January 21st: Christmas in Encinitas California

Matt and Wendy's Christmas tree

It was a very smooth flight to San Diego and we arrived Wednesday evening. We planned our trip so we would miss the rush hour San Diego traffic. Matt and Wendy picked us up and drove us back to their home in California. It was great to be back in Encinitas. It was dark when we arrived so it was fun to see the Christmas tree lit up as we went in the front door. There was also the giant fish wearing the Brown's hat behind the tree.








It was pretty chilly so we were dressed warmly. Wendy had on a fun hooded sweat shirt with ears. We never figured out what animal it might be.

It was fairly late so we basically just went to bed that night. Looking forward to breakfast at the Encinitas Cafe.

Huevos Rancheros Encinitas Cafe

We had some excellent Huevos Rancheros breakfasts when we were in Oceanside last year. Linda decided to try them at the Encinitas Cafe. Notice Linda's warm jacket. It was still pretty cool, even in the restaurant. Southern California is not as warm as southern Florida! The Huevos Rancheros were pretty good but not as good as the ones in Oceanside. We put Oceanside on the list for Sunday breakfast.







After breakfast Wendy and I did some shopping for some last minute presents. We found some fun stuff at Party Central. Wendy took care of loading the Christmas sacks and stockings. (Years ago Wendy came up with the idea of Christmas sacks that she made for each of us. No gift wrapping necessary and no wrapping paper used. We each just pull items out one at a time.)

Wendy makes great pumpkin pies. Fortunately, she planned to make some for our Christmas dinner Friday. She baked them Thursday night while Linda watched. They smelled wonderful while they were baking. They would go great with the lobster dinner we planned for Friday night and the prime rib dinner Saturday night.






Rebecca arrived Friday afternoon along with London and Trevi. The dogs  are still very friendly and cute. Added benefit for Linda, London is nice and warm and enjoys sitting by Linda.








We had decided to open presents as soon as Rebecca arrived so we had maximum time to play with them. Wendy wore her Llama Christmas sweater! She won the prize for most festively dressed.




Matt had the "fire" on for Linda and we set about opening gifts. I'll just include  a few.





There were a lot of fun and useful gifts. Rebecca gave me an original Betty Crocker Chiffon cake cook book. When watching a baking show one time they were making chiffon cakes. I told her I used to make a cherry chiffon cake when I was a kid. I looked briefly and couldn't find that same recipe and forgot about it. Obviously a cherry chiffon cake was added to the dessert list for Saturday.




Matt's gifts revolved around his mountain biking passion. These cool sunglasses should work as he's pedaling through the mountains.







Linda's gifts revolved around her video games. Actually, we all enjoy them. She got a new Mario game and the new Link game. Wendy even found a miniature Link for Linda. His eyes and sword actually move!






I will enjoy wearing the "Cool Dad" shirt from Rebecca. I also will enjoy using the 8 inch cast iron skillet from Matt and Wendy. I've wanted one for a while but never got around to buying one. It will work great for pan frying fish! I'll have to keep catching some.

Wendy's bead work

Wendy's knitted animal collection and pottery

Wendy was all about craft stuff. Yarn, vinyl sticker paper, beads, etc.













Rebecca got some shish kabob baskets that I can't wait to try on her grill. Other fun gifts for her included a macaroon baking kit, a cheese making kit and a beach tent







There were of course several chew toys for the dogs. Perhaps the coolest gift was the glow in the dark collars for the dogs' night walks. Matt took the dogs out for a trial run. They were entertaining going down the street.








Also very popular were the Dood (Doodle) T shirt and the Doodle mug.









After playing with our toys for a while, we enjoyed a wonderful lobster dinner including the pumpkin pie!

We used one of Rebecca's Christmas gifts, the lobster crackers, forks and shears.











Matt and Wendy have a big screen television. Perfect for playing video games. We played the new video games after dinner. I believe Matt was the overall winner! (Some might contest that statement.) It was a great day!

Christmas in Encinitas 2019

Saturday morning Rebecca and I took the dogs to the dog park. They really have fun running around with the other dogs. Then we came back and worked on our Christmas llamas. The video games were a tough competition so I felt like the llama production was cut short, but they still were fun.












Here are the results on the tree.

 The prime rib dinner was excellent. Best prime rib we have had in a long time and the cherry chiffon cake was pretty good, although I know I can do better. All-in-all a great Christmas!