Andrew and I had a most wonderful celebration for our 10 year anniversary. We planned it for months in advance and had a lovely turnout of loved ones and a grand time was had by all.
We started out by booking the houses for Labor Day weekend in Gulf Shores from when we got married. The wedding weekend, we stayed in the one bedroom Heron's Nest by the water while our friends stayed in the 5 bedroom house next door called The Pointe of View. We pretty much replicated that set up for our anniversary but with a different set of friends at the house. Also, Andrew and I stayed for a week while the rest of the crew was there for the holiday weekend.
When dreaming up the menu for the event, Andrew and I eventually settled on doing a pig roast. That sounded like a great idea, but it presented many logistical challenges. First, where does one get a whole pig to roast? As it turned out, Andrew is friends with a small pork producer, who raises heritage breed Ossabaw hogs. But we just needed a little guy. Sherri and Bill had just the one, a little 4 month old male of about 60 pounds that had been missed when they were castrating.
Andrew had always wanted to take part in the harvest and fabrication of an animal, and the pig presented the perfect opportunity. So one Sunday in late August, we went out to the farm and saw all the animals. They had a bunch of chicken and ducks. But they also had a drove of pigs of all sizes, from 400 pound mamas that looked like Smart Cars to a wee little baby one the size of a small housecat, and everything between. They were foraging in a fenced wooded area in the back of the farm when we approached on the Kubotas.
I felt a mixture of excitement and dread as I surveyed the scene and tried to spy which one we would be taking home. Sherri pointed him out, nosing in the mud. In a very matter of fact fashion, Bill got his handgun and stood a few feet in front of him and shot him in the head. The first shot didn't do the trick, so he fired off two more to be certain. Then he grabbed his knife and slit his throat so all the blood could pump out while his heart was still going. After bleeding him for a few minutes, we loaded him into the back of one of the Kubotas and headed up to the processing barn. Sherri was chatty on the ride to the barn, but I felt contemplative and solemn. A life was taken so that I could eat. That happens all the time, but we are so removed from the process that it's a little disturbing to see it happen in front of you. Anyway, I decided to stop thinking of the pig as "him" and instead think of it as "pork."
At the processing barn, there was a giant pot of water over a huge burner on a low boil situated next to a long steel table. Andrew and Bill lowered in the back end as the pig was too big to fit all the way in at once. They pulled the pig out of the water and put it on the table. Then they took knives and scraped off the thick black bristly hair. It came off pretty easily where the pig was well scalded. Then they dipped in the front half and went to work scraping some more. That step took quite a bit longer than I would have expected. Bill finally got impatient and got a flame thrower and burnt off the rest of the remaining hair in a pretty dramatic fashion. Sherri showed me their house when the actual disemboweling took place, so I missed that step. Andrew said it all came out in a sack just like both of our theoretical knowledge said it would.
The cooler we brought for the pig was woefully inadequate, so we said our goodbyes and thanked Sherri and Bill and set out for home via Walmart for a big cooler and a lot of ice. When we got the pig home, Andrew made a brine out of all kinds of tasty herbs and spices and put that in the cooler with the ice. We brined the pig for a week before heading down to the beach and roasting it.
Next, once we got to the beach, we faced another logistical challenge: creating a barbeque pit. Andrew got cinderblocks, rebar, chicken wire, and some other supplies at the hardware store and built the smoking pit on the driveway between the two houses. We were a little nervous that we could anger the neighbors with excessive smoke or that we might get in trouble with house rental agency. I checked to make sure there weren't any sort of prohibitions against an open cooking fire and that we didn't need any permits from the city. In all, it worked out fine. It wasn't too smokey. The worst problem we had was the scent attracted a weird rabid-looking fox to come too close to people during the day to investigate the meat smell. It was run off, and the neighbors helpfully offered to shoot it if necessary, so that was effectively handled.
