Hog-Wild Tailgate !
Our Miami tailgate began with a trip to the local slaughterhouse on Saturday to pick up our pig.
You see, in Miami, a party's not a party unless you're cooking a whole pig, and there's no better way to do it than in La Caja China.
Slow-cooked under hot coals, this portable pig pit produces juicy, succulent meat that somehow tastes like a warm, tropical day. The instructions say you can cook a whole pig in about 4-5 hours (though ours took longer) so we went early (for a late game) to allow the pig plenty of time.
(Frankie watched the video that came with the box at least 10 times, and gave Jay advice and instructions every step of the way.)
When we arrived at the RV lot for Dolphin Stadium, the first thing that struck us was that it was the nicest tailgating lot we'd ever seen. Flat, level grass with lines clearly marking off generous spaces for each vehicle plus friendly lot attendants and a reasonable price... it was a tailgater's dream!
Our second thought, however, was that we were never gonna get the tailgaters across the street in the lots reserved for season ticket holders to come all the way to our space for the Tailgating Taste-off. And as friendly as the folks in the RV lot were, there just wasn't enough of them to get a real good sampling of all that Miami's tailgate had to offer.
So we hired a bike cab to take us around the reserved lots, to mingle with the loyal tailgaters on their own turf.
We met some great Dolphin fans, enjoying the fantastic December day with their family and friends. As my new friend Ravi said, gesturing at the blue sky and palm trees, there's nowhere better than Miami.
There were plenty of Jacksonville fans around, too, for a little friendly interstate rivalry. And we were excited to find some interesting tastes you just don't find anywhere.
And we were thrilled to pick up a couple of extra tickets so Jay and Nick could go into the stadium to watch the game.
Afterwards, when the pig was done, our neighbors in the tailgating lot gathered round to watch us open up the box and get a taste for themselves.
His first whole pig was delicious, and earned Jay the praise of the lot (along with a beer at the Tail-Gators' trailer.)
We had a great time in Miami, and can't wait to come back in February for SuperBowl!
Friends of the Tour!
Ms. Bailey (along with Mom (Julie), Dad (Todd), two cats and a dog) has been traveling from tailgate to tailgate for the past month. While she's partied at Buffalo, Jacksonville, and Philadelphia, Miami was the first game she actually went into.
And though she's a Canadian, we think that now she's an NFL fan for life (just like Mom!)
See more pictures from the Miami tailgate in our Scrapbook OntheBlacktop.com!
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OnTheBlacktop.com 
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