Missing In Action!

I've been gone from blogland for so long that I'm wondering if I still have any friends out there! It's seriously been a whirlwind since June and it doesn't seem to be slowing down, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Life is good!

The last 2 weekends we've gone RVing with some of our camping club friends. Nothing makes me smile more than spending time outdoors in the beautiful fall weather, being with my family, enjoying great food, and making memories with friends that I adore...



This last weekend was spent RVing at my favorite campground, Serrano, located in Big Bear, CA. I love our RV trip to Big Bear each year and they just seem to get better and better each time. A few of us always go on a Saturday hike which is a highlight of the trip for me. This year four of us girls took the chairlift to the top of Snow Summit then hiked the 4 miles back down. This is definitely not a good picture of me, but it's real. Here we are on the chairlift, four wind blown women, all over the age of 50, anxiously awaiting a great afternoon hike together...


For someone who has been a city girl her whole life, I sure have turned into one nature and mountain girl in my old age. Hiking in the mountains is so peaceful and always makes me feel so close to God. Big Bear also has a beautiful lake. Here are a few pictures of the view that I took while hiking...



You know you've had a wonderful time when you feel like crying while saying good-bye. Yep, that would be me!


We leave on Thursday for Arizona, parent's weekend at ASU for more fun and special memories with family and friends...and yes I'm sure, more crying!

Unexpected Surprise(s)

Our drive to Big Bear was uneventful and only took us 4 1/2 hours to reach our destination. This was our unexpected surprise #1. We thought it would take longer.

Big Bear is a beautiful ski resort town in southern California that is also home to a large lake, Big Bear Lake. Being that I grew up in southern California, the OC (Orange County) if you will, I grew up going to Big Bear for church retreats, vacations, and skiing. I was excited to be going back to this very cute, quaint ski town as it had been more than a few years since I'd last been there.

Unexpected surprise #2 happened on Saturday when we got the chance to do this...


We took the chair lift up to the top of the mountain. Snow Summit is one of the ski resorts in Big Bear that is open in the summer too. You can take the chair lift up to check out the unbelievable views, have lunch, or bike down like we saw so many people do. It's crazy if you ask me but I saw first hand that it's really quite popular. Here are a few pictures of the view while we were on the chair lift...



This next picture is of Allen, Kathy, and Mary. Mary is our friend Kathy's younger sister and she has lived in Big Bear, and worked at Snow Summit, for the last 32 years. She started out as a ski instructor when she was in her 20's and now works as the Asst. Director of the ski school. Let me tell you she knows that mountain like the back of her hand which we would soon find out. At our campfire the night before, Mary asked if any of us wanted to go up the mountain on the chair lift, compliments of her and Snow Summit. Without any hesitation, we all jumped at the chance.


Our happy little group at the top of Snow Summit...


Unexpected surprise #3 came when Mary asked us if we wanted to hike back down the mountain with her, instead of taking the chair lift down. She told us it would take about an hour and that it was all down hill. Five of us took her up on the offer.

Not only was it NOT all down hill, and it took us 2 hours, not 1...but oh my goodness it was so worth it! This unexpected surprise was incredible...to think that I hiked 3 1/2 miles down a mountain is amazing. Those opportunities just don't happen for me on a weekly basis if you know what I mean. During the hike I just kept thinking how lucky I was to have this experience and how thankful I was that I was in shape enough to be able to tackle it in the first place.

I'll have to admit, today I'm a little sore...but you should see the smile on my face!