Date Nut Crunch Balls - Mama's Christmas Recipe

8 oz pitted dates (buy chopped and dusted in sugar)
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick margarine
2 cups rice crispies
1/2 cup nuts (use favorite type like pecans)
1/2 cup coconut

Mix dates, brown sugar and margarine in pan over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add rice crispies, nuts and coconut. Stir until well mixed. When cool enough to handle, roll into balls and drop in pan with powdered sugar and set aside.

(Rods favorite, Not Cliftons Favorite)

Glamour Cookies (or Cranberry and White Chocolate Christmas Cookies)

1c all-purpose flour
½ cup super fine sugar
½ tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 cup rolled oats
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 stick plus 1 tbsp soft butter
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup roughly chopped pecans
¾ cup white-chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder and oats in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat together butter and sugars with an electric mixer until creamy.
Add egg and vanilla.
Beat in dry ingredients.
Fold in cranberries, pecans and chips.
Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on a baking sheet lined with tinfoil.
Flatten each ball with a fork.
Bake for 15 minutes or until pale gold.
Let cool on a rack.
Drizzle cookies with melted white-chocolate.
Makes 3 dozen.

Nat's tips:
Cookies tend to take less than 15 minutes--usually between 11-13
minutes. They seem to keep baking on the foil but you can't move them
off the foil for a few minutes so better to pull them out a tad undone.
I used cherry crasions.
I buy extra white chocolate chips for the melting and drizzling.
I usually double the recipe.

(I have not made this recipe yet but just saved it here so I could try it one day. Thanks Natalie for sharing on facebook!)

Honeycomb

Ingredients:

1 cup of castor sugar (or normal white sugar will do)

1 tablespoon of water

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 teaspoon bicarb soda (sifted so it has no lumps)

Grease a lamington tin with butter.

Place sugar, water and syrup in a large saucepan.

Cook, stirring over low heat until the sugar has mostly dissolved (sugar will not completely dissolve).

Raise heat – bring mixture to the boil.

Lower heat – simmer until mixture is a rich golden brown – about 10 mins. Don’t stir during cooking, but be careful it doesn’t burn. (At this stage, if you drop a little bit of the mixture into cold water it should be brittle – that’s also a way to tell if it’s ready).

Add bicarb soda – using a wooden spoon, stir quickly until combined.

Continue cooking until mix has risen to top of saucepan – about 1 min (this is why you need a large saucepan).

Take off heat. Pour into the tin. Do not flatten or stir the mixture. Mixture will drop slightly after being poured into the tin.

Leave at room temperature to set.

Break into pieces.

EAT!!!

--This recipe is from Rod's sister Jo. I tried 3 times to make this and it failed each time. Maybe I can get her to show me the next time we are together.

blue berry cake

1 box duncan hines golden butter cake mix
3 eggs
3/4 cup crisco oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup sugar

Mix all ingredients together and beat for 2 minutes
bake in 3 layers (greased and floured) pans
375 degrees for 15 minutes

frosting
1 8oz cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1 stick margarine softened
2 tsp vanilla
1 8 oz coolwhip
1 can blueberry pie filling

beat cream cheese, sugar and margarine until smooth and creamy.
Add vanilla and coolwhip and beat well

On cool layers use 1/3 frosting on each layer
adding 1/3 can of blue berry pie filling to top of each layer and
repeat for each layer

cake must be kept in refrigerator, gets better every day.

Kayaking the Upper Toccoa River

Second trip onto the Toccoa, this time in the Aska Adventure area where the Toccoa river runs into Lake Blue Ridge. Dam release times will have no affect on a trip on this portion of the river, only the natural precipitation that will change the river-scape.

Again, finding information on drop-ins and take-outs is difficult, especially if you do not have two cars and need to find a convenient trip possible with one car and biking between locations. After a bit of investigating and scouting, we found a great trip that we believe that we can still improve upon now that we have a better idea of the area.

Expect more info and map here soon of drop in and out locations.

In summary, we put in a Sandy Bottoms and took out near Tilly Bend. What this equates to is a 6 mile paddle with only an easy 2 mile distance between the put ins and take outs.

Sandy Bottoms is a Forestry Service maintained park that is actually the official end of the 13 mile Toccoa Canoe Trail. It has a $3 parking fee. We dropped the kayaks and gear at this location, and then drove back to Tilly Bend. Here, we parked on a pull-off on the road, then road our bikes back to Sandy Bottoms. There was some uphill sections at the start, all on dirt roads, but was a fairly easy 2 mile ride back. In this general area, we believe we might have used the wrong location to take out, so there might still be a better location that we hope to discover soon.

