One Last Day in the C and A

Our final full day in CA dawned sunny and got warm fast. I took the kids on the path through the complex to the pool, which looked considerably more inviting than on Sunday.

The temperature reached 83 while we swam in the (we think) heated pool and enjoyed the sun.

After a quick lunch we all got in the car and headed to the private beach we have access to as part of the Chalet rental. It's on the opposite side of the lake and it took about 10 minutes to drive there. Summer homes are a little farther apart and higher up the mountainside on the north side. We meandered through some of the roads that crisscross through the area, and eventually came upon the Tavern Bay Beach Club, which like everything else here is Private and only accessible by property owners and their tenants (like us!). It's by a marina,

and sits next door to a huge Conference Center property owned by UCLA, where serious academic types come to confer with each other and stay in the fancy digs. There was a summer camp group on the dock opposite the diminished beach area.

Sam swam a little bit and then S and S enjoyed the unused dock more than the beach, and bounced around on it in the rough waves enjoying the view.

Even on a sunny day, the clouds creep in over the mountain ridge. It looks like fog but its not.

I got a shot of a California Condor above the CA flag (it's right between the flag and the tree above the building). Click the picture to zoom in.

The lake, mountains, and docks look a lot like the Adirondacks and made me a little homesick for Lake George.

On the way back we stopped by Lake Arrowhead Village and enjoyed the sights, including the Fun House

the go-karts,

 video here

some funny colored squirrels,

and the views of the Lake.

Some tourists were trying to learn to water ski and I was reminded of my summers in the Adirondacks. Doesn't seem like 30 years ago I was driving that boat.

We headed back to the Chalet and got cleaned up for dinner. As soon as we drove a little ways up the mountainside outside Arrowhead, we were immediately shrouded by the clouds descending with the cooler evening air, looking like fog on the highway.

Visibility dropped to about 10 feet. Finally we parked across from the "Original Cottage" restaurant in Rimforest CA.

There was a wait for a table (always a good sign) and we found out why after we got our food. I found the restaurant online with tons of positive reviews, and they were right.

We got pasta with clam sauce (Sam and I), pasta with spring vegetable sauce (Amy and Sarah), a small NY style pizza, salad, French Onion soup and a homemade cannoli for dessert. Every bite was delicious, and the meal cost less than any dinner we've had in CA. The line of mostly locals was out the door when we left. There's a Help Wanted sign up if anyone is looking to relocate.

Tomorrow we pack and head back to LA, see a few sights, and get ready to return home. Sad to say goodbye, but we have a lot to look back on. One last post tomorrow from the plane. Please respond!