Ruffin it with Rufus: December 2023

I like jalapeño poppers! Fran’s tennis club had a gathering and one of the gals brought some her husband made. Fran is not as big a fan and didn’t think to smuggle me one. So I am on a mission :)

Stuffed with cream cheese, cilantro, fresh lime and garlic, then wrapped in bacon.

The heat of the popper can be controlled by how much of the veins are removed. From the 3 peppers I made two mild, two medium and a couple hot.

I microwave the bacon first to cook off some of the fat, then wrap the pepper. bake for ~20 minutes and a brief broil for browning.

I liked the hot best, however, the ones from Costco are still better. I’ll try again … But I am open to your favorite recipe suggestions!

We had a very heavy fog roll in for a couple days. It was a perfect morning to venture up to the Cabrillo National Monument.

Fog coming in as seen from Sunset Cliffs

The foghorns from the Coast Guard Station below and the one on the Jetty made for a mesmerizing rhythm.

Our version of a 'White Christmas' :)

Neither North Island nor downtown were visible.

Reminds me of the John carpenter movie 'The Fog'

Afterwards I took a walk in Ocean Beach to check out their Christmas displays.

Street lights were adorned with wreaths and palms.

I only saw one beachball on the OB Christmas Tree this year.

After the chill of the foggy morning, a bit of comfort food seemed in order for lunch. Hodad’s !!!

This chopped VW Bus was in the annual OB parades for a long time, now just a mascot.

An eclectic collection from visitors decorate the walls.

Still my favorite burger! and I requested ‘a combo of wedge fries and onion rings'. If it's not busy they will make it special.

More than enough to bring home and share with Fran.

Marty had a cardiac appointment in Tacoma, and needed to return from Mazatlán. He had a couple days layover. I picked him up at CBX. He brought a bottle of Monte Xanic with him! My favorite Mexican winery.

Marty and I took the trolley to Old Town to check out their Christmas decorations.

We walked a bit outside of the state park to the Campo Santo Cemetery.

The cemetery has mostly early residents from the mid 1800s.

When the roads and sidewalks were added to Old Town some of those residents were not relocated. Walking along their resting places are indicated by a simple marker.

In Old Town, Casa de Reyes always has some of the better decorations.

A nice manger display

And the three kings arriving via camel, elephant and horse.

We stopped for lunch at Barra Barra. Marty has spent enough time in Mexico to have become accustomed to having his main meal at mid-day. I cut mine in half. Too much!, I took the rest home. But he did finish his!

Marty’s flight was Sunday, freeing Saturday for the Pacific Beach Christmas Parade.

The PB Bug offers rides from the trolley to various places in PB.

Skip Santa, the OMBAC surfboard demonstration, my favorite is the this Ford!

This is a true small town parade with lots of kids and community.

After dropping Marty off at the airport I stopped for a look at the latest family play area added to Mission Bay. This one is at Tecolote Creek.

The stray cats may miss the sand, but the foam base is certainly welcomed by the kids.

San Diego has cracked down so hard on eBike anything that all rental facilities have left the city. Effective yesterday it is now a misdemeanor to ride your own powered device in areas of Mission Bay.

The Code does allow for ADA approved devices such as 3-wheeled or 4-wheeled mobility scoters. Bet there are a lot of disabled here that are still able to responsibly ride 2-wheel devices ...

I also took a look at the Mission Bay RV Park. Some progress is becoming noticeable.

The construction fences are all removed. The old trailers have been removed and the area can now be accessed.

Watch your step!

The original 260 paved campsites are called the ‘Resort’.

Another 147 ‘Campsites’ are level dirt.

All sites are FHU with 20/30/50 Amp service. The WiFi should now reach all sites and allow streaming! Nice …

And back at home .. although some rain is expected later next week, we can continue to play our evening Hand and Foot on the patio.

Fran will win ... again!, But look at all those oranges!

Such is life in America's Finest City.

BTW - Marty is doing fine with no changes to his meds. he was hoping to have a change there. But what works ... works!

We’ve had a few fun and not as fun outings in the past couple weeks. First was a not so fun visit to the surgeon for my 4 mo post-op review.

My bionic knee

He remains quite optimistic, but at this time I certainly expect more. My knee continues to pop with each step, but on the positive side it is WAY better than pre-surgery. So now when I’m asked ‘How are you?’ my response is 'I get better every day!’

In-n-Out Burger honors our Veterans with a FREE meal! (Thx for the tip Aj!)

I typically order a cheeseburger ‘Animal Style’ which adds French Dressing and grilled onions along with the lettuce and tomatoes, fries and soda. I took the fries home for Fran. (Gay – Fran can help with your leftover fries :) )

Another veteran benefit was reduced price on weekday tix at Nightscape at the San Diego Botanical Gardens.

The gardens are decorated with festive lights along the one mile trail loop. We parked in their Blue Lot and entered the loop from there.

Neither tripods nor mono-sticks are allowed, so ignore the fuzzy handheld low light pics, and many of the lights are animated .. so very cool … but not very photogenic.

The giant lily is quite beautiful …

and its mate’s reflection is quite amazing .

The light displays were varied throughout the trail. Overhead tulips were common.

Aj with the tulips.

Birds were red and blue

In places the trail is lighted with LED lanterns.

Looking closely at the LED lanterns each contain a unique shadow.

A fairy ... Tinkerbell ?

For many this tree was the highlight.

And we did spend a few minutes there.

But I think the Cathedral was the best photo-op.

Surrounded by light is was impossible to take a bad picture, but having family subjects certainly helps. If Kg could have joined us this would be a Christmas Card!