Big Bear Lake, California

I finally made it to California!  After months and a few headaches of applying for my license to practice physical therapy and landing an assignment, dad and I packed my car and made the long trek out here.  However, somewhere in the middle of nowhere west Texas, I received a phone call cancelling my assignment with no other options offered.  After some yelling, a little bit of crying, and finally talking it over with my dad, it was decided that I would continue my journey out here.  I had already paid for the first month of where I was going to live and had tickets to the Rose Parade and a hotel there that was already paid for as well so why not try to make the best of it.  I will give it a few weeks of working with another company to find a different assignment and if it doesn't work out then I'll make my way back to Florida to regroup.  Until then, I am going to make the most of my time out here and try to see some of what is within a day's drive of the area. 

My first stop on a random Wednesday was Big Bear Lake.  It was an hour and a half drive from where I am staying and was a fun way to spend the afternoon.  They had recently had some fresh snow but the day I went was fairly warm and sunny.  Snow was melting off the buildings but people big and small were still taking advantage of the sledding runs and screams of pleasure and giggles were heard as I walked about town and stopped in different areas. 

I headed straight for town when I arrived at the lake and walked through the shops and art galleries that were filled with work from mostly local artists and was surprised at how affordable a lot of the pieces were.  If I actually owned a wall to hang it on, I would probably have bought a piece.  There were fire pits placed at areas along the street that I could stand next to and warm my hands and face and sledders took a break from nearby activities to warm as well.  There were sculptures and wood carvings of bears around town and I got a kick out of looking at them all.  From fierce bears to smiling happy bears, there were all kinds to look at.

I stopped at Big Bear Lake Mountain Brewery for lunch and got over my fear of eating alone in a restaurant.  The roast beef sandwich and pumpkin beer in a cinnamon and sugar rimmed glass were way better than anything I could have eaten at the fast food restaurants in town.  I have not been a big fan of the pumpkin beer in the past but I really enjoyed this one with the cinnamon rimming the glass.  They are the only brewery in town that makes their beer onsite and the restaurant overlooks all the big brewery equipment.

I wanted to visit the Discovery Center that was suppose to have information and exhibits about the area but unfortunately it was closed.  I would love to visit the town in the summer time when there are many trails that you can hike and get a better view of the lake. I didn't bring my weather proof boots with me on this trip and I am realizing that may have been a mistake.  I always think of the sunny beachy side or the vineyard side when I think of California and often forget they have mountains and snow as well.