Summer at Big Bear Lake - Lagonita Lodge ** UPDATED!! **

Big Bear Lake is a downsized version of Lake Tahoe without the gambling. Even though the water level was low, we enjoyed boating, fishing, and just gazing out at the water. The weather was beautiful -- Big Bear averages 330 days of sunshine per year.

Check out the waterslide park - for all day. Also has miniature golf, go karts, and "alpine slide" (ride the chairlift and slide down on plastic sleds - per ride).

We also enjoyed the Moonridge Animal Park, a small zoo dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured wild animals.

** UPDATE ** See the other journal entries for updated info.

Quick Tips:

We flew into the Ontario airport and found that to be much more convenient than LAX. The drive up to the mountains is spectacular so make sure you do it in the daytime.

Stay at a place on the water. Although most resorts are waterfront, there are also some major accomodations that are some distance from the lake. While that may be OK in ski season, you'll be disappointed if you're not on the water in the summertime.

Best Way To Get Around:

Driving is the only way to get around. We got a cheap rate on a mid-size at Dollar Rent A Car and they gave us a PT Cruiser for an extra a day. It was fun to drive although the car labored a bit coming up the mountain.

A lot of the waterfront is private property so when I went walking, it was mostly on side streets where I marveled at the expensive homes and got peeks of the lake between houses.

Non-owner rentals are also available, especially mid-week in the $100 - $200 range. Last minute rentals are frequently available via resortime.com. You can also request rentals via their website lagonitalodge.com.

We were looking for a timeshare week far enough from home to feel like a real vacation, but close enough that we didn't spend all day getting there. For us soggy Seattlites, sunny southern California seemed perfect. We bought a 1 bedroom/2 bath "Lakeview" unit at a timeshare re-sale for a very low price. Maintenance fees are a very reasonable $400.

The lodge is rated as a Gold Crown and while I wouldn't put it on the same level as the Gold Crown resorts in Hawaii, it was quite enjoyable.

Our room was average size with a bedroom, living area, a kitchen area in-between, and two bathrooms. The bathrooms were nice but quite small containing just the toilet and tub/shower. The single sink/vanities were in the bedroom and living area which depending on your attitude can be an advantage or annoyance. And if you're tall, watch your noggin getting in the shower - it was a low bridge for me and I'm only 5'9". The kitchen featured a full size fridge, microwave, and sink with disposal. The stove and dishwasher were mini-sized. There's not much storage and most of the utensils were in a cabinet in the living area - a minor annoyance but not a big deal. The queen size bed was comfortable and there were two nice closets in the bedroom as well as a goodsized dresser and two nightstands. Our 12 year old son said the hide a bed in the living room was OK, but I'd guess it would not be the greatest for adults. A small round table and 4 chairs are in the living area and both the bedroom and lving area also have a comfortable chair.

There's no air conditioning, but the ceiling fan in the living area and a provided floor fan for the bedroom kept things comfortable. There's a gas fireplace in the living area but we didn't use it. The TV in the bedroom was nice but the one in the living room was too small and was mounted over the fireplace. Most units have a larger TV in a cabinet in the living area. Channel selection is excellent with 4(!) HBO channels and Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon network for the kids.

Off the living area is either a patio or deck. It's not huge, but big enough for 4 chairs and a small table. We borrowed a lounge chair from the sun deck and kept that on the patio as well.

The furnishings, decor, and carpet were all in good shape and fairly new. One of the shower doors was off the track and the dishwasher was broken but the maintenance staff fixed both immediately when we contacted them.

See part 2 for activites and amenities.

While the room (Part 1) itself was comfortable, it's the resort amenities and activities that are probably more reason for the Lagonita's Gold Crown rating.

The activites were great! There were activities every day that were either free or very reasonably priced. For food activities, we took advantage of the welcome party mentioned in Part 1, a barbeque (hamburgers and hot dogs), pancake breakfast, and ice cream social. Our son had a great time at the ping ping and pool tournaments and bingo. He won the junior ping pong tournament and even got a small trophy -- for him, it was the highlight of the trip! He also won 5 "Lagonita Dollars" playing bingo. There are also canoe, bike, and pontoon boat tours. We did the 90 minute pontoon boat tour for $8 which was cheaper than the other boat tours in town.

