Heather and I were tired of spending the holiday season in sunny Southern California, so we decided to celebrate our anniversary by going to a winter wonderland, or, er, more specifically, Lake Arrowhead!
Not bad, eh? Most people are surprised to learn this place is only a two hour drive from Los Angeles. Amazingly, you can go from swimming in the ocean to throwing a snowball in the amount of time it takes to catch a movie.
All week before we left we talked about how we hoped it would snow while we were there, but it turns out we needn’t have worried. As we drove up the mountain we found ourselves caught in the biggest snowstorm of the year. This was exciting at first, then scary as cars skidded off the road. We skidded too at one point, but thankfully Heather remembered to “turn into the skid.” Phew. I’ll have to buy her Driver’s Ed teacher a beer.
Once at the resort we needed to decompress from the stressful drive. Thankfully our room had this:
Yup. That’s a flat screen TV over the tub. How cool is that? The view out the window wasn’t bad either.
On Friday we decided to go skiing, but upon arriving at the slopes we found that all but one of the lifts had been shut down because of the storm. The lady at the counter tried to discourage us from skiing since only one run was open, but we decided to ski anyway and it ended up being a great decision because we were practically the only skiers there. It was incredible… like we owned our very own mountain!
Beautiful Spohr Mountain!
I’ve been skiing before when it is packed, and it stinks having to wait in an endless line for the lift and trying to navigate your way down a slope clogged with people. This was much cooler… not only did we not have to wait in line, but when Heather ate it coming off the lift there was no one there to laugh at her but me!
The last thing we did before heading home was have breakfast at the Belgian Waffle Works, which is legendary for its heart cloggin’ waffles. We got the Mud Pie Waffle:
The best part about this dish is that, despite all the ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream, it only has 200 calories! (note: it has 200 calories… per bite.)
All in all it was a great way to celebrate our anniversary and experience the snow. We can’t wait to take Annie up there next year so she can experience the snow too. AND the waffles.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks awesome. And only a 2 hour drive, what what!
Happy Anniversary, you two!
If Annie wants to pass next year, sign me up.
Molly´s last [type] ..baby, it’s finally cold outside
Looks like you had a great time! Good for you for taking advantage of the empty slopes. Your story reminded me of my honeymoon when The Mister and I went snorkeling at this amazing reef for an hour or so and didn’t understand why no one else was there. Finally, someone told us we had to leave because that beach is closed on Mondays. Apparently we got in because a maintenance truck driver forgot to close the gate.
Audra´s last [type] ..Being Santa
The only thing that would have been better would be eating the mud pie waffle while IN the bathtub. Looks like an awesome trip!
Happy Anniversary! We celebrate our 15th on the 26th..alas we have no grand plans…unless watching the kids cavort around on new dirt bikes counts…heck I think it does! Anyway…it looks like you guys are having a wonderful time!!! Enjoy!
Shan´s last [type] ..17 Weeks….
WHOA!!! You guys REALLY DO have the Best of both worlds!!! I LOVE me a great Blizzard but I must admit being in extremely cold weather, snow & freezing rain day after day for months on end really does SUCK!!! I really think I’m a Southern California girl at heart!!! I CAN’T WAIT to come out to visit!!!
I’m so HAPPY for you guys!!! Looks like you had a great time!!!
Now….it’s back to Christmas…
Oooh, so pretty! I would have been stoked to see all that snow, though the skidding would be crazy scary. Glad you had a great time — and that waffle looks amazing!
Meg´s last [type] ..Holiday baking: Candy Cane Blossoms
Your trip up there reminded me of my honeymoon to Big Bear. Raining in Pasadena, snowing in Big Bear. Snow coming at window of rental subcompact looked like warp speed in Star Wars. I was sure we were goners. 28 years later, we’re still here! Live in VA now, but miss the “sand in the morning, snow by lunch” part of CA. Happy anniversary!
Think you can FedEx that waffle to me?
Rebecca´s last [type] ..Mater The Greater
Love the snow and OMG! those waffles…shut the front door! Way to top off a great weekend and celebrate you two. Happy Anniversary!
I was there that weekend, too! It was beautiful…We ended up having to buy chains to make it to Big Bear Lake, totally worth it.
Happy Anniversary you too!!
What a way to spend time together. And when I saw those waffles, it was like OMG. I know I would of been sick if I had even ate 1/3 of it. It was huge!! But it looked tasty. 
Hey that’s where I am from!! Happy anniversary, glad you had a good time. Did you guys take the 18 up or the 330? I’d recommend the latter, the curves are sharper but it’s only 14 miles up instead of 25 plus the drive from Running Springs to Lake Arrowhead is so pretty.
Happy anniversary, Heather and Mike! California really is amazing. Glad you guys are safe and had a great time. Now, where exactly is that waffle place?
Glad you guys had a good time. Everything looks wonderful. The waffle has me drooling.
Gabby, the Belgium Waffle House is in the Lake Arrowhead Village, oodles of cute shops there too.
Looks like you guys had a beautiful time. Love going up to Lake Arrowhead Village. Love living in Cali. It’s all a drive away!
What a great way to spend your anniversary!
Kristin´s last [type] ..Sunday Love
I know it’s disgusting but I’ve always wanted a jacuzzi tub with a tv right on the wall beside it. Ahh, heaven!
200 calories (per bite)? Totally worth it!
Jessi @ Quirky Cookery´s last [type] ..Turducken Week – Cherpumple pie cake and vegetarian turducken
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