I started this post a week ago but had to hit save and haven't had a chance to finish it til now. I'm surprised I have a few minutes now to finish it. hehehe
Okay so I want to start getting pictures on the blog for my readers so that you can all catch up with us. I've been so bad over the past 1 1/2 years and I am trying to make up for it now.
Our son Liam was born on December 29, 2009. My birthday is January 19th and my wonderful husband Craig wanted to do something fun for my birthday and also to celebrate our newest little one, Liam who was 3 weeks old. So, he came up with the idea to go to this bed and breakfast up in mountains near our home. It's the same mountain as Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead but much closer to the bottom. I believe the town is Valley of Enchantment. Well, the bed and breakfast is called "The Storybook Inn". We had gone there several times before we had kids and had the fondest memories. Unfortunately, it's now under new ownership and although they kept the same theme they didn't manage it the same and needless to say we had a less then stellar experience this time around.
We knew it was going to snow in the mountains and that was just fine, however, we had no idea that our little weekend trip to experience some snow fun was going to turn into one of the worst experiences of our lives. Okay, now, we can laugh about it and it makes for great stories but, at the time, it was horrible. We arrived at the Inn just as the SNOW STORM OF THE YEAR blew in. It literally began snowing as we pulled into the driveway. We were able to get into the Inn before it got too crazy though which was a relief.
This is what it looked like as soon as we pulled up at the Inn. It was raining while we drove up there and as soon as we pulled in the STORM began!
Man, I wish I could post pictures of the inside. I know I took more pictures of it but I can't find them. We got a new laptop and I'm not sure if Craig got all of the pictures transfered to this one yet. Anyways, as soon as we got there we got checked in. The Inn has a restaurant and we planned on eating there during our stay but, as soon as we checked in, they told us that they didn't open restaurant during the week, only on Saturday and Sunday nights. So, we had to do something for dinner but the storm had really started raging and we couldn't leave. We called Domino's Pizza and miraculously, they were delivering. Of course by the time they got there the pizza wasn't hot anymore but we were so hungry it didn't matter.
That night as the storm raged on, the electricity went out. They didn't have a gas heater everything was electric in that place!! We had a little electric space heater in our room but of course that stopped working during the night and we were FREEZING by the time we got up in the morning. Thankfully the owner of the Inn was still able to serve us breakfast and we got something warm in our bellies.
The above pictures show the outside from our window during the storm.
After the storm was over the view was absolutely BREATHTAKING!! I began to remember why I loved that place. I do not like the snow. I'm not a person who enjoys the cold at all!! It's fun to look at but, that's it. I can enjoy the snow IF the wind isn't blowing and the sun is out. LOL Although we had no electricity and it was still freezing in the Inn, it was gorgeous outside!!
The gorgeous pictures were all taken from our bedroom window after the storm the next morning. Absolutely Awesome!!
Malorie and daddy had lots of fun playing outside. They went sledding and built a snowman. Liam and I even went outside for a bit to enjoy the snow. But, it was too cold for me so we only stayed for a little bit. As you will see in the pictures, we had about 5 foot of snow fall that night. Our car was completely buried. The owner of the Inn kept reassuring us that the electricity was going to be restored quickly but that never happened. The 2nd night we were there they didn't open the kitchen because their chef was snowed in and couldn't make it. So they made us some concoction of macaroni and cheese and beefaroni. It wasn't my favorite meal but we were so hungry that it actually tasted good. That night we were freezing again and Liam and I just cuddled under the covers all night. The next day was the same. We just played in the snow and hung out with the other people stuck at the Inn with us. Although we were able to dig our car out we decided to just go to the local liquor store and get some snacks and stick it out one more night. The owners kept telling us the electricity was going to be back on ANY MINUTE NOW and so we figured we would just try to enjoy the rest of our stay. The inn had this big grand piano and Malorie had a blast playing with that. I had no idea she even knew what to do with a piano. At the time she was only 21 months old but she sat at that piano like she'd been playing for years. It was so cute. That night the chef made an apperance. They made us spaghetti with meatballs and garlic toast. It was super yummy. After dinner we hung out in the main living room with the other guests by the fire place and just talked. It was fun meeting lots of different people. The electricity still didn't work and it was miserably cold but, the company was nice and that helped the situation.
So, after another miserable nights sleep in the cold, we packed up our stuff early that next morning and left after breakfast. It was nice to be able to get away. We stopped in at Craigs parents house in Fontana to pick up our dog Dexter since they were dogsitting for us and then headed home. I was the one driving since Craig was too exhausted. I was so tired as well but figured I would just stay in the slow lane the whole way home and just cruise. Well, of course the nightmare weekend couldn't end there...as we were driving on the 10fwy East almost to the 215fwy South, I hit the BIGGEST POTHOLE I have ever seen!! I blew out both passenger side tires in the process!! OMG was Craig mad!! LOL We don't have AAA but thankfully, my parents do. I was able to call my mom who called us a tow truck. We had to wait there for my mom to get there to show the tow truck guy her AAA card. Well, the tow truck was there in about 15 minutes but of course my mom had to get lost even though we told her EXACTLY where we were and it took her over an hour to get there. She said she could see us from the other side of the fwy but just couldn't figure out how to get over to us. UGH!! So after about an hour and a half sitting on the side of the fwy in the freezing cold we made it back home. With everyone exhausted, we unloaded the car and got to bed.
So, after another miserable nights sleep in the cold, we packed up our stuff early that next morning and left after breakfast. It was nice to be able to get away. We stopped in at Craigs parents house in Fontana to pick up our dog Dexter since they were dogsitting for us and then headed home. I was the one driving since Craig was too exhausted. I was so tired as well but figured I would just stay in the slow lane the whole way home and just cruise. Well, of course the nightmare weekend couldn't end there...as we were driving on the 10fwy East almost to the 215fwy South, I hit the BIGGEST POTHOLE I have ever seen!! I blew out both passenger side tires in the process!! OMG was Craig mad!! LOL We don't have AAA but thankfully, my parents do. I was able to call my mom who called us a tow truck. We had to wait there for my mom to get there to show the tow truck guy her AAA card. Well, the tow truck was there in about 15 minutes but of course my mom had to get lost even though we told her EXACTLY where we were and it took her over an hour to get there. She said she could see us from the other side of the fwy but just couldn't figure out how to get over to us. UGH!! So after about an hour and a half sitting on the side of the fwy in the freezing cold we made it back home. With everyone exhausted, we unloaded the car and got to bed.
I can look back on it now and laugh but at the time, it was one of the worst weekends I have ever had. LOL
See you soon, Good Bye!
