Top Loon comes to Valley of the Loons and a trip to Birmingham

Monday I flew from Phoenix Sky Harbor to Atlanta and finally Birmingham. On the way out of Sky Harbor we passed Air Force One on the Tarmac. It is such a Beautiful Plane. Not a big fan of its payload but the Plane is so incredible. They had buses lined up around the fence to block any direct line of site for security reasons.

We flew over the remnants of Tropical storm Claudette.

And finally landed about 20 minutes late into a light rain in Birmingham.

I’m working this week with Greg, and on the way to the airport we stopped at Jim and Nicks Barbecue. It wasn’t as good as I remembered. The brisket was dried out, however the potato salad and the lemonade were as good as remembered.

Off to the bank this morning to install the Demo system.

Scallops

Tonight for dinner I got fancy. We watch Hells Kitchen, not something I’m proud of but we enjoy the entertainment value of the show. They have an appetizer that is Fried Scallops with Quail Eggs on top and we made our rendition of that.

Toast points with a fried scallop, topped with a fried Quail Egg, served with a spinach salad with a warm bacon vinaigrette salad in the middle. 

It was absolutely delicious.

Driving School

So as I mentioned last month I received a Ticket for going through a Red Light. The ticket was $215 plus points on your license so the expense is much greater than just the $215. The other option is to attend Driving School which costs $202 but you don’t get any points so not only do you save $13 but your license is free and clear. I choose to go to Driving School.

I have been before, a couple times, once in Illinois and again in Nevada, and they were all day long events that were excruciatingly boring. The Arizona traffic school was a completely different experience. First of all it was an online class that was timed. Each web page you have to read through and it won’t close until a timer goes off and then you can go to the next lesson page. there were 10 units in all and at the end of each there is a short quiz.

The timers total 4 hours, because that is what Arizona determines the length of the class should be.

At the end of the class, you have to go to a participating UPS store and take the FINAL exam while being overseen by the staff to ensure that you are who you say you are and you have to pass. If you fail, you can take the class again but this time you actually have to go into a classroom for the 4 hours.

It was interesting, I really don’t feel like i learned much, but I learned my lesson and have no points. I passed the two parts of the final, part 1 96% and part 2 100%.

Here are the pictures of me going through the light:

I don’t practice Sangria!

I ain’t got no crystal ball either but every time i think of Sangria i think of the Sublime song Santeria. Regardless I found this fabulous recipe for Sangria. Try it, its the best.

1 bottle dry red wine
1/2 cup Blackberry Brandy
1/2 cup triple sec
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup frozen lemonade concentrate
1/3 cup orange juice
1 lemon sliced into rounds
1 orange sliced into rounds
1 lime sliced into rounds
1/4 cup sugar
8 maraschino cherries
strawberries, blackberries, peaches or raspberries or anything else in season and available
Ginger ale

Directions:
in a large pitcher mix everything together except the ginger ale. let refrigerate overnight and serve with ginger ale to taste.