Wednesday, August 15, 2012

"Mickey and Me" - Our Big Bear Mini Vacation

Let's go Mom! I'm READY!

Mickey and I just got back from a beautiful 2 day trip to Big Bear Lake. I heard about Pine Knot Guest Ranch through a Living Social deal. They allow dogs so it sounded like the perfect place to take Mickey and Dad for short getaway. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking about the elevation issue, and we realized this wasn't going to work for Dad. It was already paid for so Mickey and I went ahead and made the trip.

The ranch has about 6 or 7 little cabins. Many of them are the same (there are a couple larger ones) with 1 king bed in the front room with a jacuzzi tub, fireplace, flat screen TV & DVD player, another room with a full bed adjacent to a small kitchenette (microwave, toaster, coffee maker, small fridge, dishes and utensils), then the bathroom with a shower. Here's the outside of our cute little place.

Right outside the front door is a nice little grassy area, chairs, and a swing. This view shows about half the yard, looking towards our cabin, and another with Mickey and I hanging out with the llama.

Llama? Yes, Llama. They have a couple of pet llamas you can pet or even take for a walk. Mickey wasn't sure what to think of these "little horsies". Then again, she's never seen a horse either! This is Dolly and Willow. Yes, Dolly Llama :-)



We arrived on Sunday afternoon and walked down to the Village which is just a short 5 minute walk away. It was Aug. 12, 2012, the day that Ryan Hall was competing in the Olympic Marathon, and for those who don't know, Ryan is a home town boy. It was fun to see signs everywhere in support of Ryan's run.



We had dinner at a Saucy Mama's Pizza (yummy!) in the Village. A lot of the restaurants have outdoor patios so they're doggie friendly. After that we went back to the cabin and relaxed. The cabin has 2 skylights including one right over the king bed, so when I shut off the lights I had a magnificent view of the starry sky!

On Monday morning after a quick breakfast at the cabin we attempted to go for a nice walk on the other side of the lake, but we got caught in a thunderstorm. We sat in the car for awhile waiting for it to clear up, but it became apparent that just wasn't going to happen.


Back at the cabin, I took a little video of the storm. This gives you a view of the area in front of the cabin, even a nice porch so we could hang out & not get wet. Note the little escape artist. :-)

After a few hours the sun came out and we went out for another walk. The temps were so refreshing, especially since we left 108 temps back at home! I left the windows open 24/7 and it was cool and refreshing, 50's at night and high 70's during the day. I just loved every minute of it, and especially that I could take Mickey. She was such a good little camper. She loved being a guard dog and watching the people and doggies go by.
Tuesday morning before going home we walked down to the Village again and I had breakfast at the Teddy Bear Restaurant, again sitting outside on the patio with Mickey. If you ever go here, you must try the cinnamon cornbread! YUMM!

I definitely hope to go back sometime!