Snapshots: Lookout Mountain

A few years ago my family decided visit some of the southern states. In Georgia we ate the most amazing fresh peach ice cream. We took a boat through the Okefenokee swamp and saw ton of alligators (in case you were wondering, they are huge). We also drove through the town that has perhaps the most miniature golf courses per square mile any where in the US... we didn't stop to play, but I'd like to go back some day and try a few of them. In Tennessee we mined for rubies and sapphires, I think we even found a few low grades stones. But one of the most interesting parts of the trip was Lookout Mountain.

Just south of the Chattanooga river is a place called Lookout Mountain. I've spent most of my life near mountains and I really like to have some around. So the fact that Lookout Mountain by its very nature is a mountain works well for me. There are a lot of things that I like about mountains. I like the wildlife, I like the plants, I like the scenery, and I love the water. I think mountain water is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen.  I love mountain lakes, mountain streams and especially a good mountain waterfall.

Lookout Mountain has a GOOD mountain waterfall called Ruby Falls. It never rains at Ruby falls.  It's always 58 degrees, oh yeah, and it's inside the mountain.

We had to see Ruby Falls.
So we signed up for the tour. The tour starts in an elevator. I'm not sure how far we went down in the elevator, but after a while the whole group had arrived at the trailhead... inside the mountain.  We started our journey toward the falls.  The path is nice, in a natural tunnel kind of way. There are stalactites and stalagmites, and tons of cool features in this mostly natural cave.  Along the way our guide would point out various features, that in and of themselves would have probably been worth the trip. Those responsible for the area have installed lights to help you see the cool features and of course the trail. Occasionally, we would have to duck to get through a part of the cave... Some of us (my self included) had to duck a little more often.

As we got closer to the falls there were less and less lights.  It seems like our guide has a flashlight, and there was just enough light to see the person in front of you. Slowly we inched our way toward the falls. We could tell by the sound that we were getting close. The water grew louder and louder, we had to be there soon. It wasn't long after we started hearing the water that we began to feel the moisture in the air. And then everybody stopped. As we huddled together the guide told us the story of how these falls were discovered.
A small group of men had been exploring these caves. What they found was not what they expected. What they found was a waterfall.

As the story concluded, in that instant, the cave came alive. Suddenly there were lights. Suddenly we could see. Suddenly we all realized that this was no ordinary waterfall. This was 145 feet and millions of gallons of water rushing from a place high above to below where we stood, and it was right in front of us. This was impressive... awe inspiring... and unique.

As I said before I really love a good waterfall, and Lookout Mountain for me is one of the best that I've seen. Tennessee, you can count on seeing me again, because I would love to go back to lookout mountain, and I will look out, but I will most definitely also look in!

Question (Yep I'm still writing... well, maybe occasionally)

I know, I'm sure you thought I would probably never write again. But alas, here I am. Of course it is only fair... given that circumstances that you may not be reading this anymore. I get that. And I'm ok with it. But I've been pondering a question, and I think it would be interesting to find out what people think about it.

Yep, you guessed it... It's a dating question. Kind of a dangerous topic, and could easily take a turn for the worse, but I think it could be helpful, both to me and to those who respond (or perhaps not to either, but still...)
As a preface I have to say that I know I'm not a perfect dater, And I'm not entirely sure what I think the answer to this question is, or perhaps even what I think the answer to the other side of this question is. Though I have been giving it some thought, but for now, I'd kind of just like to hear what you think. whoever you are. Ü

So here's the question:
What is a girls role in dating? or if you prefer, what is her job, or responsibility, or any other words that seems to fit better (though I will say if you choose to answer a somewhat modified question, I hope you will share the question as well).

I welcome your thoughts.

We interrupt you're regularly scheduled programing

For a PSA

Ah, Who am I kidding,
There's no regularly scheduled programming,
Heck we're lucky if there's any programming at all.

But since my parents up and bought a car last weekend, I thought I would take a minute to share some thoughts on driving.

(the car is being built right now... if everything is going as it should be)

You're probably worse than you think.
Actually it has long been my contention that we are, as a society, not really very good at driving.
It would be nice if there was a drivers re-ed class, to break some of our bad habits and to remind us of some of the laws that we totally forgot shortly after our amazing Drivers-ed taught by Herr Corry.

Maybe you didn't have the Herr, maybe you don't know about grandma walking home with her ice cream.
But even if you did, and as good as he was, I still think a little drivers re-ed would be nice.