Immediately from Sandy Bottoms, you will hit class I rapids and shoals for the majority of the trip. The water flow is brisk and we passed many people simply floating down in tubes. We did scrape bottom a few times on the shoals and rapids, but the river level is generally deeper than the lower Toccoa when it is not running dam water. The 6 mile river as it winds through the hills with the blooming wild flowers is also beautiful. You pass few houses till you reach the end and closer to the lake.

There were three notable rapids. The first was a series of shallow water falls that look more intimidating than they really were. The second, which we later found out was a class II+ was a lot of fun, and probably the limit of what our kayaks could do. My first attempt and I was quickly thrown out into a deep washing machine (note - it would have been nice to have been wearing the PFD that was tied to the back of the kayak...). When I finally got to the surface I was lucky to be able to quickly grab the kayak as I was tossed over the second drop over some rocks. The water was moving pretty fast here so it took a while to paddle to the side and get back into the kayak.

Apart from losing my sunglasses, I was no worse for wear. Traci on the other hand looked like a pro and had no issues going down the rapid. We both climbed back up the rocks and did it again. This time we both tipped and I lost my water bottle and Traci lost her sunglasses and hat.

Found hat and water bottle down the river, but sunglasses forever gone.

The last rapid called BFH (you'll know why when you see it) was fun and fast and emptied into the lake. Here we had around a 1 hour lake paddle back to the take-in point. This was OK and afforded us some much needed exercise, but after the fun of the river, I would like a shorter lake paddle - will investigate a closer take out to shorten the lake paddle.

Kayaking the Lower Toccoa River

We finally scouted out out first paddle trip on the new kayaks. There are many resources on kayaking the Toccoa, unfortunately, its very difficult to find and usually only one part of the story. The Toccoa exists before and after Lake Blue Ridge Dam. The Upper Toccoa which releases into Lake Blue Ridge is not dam controlled waters, while the Lower Toccoa that releases from Blue Ridge Dam is dam controlled. There are a few things to consider before planning a trip:

1. Dam release times and how and where that will affect you.
2. Put in and take out locations.
3. Transportation from those locations.

First, dam release times are critical depending on the type of trip you wish to take. If the waters have not been released from the dam into the Toccoa, you will have a much slower trip, the river will be very shallow in parts meaning that you will scrap the bottom every now and again, plus you will need to paddle to reach your destination.

Our first trip down the river from Curtis Switch was without any flow waters. The first mile probably contained some of the most shallow sections, and we both found ourselves stuck on rocks several times. You really need to navigate around the shallows, but there is no avoiding hitting bottom. That said, we had heard it would be a terrible trip without the water flowing to its maximum, but minus a few frustrating moments, it was a very enjoyable trip and a nice learning experience. I would to it again.

To do a Dam Release trip you will need the release information from the TVA, an understanding when this flow will reach your put in, and when the flow will reach your take out.

The TVA published dam releases with around 24 hour notice. To find the release information for the Toccoa:

1. Visit www.tva.org
2. Select Reservoir Info on the left hand side of the page
3. On the Choose a Reservoir drop down, select Blue Ridge
4. Select View Info

Under Releases you'll see the release dates and times. It is only being released for a particular date and time if the generator is set to 1.

For a trip leaving Curtis Switch, you need to wait 3 hours after the release times before putting in. It takes 2 hours for the flow water to reach Curtis Switch, then you want to wait a little bit to ensure they get in front of your kayak, else you'll paddle faster than the release and hit bottom.

With release waters, it took us about one and half hours to reach Horseshoe Bend Park. This was a little bit more than half hour than without the flow waters. The trip is faster, and you wouldn't have to paddle if you didn't wish, but unfortunately, there were very little rapids or excitement. I would prefer to paddle the upper Toccoa in the Aska Adventure area, but still a pleasant trip with nice sights.

Running in Birmingham

While travelling in Birmingham, I have found a great running trail, between two different Marriott branded hotels I have stayed at. The running trail is along the Shades Creek Greenway in Homewood.

The trail has two main entrances, near an exit from Highway 31, and Interstate 65. The trail winds along Lakeshore Drive (it changes name I believe) and a creek, between a soccer part and a shopping center. I've seen people continue running, so I assume it continues somewhere.

Map to Area

Pats Kountry Kitchen

After our afternoon muddy mountain bike ride, Traci and I had built up an appetite. We wanted to go back to Good Fellas, but they were closed, which made for a good opportunity to check out Pats Kountry Kitchen. Southern Food. Filling and how can you go wrong? Well, misspelling country should have been our first sign.

Its was a large diner, but much of it was roped off due to its new Sunday hours and really only being partially open. Another warning sign. Traci ordered Chicken 'n' dumplings, and I ordered some country fried steak. Again, easy southern food and we were not concerned at this point.

The meal quickly went down hill as soon as it arrived. My 'steak' looked and taste like a frozen meat patty with generic breading and a horrible gravy sauce. The veggies were out of a can, and the fried okra was also from the frozen isle. Traci's Chicken and Dumplings were actually good, but the veggies were also out of a can, and the fried squash was also from the packet.

