Sean And Kate's 7th Annual Crawfish Boil

"Hey @desertcoach remember that one time I beat you in a crawfish peel race? #IDo #IWon #YouLost #AllTalk" -@Uhh_lee_suhh- (via twitter)

"I've been around 1,000 pounds of crawfish in the past month - I've eaten 3..." -Floyd-

"Is that a shrimp?  Then why does it have a face?... -Melanie-



Good afternoon everyone.  And THIS is the reason that you weren't going to find me at the 36th Annual Statesman Capitol 10K up in Austin last Sunday...  :)  I was fortunate enough to have an invitation to Sean and Kate's 7th Annual Crawfish Boil.  Now my friend Sean (who is also my manager at work), could easily have his own blog if he wanted to write one (but I really don't need the competition anyway)...  He was one of the main players in the post 'You Better Keep Your Pancakes' (October 15th, 2012) if you want to look back in the archives to read a story that is one of my personal favorites.  At work last night, we were reliving Melanie's Sunday quote from above, when Sean asked her, "do you think they just......, FLOAT AROUND IN THE OCEAN HEADLESS?..."  :)  Eariler in this conversation, Melanie asked, "what's a lobster?" - sorry, but we don't even have time for that right now...  :)  As for Sean's wife Kate, well..., she just makes this crawfish boil GO...  Last year was my first time at this event, and I just COULD NOT BELIEVE how much she put into it.  Kate was boiling crawfish (and other food)... ALL... DAY... LONG...  This year Kate utilized a bigger pot so that she wouldn't have to boil throughout the entire day, and everything was OUTSTANDING once again.  I believe that I can speak for everyone who attended when I say that the effort put forth to host this crawfish boil was TRULY APPRECIATED - thank you very much Kate and Sean!  Now for a recap of the day from my point of view...

I really had a great time at this event last year, and waking up on Sunday morning was just like waking up on Christmas morning when I was younger - I was not going back to sleep...  I ended up making transactions for my fantasy baseball team, while doing other meaningless things, and left my place shortly after 11:00.  At the intersection of the main road that I had to take to reach my destination, I ended up turning and following right behind my friend and coworker Sam, and quickly realized that his right brake light was out (which was the exact same thing that I was pulled over for about two weeks ago).  I was only about the 5th or 6th person to arrive, and I helped to carry ice bags, move chairs and tables, and crack open THE VERY FIRST beverage of the event at 11:35 a.m. (a Bud Light).  Let me inject here that I was wearing my blue Hawaiian party shirt, because Hawaii is famous for their crawfish boils...  Let me also inject here that it was reported that there were 32 cases of beer on hand, in addition to the 3 different types of infused-fruit vodka.  Guests were strongly encouraged... NOT to bring beer...  One of the things that I liked about arriving so early was that I was able to grab a great spot for the day.  I could see the whole crawfish boil from my corner table, in addition to the entrance.  It's exactly the same thing with me at sporting events - I love to watch as the quiet stadium fills up and the festivities get going...

With the selection of beverages on hand, I decided early on that I would try to sample as many of them as possible, and I ended up drinking:  2 Bud Lights (someone messed up my drink order on the second one); a Tecate; a Lone Star; a blue Jello shot (thanks again Kate); a Bud Lime 'Lime-A-Rita'; a Miller Lite; a cup of strawberry-infused vodka; 2 Leinenkugal 'Summer Shandys' (the second just because it was good); wine from a bag; alcohol-soaked fruit (different than fruit-infused vodka); and bottled water (because I'm responsible)...  ;)

I did not eat everything I'm about to list, but the menu included:  crawfish (duh); corn; red potatoes; sausage; crab; shrimp; mussels; mushrooms; oysters; fish tacos; jalapeno poppers; steak-a-bobs; potato salad; cheese and summer sausage; apples; chocolate cupcakes; and leftover reeses easter egg candy...

I utilized the same strategy of dining that I implemented after attending last year's party.  Due to the fact that Kate is SO DILIGENT in providing HOT crawfish throughout the course of the day, I find it better (for me at least) to get a small amount (12-15) fresh ones every 20-30 minutes, instead of piling up a plate and having some go cold.  Oh, by the way, Kate acquired 160 pounds of LARGE crawfish, and they were prepared mild or spicy (I ate spicy from the second plate on).  There was also a small sampling of lemon pepper crawfish.  In case you're wondering, I ate crawfish from about noon until 4:30 p.m...  HEAVEN...  :)

Let me take the time here to thank Sam and Junior (mainly these two) for shucking the oysters throughout the day (my table was conveniently located near the oyster table also, so that I could interact with all of these people).  George and Floyd deserve a shoutout for doing an awesome job with the fish tacos.  I never asked what kind of fish it was, but a little slaw, and a little bit of green sauce in there, and they were GOOD...  Austin manned the grill for the jalapeno poppers and the steak-a-bob - also, very well done...

