Big Bear Cabin.

A terrible story has just played out. A criminal hid out in a Big Bear mountain cabin for several days and then died in a nearby cabin yesterday. This story has been in the news for days. I have many memories of staying in Big Bear cabins and this story brought them to mind.

My very first stay in a Big Bear Mountain cabin has a special place in my memory, It was in 1946 and I had just returned from the Pacific War and had just been discharged from the Army at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California. It was in January, 1946. Jackie and I were visiting my sister Jean in Pomona. Jean had a friend who had a Big Bear cabin. This friend offered the use of the cabin for Jackie and I to use for a honeymoon. We had been married in 1944 in San Luis Obispo, California. 22 hours after our wedding I boarded a train to go over seas for a year and a half. 22 hours is not much of a honeymoon!

Jean and her husband Butch drove us up to the cabin. It was a drive of a couple of hours. The cabin had a tree growing up through it. After several days Jackie and I walked to downtown Big Bear to catch a bus ride home to Pomona. I can remember the cabin and the coffee shop where we caught the bus.

Over the years Jackie and I spent a lot of time in the Big Bear Mountains. Several time we stayed with family in cabins. Many times we made day trips to the area. There was a Santa Claus theme park that had delicious hot ginger bread cake. I mention food a lot, don't I?