Google Map

Very disappointing, with the only 'highlights' being the biscuits and the Chicken and Dumplings. We should probably give the place another chance one day, but why bother when we love Good Fellas that is even closer. Sorry Pat, learn to spell Country. Its not cool to be Kountry.

Mountain Bike Ride - Tanasi Trails

We were about to head back down to Atlanta, when Dusty called us late Sunday afternoon and asked if we wanted to go for a mountain bike ride. We headed down to Brush Creek trail towards Boydd Gap. We had just done it recently on our Hybrids, but this time we got a chance to borrow some real mountain bikes from Dusty at Raft One.

Since it had been raining all weekend, the trail was covered with puddles and mud, making some of the turns a little dicey. Neither of us could keep up with Dusty and Brent has they screamed in front of us. Instead of doing the 7 mile trail directly to Boydd Gap, the brothers took us along a side track that took us closer to the lake but was still a 7 mile loop. It was an excellent introduction to Mountain Bike riding.

This is the general area

If you are ever in the area and want to rent some bikes and get some advice on which trails are best for your skill level, the guys at Raft One have great information on mountain biking on the Tanasi Trails as well as whitewater rafting on the ocoee.

Banana Oatmeal Raisin Waffles

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup quick-cooking (rolled) oats
• 1 very ripe medium-size banana
• 1 1/2 cups soy milk (NOTE: I didn't have soy milk so I used what I had, fat free milk)
  
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup raisins
• Extra sliced bananas for the top

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions.
2. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the oats and toss together.
3. In a separate bowl, mash the banana very well. Add the soy milk, maple syrup, and vegetable oil. You can use a handheld blender to blend everything together; if you don’t have one, mix vigorously with a strong fork until there are very few clumps of banana left.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the raisins.
5. Let the batter sit for 2 minutes before making the waffles; this allows the oatmeal to get moist and blend with the rest of the batter.
6. Prepare the waffles according to the manufacturer’s directions. Serve with margarine, maple syrup, and sliced bananas on top.

Goodfellas Breakfast

Because of the gloomy weather and uninteresting food options in the cabin, Traci and I trekked down to Good Fellas, maybe a mile or two down the road. We had only been there once before for a late lunch and were impressed. Country dining, but not too country, in fact kinda cool for North Georgia.

I decided on the Hwy 5 omelet. Spinach, mushrooms and feta cheese. Amazing. Side of toast and hash browns completed the meal. Traci had more traditional fare of scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy with hash browns. She was trying for a smaller portion but what arrived was a massive plate of eggs and fried potatoes with another large biscuit and a cup of gravy.

Maybe not healthy, but the breakfast was delicious. Highly recommend the place.

Google Map

April Weekend Cabin Retreat

We finally had the Alpharetta group up to the cabin. I kinda had the day off, but I spent the morning waiting for a call from a customer as I was trying to finish off a project. Did not make for a fun Friday morning. Decided to have a beer at lunch and forget work. Finally the customer called and I was in the all clear.

Gina, Paul, Beka and Charlie arrived during the afternoon. First order of business was for us guys to ride to a nearby school and find my first Geocache. It was a fun short ride and now I am addicted to geocaching. We met the girls at Horseshoe Bend Park for a picnic and some beers and champas. Too buzzed/tired to ride back up the monster hill, so we all went back to Patricks and some pitchers of beer. The girls came back and picked us up and we put the bikes on the hitch.

Relaxing in Horseshoe Bend Park

Riding Bikes in McCaysville

The night concluded with some more drinks, hot tub and table tennis.

On Saturday we tried to have a picnic at Ocoee Whitewater Rafting Center, but there was a race on and we couldn't park (and nearly got lost in the Bermuda Triangle of car parks). We ended up a Mac Beach, further towards the lake. Was a excellent day in the sun. On the way back we found another Geocache in MacCaysville.

Enjoying the sandy beach at MacPoint Park

Geocaching in McCaysville

We met Kat and Vince back at the Cabin. Some more good food and drinks with some table tennis challenges. The night did contain the first ever high dive bean bag dive. Concluded the night in the hot tub where we did find the perfect temp even for hot summer days (around 98F).

On Sunday we all went for an Ocoee whitewater rafting trip with Dusty from Raft One. It was an excellent day that included some rock/raft sliding into the cold river waters. Lots of fun even if the cold waters took your breath away, and then you still had to fight the currents to swim back to the rock. Repeat.

Rafting on the Middle Ocoee River

We ended the tiring weekend by chilling in the sun and shade. Excellent company, excellent weekend.

Ocoee White Water Rafting

Second Weekend of April. Spring is here. Last weekend was 75 degrees and beautiful. Last Tuesday it dropped below freezing and snowed. Today we went white water rafting anyway.

