Owners Esther Seehof and Bob Kundus hold the brunches every year—this year is the fourth—to give the curious and the neighborly an opportunity to peruse and enjoy their mountain retreat. "We can't make a penny on these brunches," laughs Kundus. "What we do learn is how much more equipment we need."

Catering is a big part of the wedding, reunion, seminar and retreat business they do. They are also known as "the firewalk capital of the world," according to Seehof, a psychologist, who describes the business of encouraging people to walk barefooted across hot fire coals and come out uninjured as "the hottest thing in self-actualization on the horizon right now." Between four and five firewalks are held each year.

Kundus and Seehof have been running the resort at the same time they have been restoring the 27-acre spot for the past 12 years. It once served as a mill, supplying redwood for the reconstruction of San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake, and later was a "school for bad boys" from Oakland. The clearing of brush, the restoration of lawn, the rebuilding of camp cabins and decks and the brick-paving of a multitude of paths winding through the trees has been a labor of love that has paid off for Seehof and Kundus. Not only are they doing what they want in a beautiful place, they're making a tolerable living while they're at it.

"We haven't been hurt very much by the Silicon Valley downturn," notes Seehof. "People are still getting married and having reunions," she adds, "and we're a bargain."

People are also seeking solitude. A recent guest took a cabin for a stretch of time while he finished the book that later won him a Pulitzer Prize.

While they've beaten back the scotch broom and the forest, the landslides and the floods, and "utilized every skill they've ever learned," they're finding there are other challenges. "Now if we can only beat back the [Santa Cruz County] Planning Department," jokes Kundus, who says that a run-in with a trespassing neighbor resulted in a complaint to the county, which in turn is putting everything they do under scrutiny. "It has put a little more spice in our lives," smiles Seehof.

But for now, the brunches are the focus. Chef Craig Ponkey, a mountain neighbor and owner of Rest U Want Catering, again will be firing up the skillets for an expected full house. Favorites from last year will be repeated: omelets, sourdough pancakes and waffles, and those big appetizers of roasted garlic heads on crostinis. "This has been a good year for mushrooms, so we'll most likely repeat our wild mushroom quiche," says Ponkey. For the youngsters, he plans again to offer green eggs and ham (no, not food coloring—the secret is green cellophane), pigs in a blanket and Barney's friends—dinosaur chicken nuggets, breaded and oven-roasted.

Laurel Mill Lodge is located 'in the mountains along Soquel Creek' in Los Gatos. Call 408.353.5851 or email proprietors@laurelmilllodge.com for reservations and directions.