Grass Valley Lake House

I have seen the MckLinky thing going on but being as I am new to the blogging thing, I have no idea how this all works. Maybe someday I will sit down and figure it all out.

So for now, I will play along (without) really playing along. This weeks theme is "A Favorite Photo"

This picture was taken on a very early morning when the lake was ever so still.

My father's good friend, named Labo, owned a house up in the San Bernardino mountains that was on Lake front property on Grass Valley Lake. Labo was an older man and his family hardly visited the house. He told my father that we could stay there as much as we wanted and in turn we did upkeep on the house and maintained it for them.

This turned out to be one of my life's biggest blessings. From the time I was little, probably about 5 years old, we would vacation there a few times a year. We even lived there for a few short periods of time. The last time we visited this house I was married and had two kids. This house held so many precious memories.

We spent so much time there that the animals even knew us. Every morning the squirrels would wait outside and literally eat out of our hands. The blue jays would wait in the surrounding trees and we would play games with them. We would throw peanuts up into the air and they would dive for them. The ones that were unlucky to catch any, would eventually come to us and take them from our hands also.

I remember the fires in the fireplace, playing pool in the pool room, the paddle boat that we managed to get stuck in the lake with(several times) but we would still take it back out again. Seeing snow fall for my first time. My first and only car accident(which involved a police car) that's a story in itself. Great luck I have, I know. Most of all though, it reminds me of my dad.

The memories of my dad there are endless. I also realized today, that every single person that has been a part of my life and made me who I am today, at one point in time was there at this house with me. It was a beautiful house. The house was three levels and had balconies that surrounded the whole backside of the house that overlooked the lake.

The house was eventually sold after Labo passed away. His family never used the house much so they sold it in 2002 I believe. I wished for the longest time that I would some day be able to buy the house myself.

In October of 2007, I heard on the news that Lake Arrowhead was on fire. It was a fire that was severely out of control. All I wanted to do was drive up there and check on what I considered "My House of Memories". A friend of mine(an Internet genius) was able to find out the exact property location for me and an article that described that area as a total loss. It was heartbreaking, but at least I knew. She later found actual pictures of the house ON FIRE. There was a local reporter that risked his own life for people like me. People that were so desperate just to know whether their homes were still there or not. Here is the picture of "My House" on fire. This was actually the carport area that was at the very top level of the house.



The fire fighters that were battling the fires were amazing. They knew at one point that they were no longer able to save the homes, so they instead, broke into the homes, grabbed a container or box and began to fill them with as many photos around the house that they could find. They then labeled the box with the address and took it to a safe spot. Days later, home owners were let back in, to find that their homes were completely gone.

What they also found on each of their properties, was a container filled with some of their personal belongings that the firemen were able to save. What an incredible gift for all these families.

So even though my memories there have ended in such a sad way, I am incredibly thankful for the times that I was able to spend there and the memories I will always hold close to my heart.

Amy