We have had our cabin now almost 4 months and have really been looking foward to doing some white water rafting. Last weekend we saw rafters and decided that it was time to try it out. I found some websites and started doing research because I always like being well prepared.

We found a company http://www.raft1.com/ and spoke to Dusty. He was so nice and helpful. He assured us that we would not be cold. Last night there were some crazy storms, tornado warnings and power outages. I was afriad it was going to rain out our trip. This morning we got up, had breakfast, and saw the clouds and wind. We were beginning to get worried and Dusty emailed us and told us if we still wanted to go we would have a great time because the water was higher than normal. We chose to go. We knew we would be cold, but figured we could just come back to the cabin and jump in the hot tub to warm up.

We headed up, geared up, and jumped in the van for the short ride to the put in point.

The trip was so amazing. Dusty did great to keep us entertained, educated us on the river, the rocks, the area (He even told us a great place to go one morning and see some deer and BEAR. Yes I said BEAR! I think Rod is going to make me get up at the break of dawn to try it)

I never got cold. I mean if I had fell off the raft and tried to swim, I would have probably been really cold, but just the water that was spilling into the raft was fine. We were using enough energy and adrenalin that we were never cold. I didnt have a watch, but we were on the water a long time. We even stopped and took a hike up a waterfall. It was beautiful.

I look forward to doing it again in weeks to come when the weather is warmer and we can wear our swimsuites. Jumping off the raft to cool off will be great.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

An unremarkable and surprisingly long three and a half hour flight down to Puerto Rico, until we reached the island, flying over outgoing and incoming cruise ships and a flight path directly over Old San Juan.  Didn't know anything about it at the time, but from the air, I knew I wanted to visit that place.  Come to find out that Old San Juan is one of the prime tourist destinations of Peurto Rico.

The cab ride to my hotel was the ride of my life.  New York which is famous for its taxis are nothing compared to the operations here.  The ride started normal, then I got stuck in rush hour traffic.  I could tell that traffic was definitely going to be an issue here.  A small quaint island it was not.  My driver started speaking Spanish to another taxi driver coming the opposite direction, and even with my total lack of understanding Spanish, I could tell there was an accident ahead.  My driver slowly worked his was to the next exit and I took a ride through the poor local districts all the way to my hotel.  First, I couldn't believe the taxi could fit on these roads, secondly, I couldn't believe he fit, with parked cars and oncoming traffic.  The small narrow streets and people everywhere did not affect his speed.  He only hit another car door once.

I was disappointed to find that my hotel was further away from the main beach and hotel cluster than I thought, but that would account for my hotel being half the price.  A quick walk around my hotel I was unable to see how I was able to walk over to the main area as it seems I was separated by a large lagoon and highways.  The few small local restaurants that I walked past were all closed/not open yet and didn't look that great.  I ended up eating at the hotel.

Early start on Tuesday as my customer picked me up at the hotel.  After getting to the business on the other side of the city, we drove to a warehouse location where I performed the training so that nobody else in the company could find my students.  The warehouse was an unpleasant place to work for the rest of the week.  Water was only available for one day.  An advantage/disadvantage was that because I was working for a distribution company for many products, including various snack items, there was no shortage of foods and candies in the training room from boxes stolen from throughout the warehouse.  Lunch consisted of a simple sandwich brought in from somewhere.  Nothing fancy, but satisfying enough.

Leaving work that day, the tropical rains started.  Most evenings for the rest of the week I had torrential rainstorms.  I took a taxi that evening down to San Juan beach and hotel district to find a place to eat.  It was a short trip, and barring the rain, I knew how to walk it for the rest of the week.  I hid in the Marriott Lobby bar as the rain would not stop.  I thought I would have to settle in for several drinks and some sort of appetizers, when the rain slowed a little and I decided to take a chance and explore the main strip.  I finally decided on Tijuana's Bar.  It was a small eatery where I found an empty stool at the bar.  I followed my rule of trying a pork dish (pork is always cooked differently, no matter where you go in the world I have found).  If I had ordered a Pork Burrito in the US, I would have expected some sort of barbecue pork thing, but here I got almost a dry roasted pork with some sort of sweet marinade and the usual fare of cheese, beans and guacamole.  The real punch for the evening was the margarita.  The first one was good, and by the second one I was feeling a little wasted.  Excellent for just two drinks.  Receiving the bill, I found that the drinks were not cheap, but luckily, they only charged me for one, and rather than being honest as I usually would since I expense the meal, I let this one slip.  I was thankful for the walk back to the hotel as I need to sober up a bit.