I was actually lucky enough to have such a course.
In fact it was mandatory for my short stint at the post office, and it was actually pretty useful.
So here are three simple things that I learned that may be useful to you as well... and of course may make the road a little bit safer for the new CR-V.

Ok here's a test. How fast are your reflexes?
I remember when I was younger, (perhaps not much, but some) I used to take a stopwatch and see how quickly I could get it from off to on, and off again. most of the time I could get it under a one tenth of a second.  But I controlled all the variables, and I knew it was coming.  In the real world it's not so smooth. First you have to recognize a problem them you have to respond to it.  And of course there's that other bit... The laws of Physics. No matter how quickly you can react to your situation, your car is not designed to stop on a dime. So most safe driving courses will recommend that you follow  seconds behind the car in front of you.  The post office recommends a four-second gap.   This may not seem like much, but try it sometime, it will probably shock you how far back you have to be. (To count pick a spot on the road or something by the road, and count from the time the car in front of you passes it until you get to it)  For inclement weather leave more space.  I can pretty much guarantee that this alone would greatly decrease the number of accidents.  For bonus points make the car behind you give you some space too. At the post office they told us to slow down if someone was crowding us. Almost every time the other guy would go around.

#2 Do you actually come to a complete stop?
I totally thought I did this the right way, until I took the Post office driving test. I guess old habits really are hard to break, I knew they'd be watching for it, and I still missed my complete stop more often than I should have.

#3 If you have to stop behind somebody, at an intersection for instance, leave more space. Ok, maybe you are doing this one correctly. But this is what they taught me. Always make sure you can see the bottom of the next guys tire. This will help you if they roll back, or if you get rear ended.... which you can't always control.
When you get ready to leave a read light give it a second or two (especially if you're in New York). Yeah people will honk, but it's better than running into the idiot that thought he could beat the light... Yes, that idiot may be me, but I almost always do beat the light, and I only go for it if I think it's my safest option.

Well that's all for now. I can't wait to see the new car. And hopefully the roads will be totally safe by the time it gets here. Oh yeah, and I want a unicorn, and world peace.

Bougatsa, I'm not posting it for you, I'm posting it for me.

This is close to my real recipe, but there are some differences.
I'll fix it some time when I... well have time.

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks), plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Zest from 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup fine semolina (preferably Greek)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 9 sheets phyllo
• 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and lemon zest. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Whisk in semolina, and cook, stirring, until the mixture is thick, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat, and whisk in eggs, one at a time. Return saucepan to heat, and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 to 40 seconds, to cook the eggs. Remove custard from heat, and let cool to room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt remaining 2 sticks butter with olive oil; use some of this mixture to brush an 8-inch round 9 x 13 nonstick springform baking pan. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon.
3. Stack phyllo on a work surface, cover with parchment paper, and top with a damp kitchen towel. Working with one sheet of phyllo at a time, place one of the corners into the center of the pan and gently press the dough so that it fits tightly in the pan. Lay the corner of the second sheet of phyllo into the center of the pan, slightly overlapping the first sheet of phyllo. Press the second sheet tightly into the pan. Lay a third sheet of phyllo in the same manner, covering the remainder of the pan (one layer of dough is now completed). Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo with a generous amount of the butter mixture. Lightly sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
4. Place three more sheets of phyllo into the pan in the same manner, brushing with the butter mixture and sprinkling with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat process again with the remaining 3 sheets of phyllo (you will now have completed three layers). Fill phyllo-lined pan with custard; spread evenly.
5. Working with one layer at a time, fold phyllo sheets toward the center of the pan. Brush generously with the butter mixture and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Repeat folding, buttering, and sprinkling until all layers have been folded toward the center. Do not sprinkle the top layer as the cinnamon-sugar mixture may burn and darken the pastry. Prick all over with a fork, and bake, on a Silpat-lined baking sheet, until golden brown, about 1 hour.
6. Combine remaining tablespoon of cinnamon with the confectioners' sugar, and sprinkle over the surface of the phyllo when removed from oven. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
   
   Pilferred Borrowed from  Martha Stewart Ü

1. A note about puff pastry.... It takes four sheets or two packages.
2. Note number 2.  Puff pastry hasn't worked as well for me I think I would try it on 400º but
3. i'm not exactly sure, but I'm guessing the cooking time would be less too.
4.