Our entire family just left beautiful Golden Bear Cottages in Big Bear Lake, California. They hosted our family reunion for the first time. Even though we usually change locations every year, the whole family decided to come back to Golden Bear again next year (and some of our family members who live closer are planning to come back this winter). Golden Bear has the perfect facilities to host a family reunion of or size, which was about 200. The owners and their entire staff were absolutely phenomenal! They catered to all of our needs and bent over backwards to make sure we had a great time. All of the cabins were clean and well stocked and the maids made sure that we always had clead towels and that our cabins were well kept. Even though we were all more than content to spend most of our time on the beautiful grounds and in our quaint, rustic cottages at Golden Bear we planned one special outing in Big Bear each day for those who wanted to participate. We were amazed at the number of things there are to do in Big Bear! In the 15 years that we have been having our big reunion we have never enjoyed a more serene and beautiful location with so many activities available to family members of all ages. I am a photographer and I enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful wildflowers and even got shots of a mama and baby bear who were out at 6:00 a.m. Several of our famiy members enjoyed a Civic Light Opera performance at the Performing Arts Center. Others went on the scenic skychair and caught the most beautiful views of the entire valley below. Some of our younger family members did a lot of hiking and found that there were trails for all levels of hikers. Biking and quad riding went over really well with some of our more hearty famlly members. Many of our elders enjoyed the sunset cruise around the lake. I don't think any of us realized how many multi-million dollar mansions were around the perimeter of the lake! It was breathtaking. There was also lots to do for the chidren. Their favorite places were the zoo, the Discovery Center, and of course, going in a boat on the lake. All in all this was the very best reunion we have ever enjoyed - and we owe it to Golden Bear Cottages. Our families will be booking their cottages for August 2012!!!!
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