The swimming pool is indoors and average sized. They still use the old style chlorine rather than the more modern chemicals so if you're sensitive to chlorine (as our son is), be forewarned. For most folks, it's fine. The pool is open to 11 pm and although kids are supposed to clear out at 9 pm, that rule was largely ignored and nobody seemed to mind. There is a spa next to the pool. There is another "adults-only" spa on the sun-deck if you need to get away from the kids.

There are family and adult rec rooms. The family rec room has 2 pool tables, a foosball table, a ping-pong table, several tables and chairs and a big-screen TV. Our son spent a lot of time here with the other kids he met. There is also a smaller adult rec room with a big screen TV, pool table, and lending library.

Besides the spa, the sun-deck has lounge chairs and picnic tables and is where the pancake breakfast and BBQ were served.

The boat dock has slips for your boat if you bring it. They also have jet-skis, aluminum fishing boats, and pontoon boats to rent. We rented an aluminum boat for 2 hours and $10/hour. We wound up getting stranded in a cove when the motor flooded and wouldn't restart. We tried another boat with similar problems. So instead for our $20, they let us take a pontoon boat out for an hour, which normally costs $38/hour. That was a lot of fun although it was a bit of a challenge docking it - they're not very maneuverable!

The grounds are beautifully maintained and have nice walkways, trees, flowers, and the biggest squirrels I've ever seen! There is also a small playground for the little ones.

See Part 3 for some logistics info.

See the diagram below for the various types of rooms and locations. You buy a specific type and then get placed in whatever one is available. We were in "Lakeview" 102 which was one of the furthest from the lake and a little bit different layout than some of the other Lakeview units but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

One thing to be aware of is that for timeshare guests, they only do check-ins/check-outs on Friday if you are staying for a week. As a result, Fridays are pretty hectic. Check-in time is 5 pm but our room wasn't ready until about 6:30. They gave us a day-use key so we could use the pool and rec room. We used the time to check out the nice grounds and took advantage of the welcome party with great snacks and free beer, wine, and soft drinks. For check-out, they provide you with a bill on Thursday and as long as you take care of it before 11pm that night, you don't have to contend with the hordes trying to make the 10am Friday checkout deadline the next morning.

Not much has changed at Lagonita Lodge since our visit last year. We were once again in a "Lakeview" unit which is a one-bedroom/two bath unit. This one (unit #111) was a little closer to the water than the one we had last year, and the room arrangement was a somewhat different. Instead of a large closet in the bedroom there was an armoire for hanging clothes, but the room felt a bit more spacious. Everything else in the unit was either new or in excellent shape EXCEPT for the sofa-bed in the living area. The upholstery on one arm was ripped and worn (probably from opening and closing the bed) and the mattress was decidely thin. These need to be improved (which we always put on the comment card).

Activities are still great and varied for kids and adults. The karaoke contestants were brutal--a winner was difficult to determine. Our son was pretty disappointed with the kids pool 8-ball tournament--he had a five ball lead and then scratched the 8-ball. Bummer...

One new activity this year at Lagonita is parasailing, which is offered on Mondays for $35/person, which is $10/person less than if you go directly to the marina that the parasailing company runs out of. It's also a lot cheaper that anything we've ever seen in Hawaii. My wife did it and had a blast (I would've done it, too, but someone had to be the photographer, plus I was chicken). You don't even get wet except when they go just slow enough for you to dip your toes in the water. You ascend right off the boat and then get reeled in right back on to the boat. Each person got a good five minute ride and went way up there!

One other new thing was the ominous signs displayed everywhere warning you how you are being exposed to cancer causing materials (see photo). Apparently these signs are now required by California law. Once it was explained that the potential chemicals of death were fireplace exhaust and smoke from barbecues, we felt a little better. It was a little disconcerting to see the sign right outside our door. "Welcome to Lagonita--hope you don't get cancer!"

We also experienced rain for the first time. There were threats of thunderstorms on three different afternoons but only once did it actually rain and did it ever! It poured buckets (about an inch and a half) in an hour but then that was it.

Best Things Nearby:
The lodge is right on the lake and has its own dock. It's just a short drive to "The Village."

Best Things About the Resort:
Right on the water, nice rooms, and lots of activities. Very family oriented.

