State Fair Time

Yesterday, we went to the State Fair. My siblings who live out of town are coming in at the end of the week and we’ll do a return trip but when you go as a group, you don’t always have the freedom to explore. Plus, there is really too much to see in a single day. We ended up with 13000 steps and only got to about half of it.

Actually had our first hint of fall with the weather. Woke up to temperatures in the upper 60s and a light mist. Still more summer than fall but it was a sign of things to come. Got a little rain at the fair but most of the day was overcast and cool and that’s really the best weather for the fair. You don’t expect it in summer but I’m not complaining.

But the cooler weather drove the crowds up so the place was jammed. I’m not all that into crowds especially when you get the large groups who just stop for no reason and stand around trying to figure out where they need to go. Plus, I’m noticing an alarming trend of huge strollers/wagons that people bring so they don’t have to carry their kids when they get tired. I understand the reason but it just adds to the congestion.

We don’t go for the midway. I go to see the animals and as an excuse to eat some bad food. There’s always a place that serves deep fried cheese and it is a must stop. We ended up eating there twice just because we crossed at times when the line wasn’t long. Had to skip some places because of the lines and that’s another reason why multiple visits are great. If you have to skip something on the first trip, you can catch it on the second.

Had to go to the cow barn. I always find it interesting to see how much work goes into making a cow presentable for the judging. There’s lots of spray glue (I think) to make the tail into a little ball and we walk by people trimming and brushing various parts of the cow. I sometimes wonder what the cows think of all the attention. Walking the cow barn is a challenge because you have to keep looking down at the floor to make sure you don’t step in something you really don’t want to step in. Plus, every now and then, you have to yield to someone moving a cow to or from the judging arena.

Then they have a couple of places where you can spend way too much money on a few carrot slices to feed some hungry goats or sheep. Why do I do this? I can’t explain it. I think that’s the thing about fairs. You either get it or you don’t. If you don’t, you can still go and people watch because that’s interesting. But it isn’t going to be something you need to do.

The early forecast calls for low 80’s on Friday but that’s four days from now so the forecast is less than reliable. That would be nice for a return trip.