Return To Pig Island

Okay, that is a metaphorical return, as in I am returning to the subject of Pig Island in this post.

After a scintillating discussion with the Mysterious Chinese Woman on the liklihood of contracting a disease by using a kleenex that you carried in the same pocket as your loose change (we tend to have scintillating discussions) I thought it best to retreat to my technology center and work on my blog.  After I harvested my wheat and fed my chickens on my Frontierville Homestead, of course.

There were certainly a lot of people showing off their wares, and most of it was pretty darn good.

Joe Doe had jars of pickled stuff that reminded me of the bars up in Northern Minnesota and Wisconsin.  Pickled eggs, turkey gizzards and hotdogs are big in those necks of the woods.  I talked to the head Joe Doe and he said he thought the turkey gizzards were a great idea and that he would put up a batch of them so they would be ready for Thanksgiving.

Joe Doe's Mysterious Jars


The Head Joe Doe


As I was standing in the line waiting for the gates to open I spotted this wooden device for roasting a pig.  I seem to recall that these are popular in Cuba or somewhere like that and have often thought it would be neat to buy one and do a whole pig.


You stick the pig in the box and then you put the coals on a grid on top.

No Muss, No Fuss


Sadly, by the time I got back to this place the little piggy had already left so I never got a picture of him nestled snugly and cooked up nice and crispy.

The Pig Has Left The Box


If I got this straight, I think the pig in the box was used to make an Asian pork soup of some kind.

Soap Box To Soup Bowl


One Pig Goes In, Many Bowls Of Soup Come Out


There was pig prepared in just about any way you could think and this stand advertised that their sausage was made with every part of the pig.

Not Sure If That Is Good Or Not


Actually, the sausage was very good indeed and I made a bit of a pig of myself.  Heh Heh, get it, made a pig of myself on Pig Island?  Kind of like making a donkey of yourself on Pleasure Isand.  That was for you Pinocchio fans.  Although to keep the metaphor in synch it should have been something along the lines of pleasuring myself on Pleasure Island.

Eventually the Mysterious Chinese Woman had to take a break from all the pork and beer so she headed to something healthy.

Have You No Shame?


But soon it was time to say good-bye to Pig Island so I stopped by to say "So long" to Sam.  He must have had a busy day because pig heads were accumulating.

Good For Business, Bad For Pigs


Ah, it was a lovely afternoon as we got off the boat and headed home.

Walking Through The Park


Of course, there was one more stop that we had to make before heading home and, as I suggested, many of you probably already guessed where that might be.

You Can Only Hope To Contain Her


And, eventually, we did make it home.  And agreed that it was a mighty fine day well spent.  And we were kind of spent as well.

Being Piggy On Pig Island

Well, when you pay $75 for your ticket and it is all you can eat and drink you probably don't want to be thinking about starting a diet.

My first stop, was, a beer tent.

This One Was Open


And then it was on to my friend Sam's spot.

FUHGEDDABOUTIT


And there was Sam, happily pulling his pork.

Squeal Like A Pig


But the horror, the horror. We must kill them. We must incinerate them.

Pig After Pig...


Two pints, er, I mean points, for those of you who can identify the movie reference.

That's right, Apigalypse Now.

There were a bunch of picnic tables scattered about so we settled into one with our beers and the pulled pork sandwich and headcheese from  FUHGEDDABOUTIT.

Ready To Tuck In


And Tucking In


But, of course, Sam's was only the start of things.  There was plenty more to sample.

How Can This Not Make You Drool?


Now I don't know what I would do with that meat, but it wouldn't have been what they were doing, making some kind of it takes forever to assemble sandwich.

No Sandwich Is Served Before Its Time


It kind of reminded me of Mayslack's in Minneapolis where you waited forever while your roast beef sandwiches were built one at a time by Mayslack himself, a retired professional wrestler.  And his mother would take your money and make change out of a cigar box.

The Lines Were As Long Too


I didn't actually get to try whatever they were assembling because Bar Man doesn't really like to stand in long lines waiting for his food.  I think it was the monkey bars in basic trainning that did it.

Then the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I got into our dueling cameras competition.

Click, You Mangy Dog


Prepare To Eat Pixels


Tomorrow I shall finish my story of Pig Island.

And There Will Be More Dead Pigs


You won't want to miss the stunning climax to our day's adventure.  But I bet some of you can already kind of guess.

A Day On Pig Island

Yesterday was a perfect day for a visit to Pig Island.  Well, actually, it is Governor's Island, but who cares.  I am sure there were a lot more pigs than governors on the island.  And, when you think about it, no pigs have been governor, but some governors have been pigs.

Getting there was pretty cool.  Just down Atlantic Avenue, past the Waterfront Ale House, Floyd's, Atlantic Chip Shop, The Roebling Inn, La Mancha and Montero is the new park and a pier where you can catch a free ferry Governor's Island.  Luckily it wasn't noon yet so I wasn't tempted to stop into any off those places to get an early start on my day.

Just Like Having A Private Yacht


The Pig Island affair started at 11:30 AM and we didn't want to miss anything so we left our place a little past 10:00 AM.  Still, a short line that had already formed.  I didn't know exactly what the ferry schedule was, but I think it runs about every half an hour or so.

The Line Up


The Mysterious Chinese Woman was bundled up a bit because the day did start out quite cool.  At least she was wide awake.  Check out the gal who is yawning.

Where's My Coffee?


We didn't really have much of a wait, maybe about ten minutes or so.

All Aboard


It kind of reminded me of the ferry to Fire Island.  Quite a bit smaller, but with the same kind of island bound passengers.

A Happy Crowd Streaming Aboard


It is a very short ride, about ten minutes or so, so soon we were all getting out at the other side.

Land, Land At Last


Most of the people were not going to the barbecue.  There is a lot of other stuff to do on Governor's Isand.  Picnic grounds, bicycle and hiking paths (you can rent bicycles, two hours for fifteen bucks) and even a few volleyball courts.

Miami In The Shadow Of Manhattan


This volleyball court is right in front of Water Taxi Beach where there is a bar and a beachside cafe and tables for just sitting and taking in the view.  They also have concerts here during the summer.  One of those little gems so close to where I live and yet I had never been here before.

So Near, And Yet So Far


Now that I know how easy it is to get here I will be sure to visit it more often.  Certainly I will be hitting it next summer.

We had to hike a bit before we came upon the Pig Island affair.

Through The Tunnel


Across The Meadow


And Into The Line


I was getting a bit impatient because it looked like they were letting a few people in but taking forever to check the tickets or whatever it was they were doing.

What Is Going On?


My impatience was unwarranted.  They went about everything most efficiently.  They were only letting a few workers in, apparently.  At about 11:15 AM staff members went out to the line, checked your tickets, and then applied an orange wristband.  A few other members checked IDs and if you were 21 or over stamped your hand.  When the gates did open at 11:30 AM, as advertised, there was no hold-up at the gate whatsoever.

Streaming On In


The first hold-up was at the beer tent where they weren't set up yet.

Now Where Does This Hose Go?


Luckily there was a nearby winery that was showing off their wares and giving out samples.

A Little Port In A Storm


I hadn't planned on starting my beer and barbecue debauchery with a wee glass of white wine, but hey, What can you do?

Just Making Do


Of course there is a lot more Pig Island affair stuff, probably another two postings.  Be sure to stay tuned for the rest of the story.

There Will Be Pigs