Cattlemen's Caribbean BBQ Competition

July 4th weekend - what is more typical than a good ol' BBQ?!

The Cattlemen's Caribbean BBQ Competition & Outdoor Festival..just steps from home (we can even smell the goods cooking when we open our porch doors!).

Geoff and I made our way down there on Saturday - and found a free wrist band lying in the grass on the way down - score! As we were lining up to buy another one, along came a huge gust of wind and swept the wristbands off the table where they were selling them...well we got away lightly! There were many booths there, from Certified Angus Beef Brand to local restaurants showing off what they've got. Today they specialized in lechon - a slow roasting pig, typical of Puerto Rico. Lysol was there, giving out hand wipes, and we won some cleaning products on a "wheel of fortune". I left full, happy and BBQ'd out... until today.

Today was "Ribs" day, and although it was busier, there were a lot more stalls and the ribs they produced were unbelievable! The only down side to tasting all the delicious meats was that they were required to use one of 4 Cattlemen brand sauces.. which meant that after a while, one chicken drumstick tasted like the next. Oh well, good atmosphere, good music and once again - left happy and stuffed with meat and BBQ sauce.

After googling Cattlemens, it seems there are a lot more BBQ competitions and festivals, year round. Cant wait to begin our road trip and visit some more!

http://www.cattlemensbbqsauce.com/CompetitionsAndEvents.aspx

Our trip to Portland, Oregon

So...after hunting around the last week for the truck's title and realising that it was nowhere to found, Geoff and I woke up at 3am to leave for the Dept. of Auto Vehicles near Portland, Oregon yesterday. The truck was still in Geoff's Dads name, and needed to be transferred into Geoff's name, and in order for that to happen, they needed the title and needed to apply in person. I slept half of the way down there...and half of the way back up - but it still hurt since I was still recovering from Black Friday's early morning get up!
On the way back, we stopped by Mt St Helens, a dormant volcano. It was a clear day with perfect skies and absolutely gorgeous views. Too bad we were a bit strapped for time and couldnt do any walking, but the view in itself was satisfying enough.

To top off any good road trip, good food was needed.. we strayed off the freeway and ended up in Monroe - to the best BBQ place I've ever been too (Teddy Bear BBQ) - it was a tiny little hole in the wall wooden house, family owned and really cutely decorated inside - and we stuffed ourselves with pulled pork, beef briskit, pork ribs, corn bread and of course LOADS of their specialty bbq sauces...

So did I sleep well after that? I'll let you decide.