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 My
children and I discovered Pine Mountain Club 14
years ago. Every winter, going back at least 25
years, we would go cross country skiing at Mt Pinos
and return home to Manhattan Beach after a full day
in the snow. Although for all those years, we were
only five miles from Pine Mountain, we had no clue
that it even existed. Talk about undiscovered!
Twelve winters ago we decided to spend the weekend
rather than drive home the same day. The ski rental
person recommended Pine Mountain Club. The word
"Club" almost ended our plans for a weekend
vacation. We all jumped to a conclusion about the
word "Club" and decided it wasn't what any of us
wanted for a getaway weekend. I pictured everyone
running around in white tennis shorts and probably
worse. However, since Pine Mountain Club was the
only community that had weekend cabin rentals - we
decided to give it a try.
Needless to say, we all fell in love almost
immediately. We never did go skiing. We went house
hunting! I should mention that my husband was pretty
much retired from aerospace engineering and that I
was considering joining him. We were both tired of
noise, crowds, freeways and Manhattan Beach living.
All sense of community had left, as the beach
cottages were knocked down and the castles were
built. So, we had been looking to move for several
years. We were focused on a "gentle" four season
location with only a few tourists. We were both from
"Back East" (Maine and Minnesota) and didn't want
those extreme climates after living in California
for 40 plus years. We also didn't want an area like
Big Bear or Arrowhead with lots of traffic and
tourists.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, my husband I
drove up to Pine Mountain the following week. We
stayed at the Inn in the village and on the second
day we made an offer on a log cabin. In less than
three months, I was retired and we were gone from
the beach to the mountains. As it turned out,
neither of us were ready for total retirement -
especially me.
For a year and a half we experimented with several
different ideas on how to live our new lives. We
bought and tried fixing up old houses. That was too
much work but rewarding seeing the finished product.
We tried a gift store using local artists. That was
too boring we don't have a large enough population
or enough tourists.
So 12 years ago; I did what the broker (Gary Wilson)
that we bought our properties from had suggested
since almost the beginning of our relationship. I
went back to school, studied and took the exam for
my real estate license. The idea of working as a
real estate agent was a very difficult decision for
me. To me, my past career seemed almost at the
opposite end of the continuum from being a real
estate agent. My only knowledge of real estate
agents was the general stereotype plus our home
purchases over the years. Not especially positive!
However, I had noticed that most of the agents that
I encountered in Pine Mountain did not fit my
negative image. I tried reading several books on
selling and gave up in disgust. Not the kind of
person that I wanted to be in my new career. So, I
decided to focus on the nuts and bolts of real
estate and to leave the selling to the beauty of the
area itself.
My husband became my assistant. He did all of the
grunt work for us. He walked lots, pounded in signs,
delivered flyers, wrote letters, set up computers
etc. etc. etc. We were a good team and very
successful within two years. He died in February of
2005 after a very short illness. I continue to live
in our log cabin, somewhat lonelier, but still
working (I hired an assistant) and still enjoying
the beauty surrounding me.
The only disappointment with Pine Mountain that I
have felt over the years is that we didn't discover
it sooner. It would have been wonderful to have had
a vacation home here in this, "nearby far away
place", when the children were young. Plus it would
have saved me a lot of uncomfortable and sleepless
nights on the ground in a tent.
ABOUT ME
I received my BA degree in Social Work in 1969 and
later a Masters degree in Behavioral Science. It
only took me nine years, in and around three
wonderful children to complete my BA. Our middle son
was born during Christmas vacation and I didn't miss
a single class. My high school home room teacher
always said that the main asset in my life would be
my tenacity.
My first career was spent in the mental health
field. First I worked with Los Angeles County Health
Department and than with Kaiser Permanente. As a
requirement for my BA I had to complete a six month
field placement. Because I was an "older" student,
myself and another mature student were sent to the
Health Departments outpatient Alcohol Treatment
Clinic in downtown Los Angeles. I think the
professors were honestly afraid for us and I was a
bit apprehensive. The other student did not return
after the first day.
After several weeks - I loved the staff, the
patients and the work. Plus I was effective. I had
found my niche. When I graduated the clinic offered
me a full time position. It was a wonderful almost
four years - full of learning and growth for both my
patients and me.
In late 1972 I was offered a job assisting Kaiser in
starting their chemical dependency outpatient
treatment programs. No one, including myself, had
any idea of the need level for chemical dependency
treatment among the members of the largest HMO in
Southern California. After all Kaiser members were
all employed and therefore couldn't have alcohol or
other drug problems. I learned very quickly how
wrong we all were but it took the Kaiser bureaucracy
years longer.
The clinics grew rapidly along with my organization,
budgeting, management, proposal writing and
politicking skills. There were many days when I felt
totally in over my head and felt that I had been
promoted directly to my level of absolute
incompetence. However, no matter how busy my days
got administratively, I never did let go entirely of
all of my direct patient care. That was always most
important to me.
Regarding my real estate career - I believe that I
have taken the best of me, my people skills, my
organizational abilities, my real estate knowledge
and combined everything into my successful new
career. Which by the way - I have come to thoroughly
enjoy. And on top of that, after the first couple of
years, I have consistently been a top producer in
Pine Mountain.
Thanks for listening and give me a call if I can
assist you with your real estate needs in this
wonderful place!
If you have any questions or would like more
information, please call me at 661-242-7715 or
toll free at 800-505-5170,
email
me, or use my
online request form.
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