The Coast News, June 14, 2013

B12 THE COAST NEWS
JUNE 14, 2013
More summertime
fun in Big Bear
Holloway’s Marina & RV Park on Big Bear Lake offers a variety of boats with which to explore the lake and surrounding shoreline. Rental possibilities
include personal watercraft, kayaks, fishing boats and pontoon boats. The pirate ship, the Time Bandit, is a 1/3rd scale replica of a Spanish
Galleon and was used in the film of the same name. Tours of the lake on the Time Bandit are offered almost daily. Photo by Jerry Ondash
E’LOUISE
ONDASH
Hit the Road
Holloway’s Marina on
Big Bear Lake hasn’t even
opened for kayaking yet —
the water is too cold, according
to the manager — but she
is kind enough to bend the
rules for us. She sets a couple
of brightly colored kayaks in
the water and we climb in —
carefully. I check; yes, the
water is cold, but on this
cloudless morning, the lake
and surrounding countryside
look as if they are in high-def
— perfect for an hour’s pad-
dle.
It’s hard to imagine that
this manmade lake was once
a valley. Big Bear Lake was
created when a damn was
built in the late 1880s. It took
a while, but the valley eventually
filled with snow runoff,
which the lake depends
on even today.
“The lake was considered
one of the great wonders
of the world back then,” Jim
Lyon, a local historian and
search-and-rescue leader, told
us earlier.
With Big Bear’s ski
slopes now barren and daily
temperatures rising (at 6,750
feet, it rarely gets over 80
degrees here), area residents
and businesses are gearing
up for spring, summer and
fall. The activities list is near-
Mary
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SVP & Manager
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760.479.4344
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ly endless and there’s something
for everyone, regardless
of age or interest.
Our serene hour on the
lake brings us across the path
some coots, black-feathered,
yellow-beaked birds that bob
on the water. They probably
take for granted the beautiful
360-degree view, but we
don’t. The mountain peaks
around us, still frosted with
snow, look like a painting. A
bit later, we come across
some “fishermen” with
wicked looking crossbows
who are hunting for the lake’s
biggest pests — carp. It’s
open season on these invasive
fish and these guys are on the
hunt.
Of a bit different temperament
is Stan Miller,
owner of the Knickerbocker
SOLANA
BEACH
677 San Rodolfo
Drive
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Mansion. A sound engineer
for singer Neil Diamond (and
other big names) for 45 years
(he’s still at it), Miller arrived
in Big Bear 14 years ago to
find the historic property in
foreclosure.
“It had sat empty for
years,” he explains. “I felt I
had to save it. It would’ve
been bulldozed. We don’t
have much history in this
country compared to Europe.
We need to preserve what we
have.”
The mansion was built
by the first damkeeper,
William Knickerbocker, a
woodsman who arrived in the
region in 1901 to mine for
gold. Tales about “Knick”
rival those of Paul Bunyan.
He eventually married, had
five children and built the
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OCEANSIDE
3764 Mission Ave.
We’re in the Stater
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If it’s action adventure you want,
Action Aqua Flight at Big Bear
Marina offers flyboarding, which
allows riders to soar above the
water. Promoters say that it is easier
to fly than comparable jet pack
rides. An industrial-type hose connects
the flyboard to a
Waverunner, which creates the
pressure. Flyers can reach up to
15 feet. The instructor controls the
height, and the flyer controls the
direction. Photo courtesy of Action
Aqua Flight
mansion from logs he felled
himself.
Miller made some
expensive additions and modifications
to transform the
4,500-squaqre-foot log home
into a welcoming bed and
breakfast. We spent two
nights in the spacious-butcozy
third-floor “penthouse,”
complete with a wood-burning
stove. It was the perfect
location to witness a spectacular
thunder and lightning
storm that produced more
than an inch of hail on our
large deck. All signs of the
storm had disappeared by
morning.
The weather was perfect
during our visit to the Big
Bear Alpine Zoo, originally a
rehabilitation facility for animals
that were injured in the
Stan Miller, owner of the
Knickerbocker Mansion Bed &
Breakfast in Big Bear Lake, felt
compelled to save the historic log
home when it was threatened by
foreclosure and destruction. The
long-time sound engineer welcomes
guests when he’s not on
the road with singer Neil Diamond
and other big-name artists. Photo
by Jerry Ondash
devastating 1959 wildfire in
the San Bernardino National
Forest. A few of the animals
were too injured to return to
the wild, and the facility
became their permanent
home. Today, the zoo continues
its rehab mission and
returns 90 percent of the animals
to the wild. Still, its current
residents represent 85
species of birds and animals,
including a three-legged
black bear named
Hucklebeary, who devoured
several heads of lettuce while
we watched.
A stroll through the
grounds provides an up-closeand-personal
experience with
bears, mountain lions, wolves,
bald eagles and all sorts of
smaller mammals and birds.
For information about
activities, dining and lodging
at Big Bear Lake, visit bigbear.com,
or call (800) 4-BIG-
BEAR (800-424-4232).
Stay two or more nights
at a participating lodge and
get a gas card worth $50 to
$100, and qualify for a drawing
for a $500 gas card.
E’Louise Ondash is a freelance writer living
in North County. Tell her about your
travels at eondash@coastnewsgroup.com.