Serving the pig was the final logistical challenge we conquered. Andrew spent the day cooking the pig, beginning with waking up at 5 am with Wayne to get the fire going and put the pig on to smoke, and then spending all day mopping it with spiced vinegar to keep it moist and flipping it periodically to make sure it cooked evenly. It was perfectly done at 5pm when it was time to serve it to our hungry guests, but how and where? We wound up just putting in on top of the wrought iron patio table on the porch outside and Andrew carved it up right there. It was a smashing success.
Aside from the pig saga, the whole weekend was an amazing celebration of love and family and friends. We got to Gulf Shores on Friday afternoon, and all night our friends trickled in from near and far. By Saturday morning the house was full. We had 12 people, in no particular order: Rachel and my nephews, Noah and Micah, and Emily and her two kids, Eva and Graeme, all in from Louisville, and Memphis was represented by Seth and Wesley, John and his daughter Emma, and Wayne and Theresa.
We had rented two houses, like we had done we got married. The Heron's Nest is a tiny one bedroom right on the lagoon, and that's where Andrew and I stayed. The Pointe of View is right next door and is huge with 5 bedrooms and several really nice porches and was perfect for our guests. Saturday we spent hanging out and getting ready for the actual party on Sunday.
I had the most fun hanging out with the kids. I took them out on the kayaks we rented for people to play with, and the kids loved it. I supervised them while the mamas took breaks or saw to other tasks or played along too. I couldn't have had more fun. I took them into the water every chance we got, pretty much at least twice a day. Mostly we played in the lagoon, but a few times we walked the two blocks over to the ocean. The first time we did, the waves were really big so we didn't stay that long. The other couple of times, the waves were more mild and we played in them and build sand castles and flew kites and had grand times.
Sunday was mostly playing and hanging out until it got to be party time. We knocked out the last of the food prep and set everything out, everyone got into some nicer clothes, and I set up a little display of stuff from our wedding, a photo album, the cake topper, and the framed wedding invitation on which everyone who attend signed the mat. Then the non-house guests began arriving. In addition to the crew at the house, we were joined by Grandma and Aunt Bonnie from Kentucky and Aunt Debbie from North Carolina who joined them in Kentucky and they drove down together a few days before us and were staying in a condo on the beach, and, from Memphis, Vicki, Kate, Jose, and our nephew, Clayton, and niece, Lina, who were staying in another condo by the beach. We were also joined by our dear friend Serena who lives "in the neighborhood" over in Pensacola.
We ate and visited and played with the kids and had a great time. In addition to the roast pig, we had boiled Royal Red skrimps, baked beans, deviled eggs, vinegar potato salad, and pound cake with grilled pineapple for dessert. I made a big pitcher of sangria that was pretty popular and a virgin version for the kids. We also served Dark and Stormy's, especially to myself.
After everyone ate and hung out for awhile and my family left, I couldn't resist getting all the kids out in the water. We splashed and played and had a big time. It was fun to see Clayton playing with my other pals. Lina wasn't really interested in the water but had fun playing in the sand. I couldn't have had more fun. Andrew came out and joined me and everyone hung out at the water's edge.
That night, after the kids were in bed, the adults had some yummy libations and party favors and enjoyed an after party outside on the deck. I had borrowed Cards Against Humanity and was pretty sure that it would be just the thing to play to get everyone involved. I was correct, and we had a blast. It is such a silly game, and it's great to play with people who don't know one another very well. We all stayed up long enough to get goofy and have lots of fun.
People started heading back the next day. But Rachel and Emily and the kids wound up staying until Wednesday, which was absolutely awesome. During the rest of our week, we visited with the Memphis clan and went to the beach with the kids but mostly just relaxed. We disassembled the barbeque pit and cleaned up the evidence of our activities. I did a little kayaking on the lagoon several times. It was a peaceful vacation overall, and our party was an amazing way to commemorate being married for 10 years.
We made through some really difficult times and have shared the greatest joys together. I am so very lucky to have someone who loves me and understands me and wants to do right by me. He makes me feel as special and as loved as when we first got together. We have a truly special relationship and it was great to celebrate it with our loved ones.