What can I say?  The weather was perfect, with a high of about 80 degrees on a mostly overcast day, but even when the sun did peek through, I ended up being in shade for most of the day.  Early on, my boss Allen and his wife Jamie showed up with their two young boys, and I was treated to watching Jamie pitch a wiffleball to one of the youngsters (you know, with the big bat?)...  I would have offered my expertise in batting, but the boy SLAMMED the first pitch, so I continued to eat and drink... :)  Let me add here that I was VERY RELAXED, with this being my Saturday, and the next day offering up the NCAA basketball title game matching Louisville vs. Michigan, on my Sunday...  The crawfish boil was just the start to a very relaxing weekend...

One of the stranger things to happen early in the day was a older lady looking in over the fence, from the other side.  I really didn't think that the party was very loud at this point (we actually discussed the possibility of starting a pool early in the day on when the police would show up, but to my knowledge they never did).  As I approached the fence, I realized that the woman was standing on a truck, but before I got involved, I saw that Kate was all over the situation, and I think I heard something about the word 'recycling'...  Anyway, the situation was obviously being handled (thanks again Kate), so I continued to eat and drink (a common theme developing here)...

Later in day my friends Alyssa and Melanie showed up (Texans fan/Packers fan, my Valentine's dates, general all-around punks - you remember them)...  When they came to the table with their crawfish, trust me when I tell you that they were struggling to peel them (they will tell you otherwise, but don't believe them).  I went to their side of the table and demonstrated how to peel the crawfish.  ANYWAY, shortly afterward, I went to get about another dozen, when Alyssa challenges me to a crawfish peeling race (a "peel battle," if you will - her term).  You've heard that you should always be suspicious when someone offers you a bet, right?  SOMEHOW..., I got this defective crawfish, or SOMETHING..., and Alyssa WON (that's where her tweet at the top of this blog entry is relevant).

I enjoy it when I see people trying foods that they have never had before, which is where the oysters come in.  I was able to watch Alyssa and Melanie eat their first ever oysters (they let the oysters slide down, then took a bite out of the cracker provided).  Both of them did well, and Alyssa ate several of them.  As for my friend and coworker J.J., well...  :)  J.J. had his back to me as he tried his first oyster, and all that I could see was him bring the oyster to his mouth, and then his head slowly start shaking "no" from side to side before depositing the oyster in the nearby trash can...  It just meant more for the rest of us J.J...  ;)

Later in the day, Tim and his daughter Merced joined us at the table, and in the UPSET OF THE DAY, Merced LOVED Melanie and Alyssa (Alyssa has claimed before that she doesn't get along with children), and Merced DIDN'T LIKE ME, and most everyone LOVES ME (allegedly???)...  :)  You should have seen this little girl's eyes light up when she got a chocolate cupcake...  :)

As the wine bag was being passed around the party later in the day (the wine bag comes from doing surgery on the wine box), I did my part and carried the last half of it around the gathering (a great way to be instantly popular)...  Everyone seemed to enjoy opening wide and having the wine poured down their throat...

My last experience with alcohol during the day (almost) was with the alcohol-soaked fruit.  I had some strawberry slices and watermelon (courtesy of my friend and coworker Ashton, who evidently has bird lips - "beak, beak, beak" - don't ask me, I just got wind of this last night)...  Anyway, not too long afterward, Ashton shows up with some healthy chunks of mango - YES!!!  I had one of these, and it tasted like it had not only been swimming in, but had DROWNED in alcohol... #bitter

After helping out with some of the trash cans (hey, I'm a team player), I sat with Alma and Joe, who are some of our regulars at work.  I just relaxed with my Summer Shandy and got to chat with these two for more than the few seconds that I get to at work, which was very cool.  The party ended for me shortly after 8:00 p.m. when I went to use the restroom and saw that there were 4 people in line.  At this point I figured that I could just drive home and use mine, and I did...  :)  It was getting dark anyway, and I INSTANTLY CRASHED until about 3:00 a.m. after using my own restroom...

And there you have it, the life of a 31K view blogger in San Marcos, America on a Sunday.  Oh, I WISH that every Sunday was like this...  Have a great weekend and I'll see you again on Monday!