Wednesday was another typical day at work with pizza brought in for lunch.  For dinner, with a break in the rain, I walked back down into the city.  Before eating, I decided to look for the beach in the fading daylight.  As seems typical in these tourist areas, the hotels line the beach and it was very difficult to find public access.  Once I found it via a road, it was disappointing.  Its a shame they have allowed the island to be built up so much and ruin the beachfront.  Where are the public access parks?  I know they exists (I did find them another night), but it would be better if the whole area was open.  For dinner, I decided on Yerbabuena, a contemporary Caribbean place.  I had Red Snapper in a wine sauce with a flash fried mash potato thing.  It was a great meal, sitting outdoor in a relaxed atmosphere.  The economy seems to have hit the tourism trade here, as there were not many people out tonight.  I tried the local beer for the first time tonight "Madella light" meaning medals in Spanish apparently for all the awards it has won.  I have to admit, that for a light beer, I enjoyed it very much.  I will be looking  for that back home.

On Thursday, we finally went out for lunch (and I could use a bathroom for the first time).  We went to Chicago Burger company where I tried a single small Chicago Deep Dish pizza.  I never have that at home and its funny that I have to come to Puerto Rico to have some excellent Chicago style pizza.  While one of the other guys went to the bank, we walked around a local Mall.  Nothing special, like every other mall in America.  The island definitely got the consumer culture from the American Occupation.

It has been raining hard all day, and did not let up all night.  Since I had eaten a large lunch, I decided to try and go for a a run after work.  The rain had slowed a little so I took a chance, changed and headed in the opposite direction than I had been going the other nights.  I ran across some highways, some bridges and reached the shoreline.  I found out later that I had actually crossed onto the small island that Old San Juan is located on.  I kept running along the shore.  The rain was back in full force and now I had to contend with the strong onshore winds.  It hurt to look out to sea with the horizontal rain, but it was amazing see the rough and raw surf of the Atlantic ocean.  I ran along a road lined with palm trees and with no buildings on the backside.   It was nice to be in an undeveloped area.  I continued running through a park and along a beach.  With the disappearing light and for my own safety, I turned back and returned to the hotel.  That night I ate again at the hotel - its always disappointing when you are in another country to eat at the hotel.

Friday is here and I was happy to wrap up work.  We had squeezed seven days of training into four and I and the students were tired.  We took a late lunch in some Mexican joint.  I had some sort of sweet pork taco dish that was excellent and washed it down with a margarita.  One of the surprising things to learn from this trip was how much Mexican/Spanish influence there was on this island, and not the Caribbean influence of the very close Caribbean islands.  Eating at a Mexican restaurant in Atlanta, you always have to endure the Mexican/Latin music.  I always thought that was fake and put there for us Gringos, but from this trip, I've learnt that this is the music everyone listens too all the time and loud.  No wonder these people like to dance and party when all they do is listen to happy and peppy songs all day.

After work, Israel took me on a tour around Old San Juan before taking me to the hotel.  We walked around the sights for a couple of hours.  It was like stepping back in time.  It was a five hundred old year city preserved behind the massive Spanish fort that once protected this island.  It was very beautiful and a different world.  I would have to return the next day and take photos when I have light.  It was late when I got back to the hotel and I was ready to eat.  I walked back down into the city.  The other nights the city had been quite, but Friday had transformed it.  It was full of very well dressed up young people.  There was no way I could get into my regular haunts with what I was wearing.  I also felt uncomfortable being the lonely single guy eating dinner while everyone else around me was preparing to party.  I finally settled on the Chicago Burger Company at the end of the strip.  It was very uncool, but also mostly empty, and being American, it had no dress code.  I ate, and was happy to leave.

I awoke early on Saturday morning.  Rather than being lazy, I showered, dressed and started walking to Old San Juan.  The walk took me about fifty minutes.  I walked around the small winding streets and small parks talking photos all morning.  A couple of cruise ships had come in the previous evening so I wanted to beat the crowds.  I couldn't believe the amount of cars, as these brick paved streets were designed before a automobile could have even been imagined.  Today I was blessed with sunshine, but a fierce wind.  With blisters forming, I had to turn back.  I went back via the beach I had run past the other evening.  Today it was filled with locals.  I took fifteen minutes to walk in the sand, wade through the water and just relax.  It was the best fifteen minutes of the trip.  The sea air does wonders for the body and mind.

Returning to the hotel, I packed, sat in the sunshine for a while, then jumped in a taxi and started the boring trip back to the states.  The only plus for the return was the upgrade to first class.  Funny since they just unjustly downgraded my status, that I suddenly get an upgrade.  All I can say is movies with gin and tonic - that and the apparent drama I missed in cattle class in the back.  During the flight a doctor was called over the PA but I couldn't see why.  I learnt after the flight that a flight had broken out and one guy had his face pushed to the back of his head.  The blood was extensive.  When we landed the police came in the back and the medics in the front.  Still not sure what really happened, but as I said - Gin and Tonic.

