Since we arrived a few hours before we could check in, we decided to start our vacation right away with a hike up Pine Knot Trail!
Charlie and I did this hike last year and loved it, so we knew we wanted to do it ventolin-albuterol. It’s about a 7 mile hike round trip. We didn’t quite go to the top this time because Oscar was pretty hot and my brother was ready to go down as well. We did about 5.5 miles total of this hike, and it was still amazing!
After the hike, we headed to the cabin to check in. We had such a great view from the cabin! You can see why I want to go back….
We spent some time down by the lake for the rest of the evening, which Oscar LOVED. I have never seen him so happy. It totally warmed my heart to see him sprinting around on the sand and running through the water like that. He was in total doggy bliss!
On Tuesday morning, Charlie and I got up super early to head out for some wakeboarding! The early morning is when the water is best, so we traded sleep (which we got hardly any of) for some fun on the water!
After wakeboarding, we headed to a local favorite, Grizzly Manor. They’re a hole in the wall breakfast joint with really good food! I had 2 over easy eggs on an english muffin, sausage, and hash browns.
We spent the rest of the day checking out the village, riding the Alpine Slide, relaxing at the cabin, and finally BBQ’ing. Instead of dining out most nights, we actually opted for BBQ’ing at the cabin, which turned out to be an excellent choice! We made grilled chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers and corn and enjoyed it while looking out over the water. It was absolutely perfect and delicious!
The rest of the trip was spent doing a mixture of relaxing and activities.
We hiked 2 other trails, including part of the Pacific Crest Trail. (This trail goes from Mexico all the way to Canada!!!)
One of the other highlights of the trip was taking Oscar out on the paddleboard! He was super scared at first, but after we were out on the water for a while, he started to enjoy it. He even tried walking around the paddle board, which made balancing really difficult for Charlie (haha!).
I can’t get over how cute he looks out there!!!
Overall, this was the best vacation I’ve been on in a LONG time. Big Bear Lake has quickly become one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited. I am a lake girl through and through. Couple that with the gorgeous views, endless hiking, and a fairly un-plugged town, and its everything I could ever want or need.
This trip also did more for me than I expected. I’ve taken many short weekend trips or longer family trips over the last 4-5 years, but no real vacation. This vacation changed something in me. It was the first time I had truly unplugged and just enjoyed nature in a longgggg time. I came back with a renewed sense of “living” and what it really means. I’m feeling more inclined to say YES to many things I turned down in the past. I want to experience and explore more than I did before. I feel like a new person and I’m so, so glad we took this trip!
Now I just need to figure out how and when I can get back….
Until then, here are some more pictures from the trip:
Question of the Day
1. When is the last time you took a real vacation? Do you have anything planned for this summer?
