while we were leaving, we found the trail head to baskin falls.  so, maybe next time.

i snapped a bunch of photos experimenting with very fast and very slow shutter speeds.  i posted a few of what i came up with, including a few of my niece, on flickr.   i also messed around with a polarizing filter to help cut down on the glare from the sun.  this was quite educational.  rotating the filter changed the light and color of the image.  although i’ve used this filter before, i’ve not played around with it to this extent.  (see “how to use a polarizing filter.”)

after we finished (aw) snapping our photos, our trek back took us close to benton’s bacon in madisonville.  did we stop by?  are you kidding?  i contained my excitement as we walked into the modest storefront.  once you step through their portal, the wonderful smell of smoked goodness fills your senses.  although visually there’s not much to see, the aroma tells a different story.  when i was asked i could be helped, i immediately told the fellow, “i need bacon!”

“how much?”

hmm, what a question?  i really hadn’t considered a limited amount.  but i knew i wanted a slab.  i asked rationally, “how much is it?”

he told me the price per pound.  i pondered for a moment and knew he needed an answer.  so i uttered, “twenty pounds.”  unphased, the benton’s butcher turned and walked toward the back.  in a moment, he returned carrying a slab and a half.  he loaded it on the scale and told me it was close to twenty pounds.  i told him that was fine.

benton’s bacon redefines how i rate the taste of bacon.  my senses have been re-calibrated to  a high level of quality.  everything else pales in comparison.  i don’t think i can eat regular bacon again.

with several of my pals going in together with my family, i now am going to receive different bacon from the grateful palate each month for the next twelve.  some of the different bacons include applewood smoked, peppered, cob smoked, hickory smoked, and maple and alder smoked.  (see the full list here:  http://www.gratefulpalate.com/?p=Category_12.)  i am very psyched!  mom presented a box to me with a stuffed pig along with the information about the club.

my sister made one of the best chocolate cakes ever.  and to step it up a notch, she sprinkled bacon on top of it.  the frosting is super creamy.  the cake as moist as if it came right out of the oven, even the next day.  and of course, there is the bacon.

another couple of friends also purchased a couple packages of benton’s bacon.  i’ve heard about this bacon.  it’s a local favorite/phenomenon making some news.  they hosted this year’s knoxville bacon fest.  i can’t wait to fry this up.

i got a few other items too–i’m set for movies for blockbuster summer season, got some dvds of a favorite series, and my fill of sushi during a dinner out.  it was a very good birthday.

thanks, family and friends!

of course, pictures were taken.  you can view them by clicking the image.

this weekend, i sat down with my friend tara who had only seen the original star wars movie and watched all the movies in story order from beginning to end including the animated (not cg) clone wars.

we started on friday evening with the first two episodes.  i came back the next morning to pick up with “the clone wars” which lead right up to episode three.  we finally finished up around 10:00p saturday night.  i don’t remember every watching the original three (episodes four, five, and six) in one sitting because that would have been too much.  this was different since tara didn’t know the back story.  watching with someone who hasn’t seen is much more fun.  even though “i’m your father” was not a surprise to her, a couple of other aspects were:  following palpatine as the emperor and finding lando to betray han.

bacon bread for saturday morning and chili in the afternoon fueled us for the weekend event.  and for those who are going to ask (and probably whine about it in the comments), we watched the revised versions of the “new hope,” “empire,” and “jedi.”  i do have the versions of those movies in their original theatrical releases.  the updated versions include some extra scenes edited in which i tend to favor.

i had a good feeling about this.  it was a fun weekend.