Girls weekend in Blue Ridge

We had a relaxing girls weekend at the cabin. Two of my friends are pregnant and a few of us girls realized we had not seen each other in a while so we decided to catch up for a weekend of relaxation. Since we had preggy's in the house, we decided to keep the weekend alcohol free, and it was a nice change.

It was rainy most of the weekend so it was perfect for lounging around watching movies and such. We painted our nails, used hot rollers to poof our hair, created "smokey eyes", used face masks and refreshed our eyes with cool eye masks.

Of course we over indulged with the food. We made homemade apple pie, parmesan artichoke dip, pasta and vegetables, waffles, mini sandwiches, broccoli salad, strawberry shortcake, meatloaf and a finished it off with a Sunday brunch of sausage/egg/potato scramble... yummy.

On the rainy Saturday afternoon, Misty and I headed out for a quick run so our bodies would forgive us. We took off from the cabin and ran a pretty hilly course. I will have to try that one again one day when there is no rain.


Thank's to Brooke for taking this picture of the cabin in the snow. This was a bizarre snow. Atlanta and everywhere south of the Georgia mountains got a lot of snow on this first day of March and these little flurries were all we had in Blue Ridge... oh well, maybe next time.

Slow Roasted Greek Lamb

While the Wifey is off on a girls weekend to the cabin, I thought it would be very masculine to try and cook something new.  It is pretty hard to go wrong when you slow roast a leg of lamb for 5 hours at only 300 F.  I seasoned the meat with salt, pepper, chunks of garlic and sprigs of oregano.  I then basted the lamb with a third of a cup of lemon juice.  After cooking covered for a couple of hours, I introduced wedges of potato and continued cooking for a couple more hours covered.  Finally, I removed the cover and let cook for a little longer.  No cutting the meat from the bone necessary - it just fell off.

I accompanied the meat and potatoes with a Tabouli salad made the day before (bulger wheat, parsley, red peppers, yellow peppers, green peppers, tomato, green onions, lemon, oil, salt and pepper).  Amazing if  I don't say myself.

Trip to Baldtown Brass Mountain

After all the cold with work travel and skiing, Saturday in North Georgia was finally giving us some sunshine and much needed heat. With blue skies we decided to trek out towards Blairsville, about 20 miles east of Blue Ridge and continue onto Baldtown Brass Mountain, Georgias highest peak of over 4000 feet.

We had a quick pit stop and Tom and Julie's new cabin perched atop a ridge with an amazing view. We toured the home and enjoyed the sun on the deck. I'm sure they cannot wait till it is officially theirs and they can start furnishing it and enjoying the view full-time.

We reached the mountain base soon as it was only 11 miles out of Blairsville. As we started the climb into the park, we saw the signs about the park fee. We had no money on us! We went a little further up the steep incline but then turned around. We would have to return another day.

On the way back we tried following some signs to an archaeological site, but got turned around and couldn't find it. Since we were in the area, we returned to Blairsville and picked up some local pamphlets detailing hikes and parks. This time armed with directions we went looking for the archaeological site again (but typical local directions up here only got us half the way) and eventually found the lamest site ever. The rocks had 10,000+ year old Indian carvings, which sound cool, but the local graffiti and the fact that we were not looking at the original location of the rocks made the whole site seem fake. It was cool kinda seeing some carvings and knowing the age, but I hope there are better examples out there.

The next day we braved the declining weather conditions and set out towards Brasstown Bald again.  We tried to park and pay, but no attendant or parking envelopes so we risked not paying.  It was Sunday and the place was empty except for a few cars.  It was only a 1+ mile hike to the summit, but we felt it for the next couple of days.  The view was nice from the top, but the skies were gloomy and wet.  Again, we will have to return.

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Breckenridge, Colorado

An early start on Tuesday meant an arduous drive through Atlanta to the airport. Gina's dad kindly drove Paul, Gina, Traci and Rod through traffic the entire way. Slow trip but we got to the airport at a perfect time. Check-in and meeting the rest of the crew at the gate was a breeze. The flight to Denver was more work than vacation, especially flying over the incredibly flat and boring American Heartland.  Spirits were up at the airport, and after collecting bags and Mini-vans, it felt like the vacation was about to start for everybody.

A stop on the outskirts of Denver before climbing the mountains afforded us time to have margaritas at On The Boarder which made it easier to stomach the $500 grocery bill incurred at Big 'Sooper'.  We stopped at the liquor store for the standard stockpile, plus some roadies for the drive up over the continental divide. Wine out of a personal cask - yum! Weather was good and we had a safe drive to the cabin.

Tuesday night was a relaxing casual affair. We all snacked, drank and sat in the hot tub. A run through the snow in bathers to create a snow angel did result in mysterious cut up shins (from the ice?) for Rod.  The snow angel in the backyard remained for the rest of the trip.

