HARWOOD LODGE HAS HAD A MAKEOVER

Photo Credit: Mary Morales A mint condition Harwood Lodge awaits you.

If you are one of the frequent overnight guests at Harwood Lodge, you probably wondered why the lodge was closed for part of July and August. A brief notice in the Activity Schedule and the Chapter website simply said it was closed for kitchen remodeling. In fact, more than that was accomplished during this hiatus.

Let me tell you about the lodge kitchen. A big part of the Harwood experience is gathering around the butcher-block island table, all sleepy eyed while pouring an early morning cup of coffee, or cooking something special for a friendly potluck dinner.

Friends chop, grill and bake together; young married couples introduce their kids to family-style dinners; singles sometimes make life-long relationships over a sink-full of dirty pots and pans, and you can quench a big thirst with a tall glass of cold spring water straight from the faucet.

There's even a Harwood cookbook filled with recipes perfected over years of Saturday night meals and Sunday breakfasts. You can see why shuttering this hallowed room for any length of time could be cause for serious anxiety.

Lodge chair Russ Hansen and work party crew boss Graeme Whitaker, together with Elizabeth Ward, Chris Ames, Sonia Cohen, Gordon Phillips, Mary Kay Eldridge, John Matthews and many others, rolled up their sleeves to give the kitchen and the three family rooms much needed makeovers and a new, improved Harwood is open again! Although there are no open weekends in October and there may be ongoing touchups here and there throughout the fall, everyone is welcome to come back.

If you want one of those unique Harwood experiences, plan on signing up for the Wine-Tasting and Chocolate Extravaganza on Sat-Sun, October 3-4, listed in the calendar section of this issue. This lodge fundraiser will help to replenish the treasury so upkeep and future improvements continue. This Sierra Club mountain retreat is the best place to spend your weekends. Carpool with family or friends for a green getaway on less than a tank of gas!

For a copy of the Harwood cookbook, send a $10 donation plus $3 for postage (check payable Harwood) and your name and address to Elizabeth Ward, 929 E Foothill Blvd. #162, Upland, CA 91786-4042.

For more information about the lodge and to get directions from anywhere in the LA/Orange County area, contact Mary Morales 949-586-9528, 10ter@cox.net or visit Harwood on the web: http://www.angeles.sierraclub.org/lodges/harwoodlodge.html