Back in Manila, a 2-hour drive is just like a trip from Alabang to UST. Aba, dito sa Amerika, nagiinarte sila? “Mom it’s too far.” Pero pag outlet kahit 5 oras abutin, ok. Ano, sinuswerte? Nope, Big Bear Lake tayo today, sa ayaw nyo o gusto.

Big Bear Lake is a small city in Southern California. It sits on the banks of fish-filled lake. Atop it is Big Bear Mountain, known for its ski resort with its terrain parks and learner slopes, and family-friendly snow summit ski resort. Boutiques, gift shops and restaurants line the streets of Big Bear Lake Village, the commercial area. Surrounding the city, the rugged San Bernardino National Forest has mountain trails that envelopes the lake & mountain.

—

—

The road to Big Bear Lake is kinda similar to Baguio. It is long & winding! As in paikot-ikot. Before I knew it, I spilled all the contents of my guts into a plastic bag. Buti nalang at may naiwang shopping bag sa kotse. This trip is a realization for me that I can no longer do anything zigzag. Susuka talaga ako!

—

—

As if puking wasn’t parusa enough, as soon as we reached Big Bear, sinabak agad nila ako sa kainan – hindi pa nga nagse-settle ang tyan ko. Ang babait diba? @_@

—

Established in 1944 & passed on from generation to generation, Teddy Bear Restaurant is a laid-back, cash-only eatery in Big Bear which specializes in American comfort food, including their signature housemade pies.

While they had their fill of burgers, chicken & gravy and what nots, I had TWO pies: Apple & Boysenberry. Kasi nga hindi pa settled ang tummy ko, lol. Hindi pa settled yang lagay na yan ha? ;)) Pasalamat sila.

—

Hindi din naman nasayang ang punta namin (at bayad) kasi sinulit ni Kap & the giblings ang snow-tubing. Kakababa palang nila, nasusundan ng tanaw ko paakyat na uli sila, grabe. Mga walang kapaguran.

—

Big Bear Snow Play, once a ski hill known as Rebel Ridge, sports the longest downhill snow slope in Southern California. It is THANKFULLY serviced by a “Magic Carpet” uphill lift that helps in the tiring climb through slippery snow (The struggle is real, the snow is sobrang madulas, ilang beses na ako muntik madapa, hayz).

Si pogi oh, kunwari daw hindi nilalamig, pero kisay na! ;)) Pang-photo op lang yan, ano ka. Napakalamig po, lalo na’t pababa ng burol (hill) sakay ng tube. Just watch our video below, akala mo mabagal lang? Nope! #fasterthanaspeedingbullet

—

Bilang mahirap nga maglakad sa snow, yung 1 akyat-baba nila katumbas ng 3-4 sa akin at grabe lang ang hingal ko. Ang nipis kaya ng hangin, eh ang tindi pa ng hika ko. Buti nga hindi nila ako inabulansya noh. Feel ko pati mga plemas at sipon ko nag-yelo na sa lamig! 😛 Kada isang tapak ko eh 10 hininga ang kapalit. Kaya ang tagal ko talaga makasunod sa kanila. Buti nalang nanjan ang tatay nila. Taga-puno ng lahat ng pangkukulang ko.

Because the snow tubing was only until 4 pm, nagmagaling itong mga anak ko at dumaan na naman kami sa outlet pagkatapos. “Mommy it’s only 1.5 hours away.” Ano? Yung 2 hours kahapon sabi nyo napakalayo, tapos ngayon meron kayong “only 1.5 hours away” na nalalaman? My golly gas, you guys are different ha. Iba kayo! @_@

—

Made a detour to Desert Hills Premium Outlet to what else? SHOP! @_@ These peeps are taking advantage of the slashed prices of major designer brands. Magtatayo ba kayo ng tyangge sa Maynila?

To be fair, these MGM backpacks are around 30-50% off. Ate’s MCM school bag is super sturdy. Ang bigat at ang daming laban, pero wala pang sira, compared to Jansport hahaha. Sulit. <3 Sige na nga, pakyawin na yan! 😛

—

So ayan. Dahil pinalulusaw ko ang frozen kong mga plemas, taga-bantay na naman ako ng gamit at mga pinamili. Namimihasa na kayo ha, ginawa nyo akong locker, mga bastos!

Desert Hills Premium Outlets, just over an hour drive from Los Angeles and 20 minutes west of Palm Springs, is home to the largest collection of luxury outlets in California.

Conveniently located right off the intersection of I-10. The outdoor shopping center features 180 designer stores including Alexander McQueen, MCM, Burberry, Coach, Michael Kors, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Saint Laurent Paris and Tom Ford. There are also several dining options at Desert Hills Premium Outlets.

—

At dahil din nasunod daw ako sa Big Bear (kahit na super enjoy naman sila maglaro sa snow aber), chinese food uli kami for dinner.

Sa totoo lang, sukang sukang sukang suka na ako sa pinakakain nyo sa akin araw-araw. Magwe-welga na ako, malapit-lapit na. Unfair labor prakris na yan, magsusumbong ako sa bantay bata for child abuse, hmp!

Panda Express again for dinner, 2 consecutive days na yang walang kalatoy-latoy na Chinese fast food ha. Ok lang sana kung masarap. A few years back, take me to a Panda Express kiosk & I would have been perfectly content. But since I started my food blog, nag-level up na ang taste ko, hahaha. Hindi na sya pasado sa standards ko, lol. ;))

The countdown begins! 3 more days before we wrap up our US (mis)adventure. Nakakalungkot sobra. Stay with me til the end okay? Bukas uli! :-*

—

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”