Resort Experience:
We were looking for a timeshare week far enough from home to feel like a real vacation, but close enough that we didn't spend all day getting there. For us soggy Seattlites, sunny southern California seemed perfect. We bought a 1 bedroom/2 bath "Lakeview" unit at a timeshare re-sale for a very low price. Maintenance fees are a very reasonable $400.

The lodge is rated as a Gold Crown and while I wouldn't put it on the same level as the Gold Crown resorts in Hawaii, it was quite enjoyable.

Our room was average size with a bedroom, living area, a kitchen area in-between, and two bathrooms. The bathrooms were nice but quite small containing just the toilet and tub/shower. The single sink/vanities were in the bedroom and living area which, depending on your attitude, can be an advantage or annoyance. And if you're tall, watch your noggin getting in the shower - it was a low bridge for me and I'm only 5'9". The kitchen featured a full size fridge, microwave, and sink with disposal. The stove and dishwasher were mini-sized. There's not much storage and most of the utensils were in a cabinet in the living area - a minor annoyance but not a big deal. The queen size bed was comfortable and there were two nice closets in the bedroom as well as a goodsized dresser and two nightstands. Our 12 year old son said the hide a bed in the living room was OK, but I'd guess it would not be the greatest for adults. A small round table and 4 chairs are in the living area and both the bedroom and living area also have a comfortable chair.

There's no air conditioning, but the ceiling fan in the living area and a provided floor fan for the bedroom kept things comfortable. There's a gas fireplace in the living area but we didn't use it. The TV in the bedroom was nice but the one in the living room was too small and was mounted over the fireplace. Most units have a larger TV in a cabinet in the living area. Channel selection is excellent with 4(!) HBO channels and Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon network for the kids.

Off the living area is either a patio or deck. It's not huge, but big enough for 4 chairs and a small table. We borrowed a lounge chair from the sun deck and kept that on the patio as well.

The furnishings, decor, and carpet were all in good shape and fairly new. One of the shower doors was off the track and the dishwasher was broken but the maintenance staff fixed both immediately when we contacted them.

See the diagram below for the various types of rooms and locations. You buy a specific type and then get placed in whatever one is available. We were in "Lakeview" 102 which was one of the furthest from the lake and a little bit different layout than some of the other Lakeview units but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

One thing to be aware of is that for timeshare guests, they only do check-ins/check-outs on Friday if you are staying for a week. As a result, Fridays are pretty hectic. Check-in time is 5 pm but our room wasn't ready until about 6:30. They gave us a day-use key so we could use the pool and rec room. We used the time to check out the nice grounds and took advantage of the welcome party with great snacks and free beer, wine, and soft drinks. For check-out, they provide you with a bill on Thursday and as long as you take care of it before 11pm that night, you don't have to contend with the hordes trying to make the 10am Friday checkout deadline the next morning.

See part 2 for activites and amenities.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Best Things Nearby:
The lodge is right on the lake and has its own dock. It's just a short drive to "The Village."

Best Things About the Resort:
Right on the water, nice rooms, and lots of activities. Very family oriented.

Resort Experience:
While the room (Part 1) itself was comfortable, it's the resort amenities and activities that are probably more reason for the Lagonita's Gold Crown rating.

The activites were great! There was something going on every day that was either free or very reasonably priced. For food activities, we took advantage of the welcome party mentioned in Part 1, a barbeque (hamburgers and hot dogs), pancake breakfast, and ice cream social. Our son had a great time at the ping ping and pool tournaments and bingo. He won the junior ping pong tournament and even got a small trophy -- for him, it was the highlight of the trip! He also won 5 "Lagonita Dollars" playing bingo. There are also canoe, bike, and pontoon boat tours. We did the 90 minute pontoon boat tour for $8 which was cheaper than the other boat tours in town.

The swimming pool is indoors and average sized. They still use the old style chlorine rather than the more modern chemicals so if you're sensitive to chlorine (as our son is), be forewarned. For most folks, it's fine. The pool is open to 11 pm and although kids are supposed to clear out at 9 pm, that rule was largely ignored and nobody seemed to mind. There is a spa next to the pool. There is another "adults-only" spa on the sun-deck if you need to get away from the kids.

There are family and adult rec rooms. The family rec room has 2 pool tables, a foosball table, a ping-pong table, several tables and chairs and a big-screen TV. Our son spent a lot of time here with the other kids he met. There is also a smaller adult rec room with a big screen TV, pool table, and lending library.

