Our Anniversary Weekend (Andrew's Version)

We started things off Friday night at the Lipstick Lounge, with the East Nashville 2007 Tomato King and Queen Pageant, in preparation for the East Nashville 2007 Tomato Festival on Saturday. Theresa and Andrew both competed in the pageant, answering tomato-related questions, showing off their tomato-related agility, and being generally well-dressed. Theresa had some stiff competition, and was not chosen as queen, but Andrew only had a couple of people run against him as King and he won! That's right, Andrew is the 2007 East Nashville Tomato King. All hail, as they say. And they did say that, a lot. He also won some tomato-related foodstuffs and a $50 gift certificate to the Lipstick Lounge, with which he, Theresa, and Evan celebrated the victory.

And then? The next morning the Tomato Festival was in full swing. Andrew and the Tomato Queen (Captain Deliciousness) were the Grand Marshalls of the Tomato parade, and sweated profusely in the 100-degree heat. When the parade was over, there were interviews, knightings, and other magestic things to take care of. Theresa and Andrew hung out for a while and visited the booths at the festival.

Theresa won grand prize at two different competitions! First was the sidewalk chalk-art competition. Second, she won the beautiful tomato competition. They went home with gift certificates galore, a crown, a sceptre, and lots of tomato products, including soap and postcards. By the time they left late Saturday afternoon, they were overwhelmed by the whole thing. But the day was far from over!

Next, they drove two hours to Summerville, TN, to visit "The Farm," which Jerry, their old landlord, had told them about when they lived in Columbus, OH. It was a lot like the Homestead, where Andrew lived during his Senior year at Denison. Very organic, peaceful, communal, and friendly. They arrived, had a brief introduction to the site, and then ate some sandwiches and went to bed, exhausted.

Sunday morning (their first wedding anniversary), they woke up and had a true Farm breakfast with some of the residents. Andrew had a conversation with a three-year-old child of the earth which went like this:

Boy: I like to eat burgers. Do you like to eat burgers?
Andrew: Sure! I love burgers!
(the boy looks confused, like Andrew's answer was unexpected)
Boy: I like to eat burgers from my nose.
Andrew: Oh.

Yummy. So Theresa and Andrew played hide-and-seek with the kids, walked around The Farm for a while or two, and then had a picnic lunch and went swimming in the swimming hole. The lifeguard warned them about snapping turtles and snakes that might be in the water, so they stayed mostly in the shallow end, harassing the tadpoles and water bugs. Finally it was time to go home, and they, sunburned, exhausted, and happy, started to drive.

Want some pictures? Sure you do!

The East Nashville 2007 Tomato Festival

Visiting The Farm on our Anniversary