Big Bear Today Magazine September 2020

Page 12—September 2020
See lake sights, sites on Queen tours
See the lake’s sites and sights during
Big Bear’s top rated tour..
Cruise the lake aboard Big Bear
Queen with longtime captain Chris Bellows
at the helm. Spread out on upper and
lower decks plus open air bow and be entertained
by colorful Big Bear stories and
history, while experiencing first hand Big
Bear Lake and surrounding mountains that
include the ski areas plus 11,502 ft. Mt.
San Gorgonio.
Social distance for 90 minutes aboard
Big Bear Queen, departing from Big Bear
Marina daily with up to four tours at 11
a.m. plus 1, 3 and 5 p.m. Plus Big Bear
Queen, pioneer of guaranteed lake tours
that sail no matter how many are on board,
Thelma’s pies...
Continued from page 9
guests walk right past on entering, cream
pies like chocolate, lemon and banana
among others. Specialty pies include the
three-layer peanut butter banana chocolate
with Oreo cookie crust. Fruit pies include
apple, peach, blueberry, strawberry rhubarb,
cherry and fruits of the forest.
Thelma’s goes the extra mile in many
ways. Oranges are machine squeezed on
the premises each morning for the freshest
juice around. Fresh ground coffee,
Thelma’s own blend, is so tantalizing
people drive miles for a cup.
—by Marcus Dietz
Thelma’s is at 337 W. Big Bear Blvd.
in Big Bear City. Call (909) 585-7005.
guarantees the 1 and 3 p.m. tours will sail.
Boarding is easy—guests can just pay at
the dock and board.
With bright-red flags flapping in the
breeze, Big Bear Queen is the lake’s original
60-passenger paddlewheeler and is the
top-ranked tour on Tripadvisor. The open
air design on both decks allows guests to
experience as well as see the lake, as they
can hear the boat ply through the water and
taste lake spray and breezes. New old-time
photos line the Queen’s sides, depicting Big
Bear history. On board potty too.
Bellows is the lake’s most experienced
skipper and his expert tour narration reflects
that. His father Dave began the tour
tradition in 1989, taking over Big Bear
Queen, which once sailed Newport Beach.
Chris served as backup skipper alongside
his Dad, having already captained on the
lake aboard Pine Knot Landing’s original
tour boat Sierra. Captain Chris took over
permanently two decades ago.
Sail past the homes of celebrities—if
you’re lucky Noel Blanc, who with his father
Mel mouthed the voices of Bugs
Bunny, Porky Pig and other legendary
characters for decades, will come out to
hail Big Bear Queen guests.
Captain Chris expertly navigates the
boat he’d piloted for so many years around
China Island and past the Zebra Room.
Talks about the creation of the dam, aeration
system, Teetering Rock, the old
damkeeper house and many more fascinating
points of interest. Cruising right past
the Solar Observatory is another highlight
and last year bald eagles were thrilling
guests, soaring above the boat and sometimes
even swooping down.
“Brian Dennehy’s daughter was married
on this boat,” Captain Chris recalled
of the Tony and Emmy-winning actor best
known for his role as Sheriff Will Tasle in
“First Blood,” the initial Rambo film. “It
went really well, everyone had a wonderful
time. There have been many weddings
aboard the Queen.”
Big Bear Queen’s final sunset cruises
sail Sept. 5-6 and as an added treat will
feature not just the sun setting but the full
moon rising. Head out at 6:30 p.m. when
Big Bear Today
See the Solar Observatory and other sights and sites on Big Bear Queen tours
others are calling it a day for spectacular
sunsets over the water as the sky turns
Technicolor and reflects off the lake to create
awesome photo ops.
Romantic in scope and a favorite with
couples who want to chat or cuddle, sunset
cruises feature scaled down narration
from daytime tours as Captain Chris just
covers the highlights. As with other Queen
tours guests can bring their own beer, wine
(there’s a corkscrew on board), champagne
or cocktails, picnic baskets etc. Cost for
sunset cruises is $25.
Daily Big Bear Queen fares are $23,
senior-military $21, ages 3-12 $15, under
three free. Call (909) 866-3218.