Besides the spa, the sun-deck has lounge chairs and picnic tables and is where the pancake breakfast and BBQ were served.

The boat dock has slips for your boat if you bring it. They also have jet-skis, aluminum fishing boats, and pontoon boats to rent. We rented an aluminum boat for 2 hours at $10/hour. We wound up getting stranded in a cove when the motor flooded and wouldn't restart. We tried another boat with similar problems. So instead for our $20, they let us take a pontoon boat out for an hour, which normally costs $38/hour. That was a lot of fun although it was a bit of a challenge docking it - they're not very maneuverable!

The grounds are beautifully maintained and have nice walkways, trees, flowers, and the biggest squirrels I've ever seen! There is also a small playground for the little ones.

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Lagonita Lodge offers a 90 minute pontoon boat tour for $8 for adults. Aaron, our tour guide, took us on a great tour of the lake and showed us the weekend homes of the rich and famous. We saw the homes of Kevin Costner, Lana Turner, Mel Blanc, Goldie Hawn, Britney Spears, Shirley Jones, and Chuck Barris (of Gong Show fame). Aaron also pointed out homes used in the filming of Dr. Doolittle (the one with Eddie Murphy) and War Games. We also saw the remnants of the concrete lab structure used in the 1931 Frankenstein movie!

Apparently, the most desirable job for locals is housesitter for the rich and famous. Aaron regaled us with all sorts of stories including a smashed Kirstie Allie falling down the stairs at a local bar and Ron Howard bragging at a marina about all the fish he caught.

We also got a kick out of the floating outhouses called the "SS Relief"!

You can take tours at the marinas on a phony paddle wheeler (unlike the boats on Lake Tahoe, the paddle wheels are just for show) or a replica pirate ship. I doubt you get as interesting a tour as we got!

** UPDATE! ** We went on a boat tour on the Big Bear Queen (see separate journal entry) and our guide confirmed several of the star's homes but also said the houses that had been pointed out to us previously as belonging to Britney Spears and Goldie Hawn in fact belonged to non-celebrities.

For a good view of Big Bear Lake, take the Sky Chair up to an elevation of 8000 feet at the top of the Snow Summit ski area. Roundtrip cost is $10 for adults and $5 for kids, a bit less if you hike back down (pretty hot and dusty), or a bit more if you haul your mountain bike up and bike down. Be aware that this is an open quad chair ski lift as opposed to the enclosed gondolas at Whistler and Lake Tahoe.

On the way up, you have your back to the lake so the best views are on the way back down. At the top, there are some great views, but there is only a fairly small area for hiking (without going back down the mountain). The View Haus BBQ, one of the two eating areas during ski season, is open from 10am-3pm and has drinks, burgers, and snacks. The Sky Chair is open every day during the summer until 4 or 5pm, depending on the day of the week.

There were two interesting features of the ride. One was the "trash targets" - trash cans on the ground that invite you to try your luck at flinging your pop bottle from high above and getting it in the receptacle. We just missed on our attempts, as did several others. Presumably someone comes along and picks up all the errant shots. It must work because we didn't see any litter anywhere else. The other was the "underwear tree". As we ascended the mountain we noticed a tree ahead that had a bunch of stuff hanging in it. As we got closer we noticed it was full of bras and panties! It's not clear whether people bring extras or somehow get them off, which must be pretty interesting on an open ski chair.

The ski area at the bottom of the lift is abandoned in the summertime, which is too bad. It's a nice space and could potentially be a tourist focal point for the village, with a little Whistler-like planning.

Lagonita Lodge runs pontoon boat tours at low prices a couple times a week. The day we had planned to go, the boat tours were canceled due to the threat of lightning and thunderstorms. So the next day, we went down to the nearby Big Bear Marina and took a lake tour on the ersatz paddle boat, the Big Bear Queen. They run tours several times during the day, depending on the number of folks signed up, and only guarantee a 2pm sailing, which is the one we went on. Prices are a very reasonable: $12 for adults, $10 for kids 3-12, free for under 3.

The 90 minute narrated tour takes you around the entire circumference of the lake. Our guide provided us with a mixture of historical lore, celebrity home info, bird watching, advertising of local restaurants and lodging, and humor. Even though we had been on a boat tour the previous summer, it was still fun to get out on the water and see the sights.

