Big Bear Mountain 2011

Gaby came up with the idea that we should go and see the snow.  It can be challenging to get our schedules to mesh but was very thankful that we could make it happen!  We’d never been to the mountains here before and never saw snow like we were about to see.  Gaby had been to Big Bear Mountain before so we picked a weekend and found a beautiful little cabin that fit all of us.  We crammed all of our stuff into my truck and started on the 3 hour drive!  The sights on the way there are pretty bland.  Not too much to see other than the change of climates by going from the Pacific Ocean to hilly inland to desert to the mountains.  It is true that living in Southern California you can go from Snowboarding to Surfing in one day which is pretty awesome. Big Bear is absolutely gorgeous!  I didn’t know if my old truck was going to get up there since it is older than my oldest child but it was fine, we didn’t get stuck in the snow or on the mountain incline!  This was another intense learning experience as far as driving conditions for me.  My instincts were to just keep the truck in the middle of the road as best as possible.  Gaby’s husband is from the North so he knows how to drive where there is ice and snow probably better than anyone in the truck!  I don’t know why I didn’t have him drive but I hear him tell me from the backseat that I should watch for the ice that builds up on the side of the road which can sometimes be black ice which is bad and not always seen.  WHY did he tell me this while I was on my way up and just past an elevation sign of 4500 feet!?!  Anyways, after some white knuckle driving at 10 and 2 we made it safely up this mountain.  I am becoming jack of all trades with this driving in different climates thing and pretty stoked about it. I wonder if I can use that on my resume or figure out a way to bring it into every important conversation from now on.

We weren’t at the cabin more than 10 minutes before snowballs were being thrown.  All of us were all out there in it and played for quite a while before we wanted to venture out a little bit.  A local bait shop clerk said that there was a hill close enough so the kids could sled for free.  We took them to do that for a little bit and they had a lot of fun!  Anthony even went down the hill!  The Sizzler was decided as the place to eat dinner.  Let me tell you they make it seem pretty glamorous and awesome on Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby but it wasn’t as great as we thought it was going to be.  In Texas steak is generally the size of the plate and at this Sizzler it looked more like a slice of bacon!  No seriously it was and I was like WOW okay and immediately knew we weren’t ever going back and definitely weren’t going to be walking billboards for this restaurant.  The salad and my baked potato were the best part of the dinner!  It was highway robbery for us for that small amount that we ate.

The next morning we got up, ate at IHOP then set off to find a place to fish.  Anthony was hell bent on this one activity so I couldn’t withhold him from doing what he loves and tries to share with the kids.  So we find a good spot on the lake that doesn’t looked completely iced over and pretty away from a lot of tourists like ourselves.  We wouldn’t want the loud noises to scare away the fish!  Well let me tell you that I don’t think noise was an issue that day because any fish in that lake are probably frozen for the winter!  Anthony and Josh had to throw rocks on the surface to break the ice so they could cast their lines in the water.  Even when they did they didn’t always hit the spot where the ice was broken up so the lure would glide along the surface until they were able to drag it to the open spot! Hilarious for us wives!  So they’re ice fishing now! LOL!  These men were serious about this fishing situation apparently!

Gaby and I took pictures of the area, she made a snowman and we both got stuck in the deep snow a few times.  It’s very strange because it all looks the same on the top and when you go to step it can be solid or allow you to sink in deep without notice so after about 5 times of sinking all I could do was laugh.  We only stayed one night but it was a fun and event filled weekend.  It is something that I can say we did on the spare of the moment but it wasn’t hectic or stressful or planned really in any way. It was nice to spend time with family and the kids got to do stuff they’ve never done before.  All we have is each other and Gaby is a big part of me being able to be me here.  She is one of the few Marine wives whom I’ve gained a lot of respect and adoration for these past few years and have come to consider like a sister after all we’ve been through together.  The whole point is enjoy the little things in life and make friends along this journey because they'll always stick with you as best they can.  They are a large part of what keep us motivated to be here and be the best we can be for our families.  Thank goodness for good Marine friends & especially Marine wives like her!