Wednesday was our first day of skiing. The gondola that took us up the mountain was only a short walk from house - prime location. Even with no crowds for the entire day, the equipment rental was a slow experience. Traci's first chair loading experience resulted in a near face plant and a stopped chair lift. Practice makes perfect. Traci and I stuck to the greens with Kat. It was an excellent re-introduction to skiing as it had been a couple of years since Lake Tahoe out west. Ski conditions were good but it was bitter cold at the top of the mountain and riding the chair lift. The cold air was sapping energy out of all of us.

On Thursday, Traci took intermediate lessons for the whole day. Rod ventured over the Peak seven which had no greens. In hindsight they were easy blues on that peak, but it was an excellent feeling knowing the greens were too easy. Rod did take a path down around the trees that turned out not to be a path and ended buried in last nights powder. It took Vince and his Man Purse of resources to dig him out. Today seemed even colder. Some beers at lunch made the skiing a little easier, maybe even forget the cold for a little while, but the cold did us all in. We had to pack up before close and head back home to the fire and hot tub. That night we all went to Fatties and ate way to much pizza, but at least we had lots of leftovers for the next few days.

Friday blessed us with excellent weather - it even approached 32 Fahrenheit.  For something a little different, we headed down to Keystone to meet up with some of Gina's friends. Keystone was a fantastic set of runs. Very different from Breckenridge, with most of the slopes being more difficult than what we beginners were used for the last couple of days. Before lunch and with some boot mishaps for Traci we only got to do the beginners runs that was 3 and a half miles long! It was fun but unchallenging and somewhat crowded.  For lunch we took the gondola to another peak to eat at the Outback Lodge. It was a better if not pricier lodge than Breckenridge. 

After a full belly, we all went as a group to try some blue runs on the is peak. Started easy, but Traci and Rod were up for their biggest challenge yet. The blues seemed to be cliffs at some points. Thankfully the group was very patient as we slowly made our way down by at first falling and sliding, but with some help we both managed to ski down.  It was exhausting tackling those slopes, but we both learned a tremendous about skiing, and was the one moment of the trip that we both went up a grade in our abilities.

The only unfortunate incident of Keystone was on the final run. With sore legs, Rod decided to split from the main group and take the long but easy green back to the base. On the final turn back to the main base, Rod went the other way. It wasn't until he got to the bottom, that he realized he was at another peak and the lifts were closed so he couldn't go back up the mountain and come back down the right way. With his phone not working, he waited for a bus to return to the main village. Almost an hour later, he returned to a crying Traci and supportive Kat and learned of them calling ski patrol (yes, he has black pants and a red/black/grey jacket and goggles - have you seen him?). Re-unitied, we all returned to Breckenridge.

Saturday was another excellent day of weather. We were very tired, but determined to make the best of the trip. Traci and Rod left the house first to get in line for ski rental. The first trip down the slopes was hard, but the second one was almost torture. We could feel all the previous days of skiing in our legs.  Being Saturday we were also battling crowds for the first time which did not improve our mood. Before calling it quits, we went to the lodge to have a couple of beers and Advil. The rest did us good. We managed to fit in another couple of runs before lunch. We met everyone else, had some sandwiches (and beer of course) and hit the slopes again. It turned out to be one of the best afternoons. Not sure if it was the beers, or knowing that it was possibly the last time we would get to go skiing for a while, but all the runs were fun and relaxing for the remaining of the afternoon. Instead of going home early in the morning, we ended up closing the place down.

Sunday was a much deserved rest day. Even though the weather was good, we had no doubt about giving the skiing a rest.  Before Superbowl Sunday started, we walked into town.  Looked around the mostly tourist trap shops and had a quick look at the Ice Sculptures.  Though it proved very difficult to find, we had a great and cheap lunch at My Thai.  Little hole in the wall with cheap eats and cheap drinks.  Another thing that is surprisingly difficult to find in Breckenridge is a good cup of joe.

Before the game started, Traci and I did a quick grocery store run to buy what we now know as a Colorado law, weak weak 3% beer.  They can only sell full strength at bars.  Note to self: Never buy beer at a store in Colorado again.  Would explain why we had so much trouble getting drunk of that stuff.  Superbowl was surprisingly fun.  Ended up having allot of shots for some personal violation rule that was supposed to be rare.  What is rare is people like me that do not know the sport to take advantage of.  Doesn't matter, the football was fun.

Monday and the return to Atlanta.  The weather was still perfect so no trouble getting over the mountains back to Denver.  Second wind at the airport led to many pre-flight drinks.  Excellent way to end the trip.

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Montreal, Canada

Jan 19th - 23rd. A visit to Montreal in the dead of winter is an interesting and cold experience. After visiting Jackson Hole last week, I thought I was prepared for the cold, but I was poorly prepared. Snow, wind and ice in a big city combine to produce a frozen experience. Cold aside, Montreal is a wonderful city.

