March Wrap-up

Not much to blog as we wrap-up March.  We did go to our dentist in Tijuana.  The border crossing was interesting as it took a half an our too enters Mexico, a new record for us!  And no wait at all to return, rather then the couple hours it normally takes.

We suspect there must have been a lot of folks returning home to Mexico, rather than getting wrapped up in deportation, and just us going north.

The massive Chula Vista Convention Center is easily visible from the I-5 freeway.  That gave us a destination for a bike ride, a couple days later.

We unloaded our bikes at Pepper Park, which is currently undergoing renovations.

The link to the renovation project is HERE .

With a Splash Pad!, the kids will have fun on a warm summer day.

The Chula Vista bike path crosses the Sweetwater River from Pepper Park.  The river separates Chula Vista from National City.

Chula Vista is developing its own park on Gunpowder Point, Sweetwater Park. 

Spanning 21 acres it will be much larger than Pepper Park, it may become our new starting point for our bike rides.

There will be a lot of fun play equipment.

The Gaylord Pacific is the first Gaylord on the west coast, and it's huge!  This will be the home for the Chula Vista Convention Center.

We stopped for a picnic at the Chula Vista Bayfront Park.

It too will be receiving some renovations, with the Gaylord just a short walk away.

"Better Than You Imagined Possible"

A few days ago we rode the bikes to Ocean Beach, I wanted to compare the progress on the OB Pier to that of the undertakings in South Bay.

It may be the city is waiting for nature to take the old pier down, as nothing has been done.  South Bay will certainly be completed first.

We had lunch at Hodads, before returning home.

For a change we shared onions rings that I ordered with my mini-cheese burger.

Yes that is the mini-burger

I typically order a mini-burger with either fries or onion rings and Fran orders just a burger, as there is more than enough to share.

My younger brother flies into Tijuana this evening.  We’ll pick him and Juanita up at the Cross Border Express (CBX).

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!

a Week of Me Time …

A nephew was trusted to a key to Marty’s home in Mazatlán.  He knew in advance that the house needed attention and I closed my last post with his departure via CBX.

It turns out the nephew rented out the house!  The damage included the missing copper plumbing and an empty water tank!  It’s all been repaired and the locks have been changed.

He’s back keeping me company while Fran remains in Ohio and Juanita in Mexico.

I have the PRONTO app on my phone, which I can use for the San Diego trolley, or any of the county bus services.  Fran has the PRONTO card, but never used it.  Marty and Juanita will need either the card or tickets when we attend an up coming Padre game.

Since I also had a free ticket to the Home Show at the Convention Center, I decided it would be a good day to ride the trolley downtown and check out some of the methods of payment.

At my station at the bottom of Clairemont Drive I bought a S/D/M ( Senior or Disabled or Medicare) ticket - Marty and Fran will need this, Juanita is still an Adult ticket.

Max fare $3 per-day

At a $1.25 each way, or $3 max on any single day, it’s far less expensive than driving.

Clairemont Drive is on the Blue Line, to reach the Convention Center I’ll need to switch to the Green Line in Old Town, just 2 stops away.

The home show was quite lame.  As a home owner my ticket was free.  But the pressure to replace all my windows or go solar was nearly all that was there.

From there I took the walking path on the north side of the Center to the Rady Shell for a FREE concert.  Marty and I have tickets here the day he returns.

The Shell sits in Jacob’s Park along the San Diego Bay.

I’m trying to increase my step count a few times a week.  After enjoying the FREE performance I walked (slowly) to Seaport Village to board the trolley there.  Thus reversing the route, back to old Town.

A post surgery high !!!

Bara Bara is the probably the closest restaurant to the Old Town trolley stop.   They have a nice house Margarita.  That was just right with my tamale, and the stop is included with my 2-hr north-bound trolley pass.

On Sunday the junior OTL was taking place at Fiesta Island.

A nice turnout of mostly friends and family to watch the kids.

OTL can be taken as an elective in the local schools.  It’s quite popular!  The kids can start young!

I found a packet of Macadamia nuts in the freezer!  I decided to chop some and make turtles for the upcoming birthdays.

Alas, only 2 caramels were in the package I bought!  Somebody with a sweet tooth raided it!  So I mixed the 2 caramels with the chocolate to form a combined caramel body and chocolate shell.

That SOOO did not work!  Gooey and sticky.  The turtle shell needs to be hard.

Also while in the freezer I found a serving of salmon!  Whoot! I grilled it to make my own version of the fabulous sandwich at Point Loma Seafoods.  They have a great tarter sauce there but I had to make my own, using jalapenos and cilantro in place of pickles and parsley.

For my last lunch of My Time, I whipped up a BLAT.  Typically Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato, but I kicked it up with cheddar cheese and fresh jalapeno.

Altho no pictures I also had the clutch replaced in Fran’s Jeep.  We managed well over 2 decades on the original clutch, but is was starting to slip.

That was my Me Time!!!

I picked up Marty at CBX Saturday afternoon.  Once he was settled we headed to the trolley for a return to the Rady Shell.  I've been with Fran to several Selena tributes, but this time it would be a full pheromonic orchestra backing her, not the family band.  Selena remains "The Queen of Tejano Music", altho there are many great Texans of Latino decent musicians. 

The songs were selected to accommodate the backup orchestra, but dang she was good!

Most tributes skip Como la Flor as the notes are difficult and hard to hold … She nailed it!

And a chance to re-celebrate Aj’s 18th birthday!

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Meals at Buca di Beppo are ordered family style.  We ordered SMALL antipasto salad, chicken parmesan and stuffed shells (cheese and sausage).  Each SMALL serves 3.  So much food left over!

Aj did some research to find birthday free-bees.  Buca offers $20 off the meal tab and a FREE desert.

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We all helped a bit ...

Plus a fun attention grabbing birthday salute.

That was a great Me Week!  Juanita and Fran both return this week.