Once we got on the correct road, we headed to Big Bear!

A beautiful drive through winding mountain passes. We stopped for breakfast at this great local diner.

Local places are the best...greasy eggs and potatoes cooked right in front of us as we sat at the counter. Awesome coffee served in a eclectic mix of local business coffee cups. Screw Citibank..

And a local showing off the latest fall fashions in the parking lot...

No clue what the name of the town was, but we had a lot of excitement before even getting to Big Bear! We finally hit Big Bear early on Sunday, before most of the stores were open. We had not made any activity plans, so naturally, we headed to the marina. The marina was packed and we lucked out by getting the last available jet ski rental.

A tip, if you rent anything at the marina, make sure to change into your bathing suit prior to arriving. They only have a porta-potty to change in. It was utterly disgusting. Another tip, book in advance, we got lucky, but the rentals book up early.

It was a hot morning, but the lake water was ice cold. My toes were frozen within the first five minutes. We rented for hour, one jet ski with Dan driving and that was plenty. A lot of fun and the choppy water made for lots of air time! It's a fun and beautiful way to see the lake. We rode out and got a closer look at some of the big homes. In the past, I've only been to Big Bear in the winter for skiing, so it was nice to visit when summer activities are going on. The water was so cold, that I can't imagine the window for water activities is very wide. I am really glad that we didn't tip over!

The town in Big Bear is really cute.

A little weird to visit in the summer, as all of the buildings make me thing of winter and Christmas time. Where did the snow on the roofs go?

We got very excited when we saw the arcade, only to discover that is was closed. A bit silly though, as we have an arcade machine in our living room! Still, it's sad when any arcade closes.

After walking through the shops, we had lunch before heading home. We had beer and burgers at the very busy Trolls Restaurant.

We sat at the bar and behind the bar was a very creepy troll mask. I was tempted, but did ask, who wheres the scary mask???

I thought the sign in the restroom was amusing. Also a little grossed out that they need to post a reminder...

A great mini trip to celebrate Dan's birthday!