The Quiet Before Christmas - and a de Anza update

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.

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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!

It’s Fogust in America’s Finest City

The same weather patterns that provide May Grey, No-Sky july and June Gloom continue.  We are now well into Fogust.

But we did get out a few times.  our first urban adventure was to the Liberty Station Art Walk. 

It’s interesting to see view the creations of talented folks.

Repurposed surfboards

Portraits made by painting with coffee

I let Fran wander a bit more, while I settled into the Beer Garden to catch a couple of the 12 bands scheduled to perform

My brother Marty, with wife Juanita, drove down from Tacoma for a visit.  Juanita went on to the Mazatlán area, flying out of the Cross Border Express.

However, Marty came bearing gifts.

And he helps with not only my yard work, but also the neighbors’.

For his efforts we took him to the W.O.W. Café on the OB Pier for a fish taco.  He'll have a say in his favorite fish taco as we explore. 

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With the extended overcast we have yet to see a Green Flash.  But the Café shows off a few as seen from the Pier.

With all the original trailers removed from De Anza Cove the construction fencing has been removed. 

My walking goal for this blog was to check it out.

The walkway along the water is now clearly marked as a public multi-use trail.

Although the sinkhole has not been filled, it now has a secure permanent fence around it and a widened path.

The porta-potties in the public area have been replaced with portable restrooms.  Real flush toilets and running water!

The gate at the southwest corner of the RV park park has been removed.

This is to allow for a public multi-use path along Rose Creek, albeit with less privacy/security for the RV park guests.

Fencing on the northwest has also been removed to allow the public path to continue.  At least there is now a nice dog run in that corner.

Along with a picnic table.

Almost all of the old homesites in the ‘Odd’ numbered section (family section) have been turned into additional guest parking (FHU RV sites).

Fran and I had a home in the ‘Even’ numbered section (adult section).  These sites are not yet developed and our old site is now a fenced in gravel lot!

I have no idea what that’s about, but it required the removal of our avocado tree :)

The knee is healing well, but still makes an irksome pop as I step of the left leg.  Going up stairs is fine, stepping on the leg is fine.  But releasing the pressure as in going down stairs is still quite troublesome.  Doc says the x-rays look fine ….

Marty will return to Tacoma for a long week and Fran go to Ohio for 3 weeks and Juanita will return the fist week of Sept.  I’ll let you what kind of trouble I get into unsupervised in the next posting.