Lake Arrowhead

Lisa is off and away from Seattle for a whole month!  She left with Kirsten, Alyssa, and Bryce on July 25, to drive down the Oregon Coast, camp out in the Redwoods, and meet me at Ontario airport, near San Bernardino, California, on July 27.  Together we drove up the Rim of the World Highway into the San Bernardino Mountains, east of Los Angeles, to Lake Arrowhead.  The world drops off 5000 feet on the shoulder of the road and, on a clear day, you can see all the way to the Pacific Ocean. 

Lisa and I had a condo at Lake Arrowhead, a resort which had its heyday in the 1920s through 1960s, when movie stars like Frank Sinatra owned homes along the lake.  Friday night, we stashed our bags in the condo and headed for the weekly Farmer's Market.  We bought fresh tamales at the Texamerica stall and ate them while watching a free concert by an Irish rock band!

Saturday was packed full.  We started the day with artichoke bagels, blueberry muffins, and cinnamon rolls at Sweets'n'Stuff, a shop owned by a couple we met at the Farmer's Market.

We then wandered the waterfront, enjoying a display of antique cars, with their colorful human custodians, and watching Alyssa and Bryce feed the ducks.  Keeping Alyssa and Bryce occupied with 50 cent packets of duck food was one of the trip's best bargains!

Lisa and I explored an art coop, where we discovered rustic picture frames made from scrub oak that would be perfect at the cabin.  The clerk called the artist, Graeme, who agreed to scrounge some vacant lots for more wood and deliver us a complete set of frames on Monday.   Outside the coop, Lisa welcomed her chance to become her namesake, Mona Lisa.

The highlight of our trip to Lake Arrowhead was our visit to Wild Haven, a wildlife sanctuary.  All the animals in the sanctuary had been rescued in the San Bernardino Mountains, but could not be returned to the wild.  "Because this is a sanctuary, rather than a zoo, we can let you get closer to the animals," the director said.  We didn't understand that distinction, but we did get very, very close to the animals.  "I nearly touched the bear's nose," Bryce said.  The first animals we saw were the falcons and owls, which a trainer brought with her among the guests.

We watched a lynx leap back and forth across his cage, we watched raccoons climb a fence with their delicate, human-looking hands, and we watched a coyote prowl just a few feet from us, on his leash.

The highlight was sitting just a foot from the wire fence of the bear enclosure, as two black bears stood on their hind legs and splashed in a big pool inside, playing with plastic balls.  The trainer explained, "I've been with these bears since they were little cubs."

We relaxed on an Arrowqueen boat trip around the lake.  The coast line stretches for 14 miles.  Speedboats dashed by us and sailboats floated past.  The skipper pointed out the homes of celebrities.  My cousin, Lynn Stratford, lived at Lake Arrowhead in the 1970s and 80s, building a home which he sold to Priscilla Presley.  The skipper confirmed that home contained 20,000 square feet!

The skipper also let Alyssa pilot the ship.  He hastily took back the wheel when he passed the lake patrol!

Supper was lobster at the annual Lobsterfest at Bluejay, a town near Lake Arrowhead.  Alyssa and Bryce preferred McDonalds, so Lisa and I had three whole lobsters to share!  Kirsten ate the "turf" of our "surf and turf."

We finished the evening with another concert.