Don't forget to bring a jacket, even in the middle of summer. It can get pretty windy on the upper deck, especially when the boat gets to the end of the lake closer to the dam.

The Big Bear Marina also offers boat rentals at what seem to me to be fairly steep prices, although they are comparable to all the other marinas in the area. It's beyond me how you can rent a $25,000 car for 29 bucks a day, but a 14 ft aluminum boat with an 8 hp outboard costs $45 for 2 hours!

My impression is that Big Bear is not really known for fine dining, so we didn't have great expectations. Expect mostly decent family dining and you won't be disappointed. Here's a rundown of the places we went to. Two other places that seemed popular that we didn't go to were The Blue Whale and The Captain's Anchorage. We also noticed that they roll up the sidewalks pretty early in Big Bear, especially mid-week, so be aware if you're looking for a late meal.

Fast food -- They have it all: McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Jack In The Box, and KFC. The McDonald's has a big play place if the kids need some exercise.

Cowboy Express -- Now I normally stay away from any restaurant with the word "Cowboy" in it, but this place was just down the road from Lagonita and seemed pretty popular. In fact, it was one of the few places still hopping after 8 pm. We even had a 20 minute wait for a table on a weeknight at 8 pm. There's also a lively bar. (A little too lively actually. We were told we could wait in there with our son. Mom hustled him out before he could see the naked ladies on the video poker game - I dawdled a bit.) The steaks were very good but our son was disappointed with his kid's shrimp plate. Although good sized and tasty, there were only 3 shrimp. We ended the meal with the "World's Tiniest Sundae" - vanilla ice cream in a tall shot glass, topped with chocolate or caramel sauce for 99 cents. Reasonably priced and good service.

Sizzler -- When you want to really strap on the feedbag, there's Sizzler. Now, there are good Sizzlers and there are bad Sizzlers, but this was a good one. The steak was excellent, the salad bar fresh, the kid's fried shrimp was plentiful, and the service friendly. This Sizzler looked fairly new and was nicely decorated with historic Big Bear photos. But they close the doors at 8 pm! We got there at 7:45 and were warned that we only had about a half hour before they started dismantling the salad bar. We did indeed close the place down but no one rushed us out.

Sonora Cantina -- We were going to stop at the Taco Bell next door for a quick lunch, but when we saw the 99 cent taco sign at the Sonora, we decided to go here instead. Excellent, cheap Mexican food. I had the lunch special of chicken burrito, rice and beans for $4.69. It was excellent and huge -- I needed a take-home box. Although cheaper at lunch, it was pretty warm inside, so you might be more comfortable at night for dinner on their outdoor patio.

Village Pizza -- Average pizza in a comfortable building in the village. Salads and pasta, too. Nothing special but will satisfy a pizza craving.

** UPDATE!! ** We finally made it to Captain's Anchorage and it was excellent. From the outside it looks like a large building, but inside it only has eight tables in the dining area on one side of the building. There's a bar of equal size on the other side. The restaurant was originally started in 1947 as Andy Devine's (the hoarse-voiced actor of many a western and Disney program) Roadhouse. We went on Monday night which was Prime Rib night (a good sized serving for $15.95). My wife had the prime rib, I had fresh swordfish grilled simply, and our son had teriyaki chicken which he pronounced as the best he ever had. Portions were good sized and came with a variety of excellent homemade bread and rolls and a salad/soup bar. Good desserts too (we had an excellent cheesecake), a varied wine selection, moderate prices, and good service. Due to small size of the dining room, reservations are essential.

We also went back to the Sizzler. It's pretty popular and one reason is that it still looks new. We've been in some Sizzlers that look pretty beat but this one is well cared for, has good service, and the food is plentiful and fresh. We watched in fascination as a rather large woman at a nearby table sent her steak and shrimp combo back (after she had eaten all the shrimp and half the steak) saying that the steak was improperly cooked. They brought her a second complete steak and shrimp combo. She ate all of the shrimp and most of the steak and then sent that one back, too. They then brought her a THIRD complete steak and shrimp combo which she promptly ate in its entirety! Unbelievable!

Although we didn't go back, we noted that the Cowboy Express Steakhouse was packed every night.