The beginning of the trip did not start well. Driving in a new city covered with snow, most road lanes missing and most road signs in French is difficult. Added to that, I was given the incorrect address to my customer, and then my GPS unit did not have the new address. A couple of hours late, with the aid of hand scribbled maps I finally reached the customer site. Later that day, my room key broke at the hotel, locking me out of my room for a while. I was finally able to go to bed after they had replaced the door electronics. Usually, the travel aggravation on the first day sets the tone for the business week, but so far my fears have been for nought as my customer has been a gracious host.

On Tuesday night I went out into the city with my customer Daniel. We drove up and around Mount Royal (Mont Royal) when I had a great view of the city at night - finally it wasn't snowing and the skies were clear. Back in the city we had dinner at a great little and warm bar call Baton Rouge (The Red Bat). While we were there I could see that the Atlanta Thrashers were beating Montreal in Ice Hockey being played back in Atlanta (3 - 2 when I left). After ribs and chicken, we drove to Old Port Montreal. Sand stone buildings line the streets and port, transporting you to any European city across the pond. Reminded me of the Rocks in Sydney, or Salamanca in Hobart.

Leaving the snow pack cobblestone streets, I returned to my hotel, where once again, my keys didn't work.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Jan 12th - 16th. I visited Jackson Hole and surrounding area for the first time during the winter season while working for Jackson Hole Airport. I had last been to Jackson Hole during late fall where I experienced some stunning weather allowing me to tour the area and take advantage of day light savings time and drive up to Yellowstone National Part after work.


A totally different vista now with the winter landscape. Everywhere was covered by at least 2 feet of snow which apparently was a low year. I was fortunate to be working with a great bunch of people that took me cross country skiing one lunch and night time skiing at Snow king another time. Cross country skiing was difficult. Instinct had me trying to 'run' over the snow rather than the gliding action that was required. The different snow types encountered also changed the experience, from ice impacted snow to soft powder - each requiring a different action to cross over with the long narrow skis. While the rest of the group made it look easy, sweat was pouring off me. I was happy with my first attempt at six miles.

Snow King is one of Americas oldest ski resorts, with base in Jackson Hole city. With free ski lift tickets and rental equipment I got to enjoy a night of skiing. A very different experience at night with limited viewing of the obstacles ahead, though my lack of down hill speed did not cause a problem. After a few slow and bad runs, I finally got the hang of it and was able to get down the slop without falling and with more confidence.

Driving around the area I saw thousands of Elk and Moose as they huddled around rivers taking advantage of the soft snow to dig for grass. Also prowling around the Elk, I got to see a pack of wolves.


The dining experience at Jackson Hole is always enjoyable with a Wild West feel. I ate a couple of nights at the Silver Dollar Bar and Grill. Old west bar made famous for the 2500 Silver Dollar coins that comprise the bar. Enjoyed a Elk Gyro. Delicious meat. One of my favourite day places would be Dobins which is north of the airport towards Yellowstone but still within the Teton National Park. Excellent fresh food, pizza and salads with plenty of local brews to wash it down with. In the warmer months there is a rooftop seating area with an amazing view.

The Swinging Bridge - Blue Ridge, GA

One day during our Christmas vacation we decided to venture out for a hike. We decided to find the swinging Bridge that we had read so much about. The swinging bridge is a part of the Benton McCaye Trail and was originally built for logging purposes.


Rod will elaborate here.

Our Cabin in Blue Ridge

In 2008 we purchased a cabin in North Georgia. Our cabin is nestled along side a creek that is about 7 miles north of Blue Ridge, Georgia and about 3 miles from the Tennessee state line.

We were able to get our cabin all ready for the family so we could enjoy it together for Christmas 2008.

We look forward to many future trips to our cabin with family and friends in 2009.

Cloudland Canyon Camping - November 2008

Our final camping trip of 2008 was at Cloudland Canyon just south of Chattanooga Tennessee. We arrived at dusk which made locating our walk in campsites extremely difficult. After hiking around for about 40 minutes, we realized that most of the sites here had quite a hike and it would make hauling all our gear in difficult. We are comfort campers... air mattresses, coolers and gas stoves are all requirements. We found a nice large site that was a reasonable distance from the parking lot. Instead of the 3 sites we paid for, we all stayed at one spot. (We were not able to determine the location of many of the other sites, much less find 3 close together)

All the sites at cloudland canyon offer privacy, so its not the ideal location for group camping if you want multiple sites together, however since the sites are so large, it is possible for a group to stay on one site and still enjoy privacy.

The best part of this campground was the hiking. On Saturday our group enjoyed a 3 hour hike around the canyon and were able to enjoy some amazing views.