A Day at The Fair

Excitement simmered for over a week after we decided on a day we were going to The Fair. That was two days ago. It was a practically perfect day in all respects, one to be repeated without hesitation. The morning was leisurely, enough time for exercise, breakfast and sweeping the downstairs floors so Clark could mop before we left. After an hour of travel on a warmish fall day and paying our $8 to park we (five of us) entered the Blue Gate and turned left into an exciting world of sight, sound and wonderful smells. We first went to hear Billy and the Hillbillies, we always do, but they weren’t there. We were pleasantly surprised by a family band. What a great way to start our day at The Fair, listening to the fiddle and watching a little tap dancing. Next it was on to the arena to watch Shetland ponies to Clydesdales parade right in front of us. I thought as I watched the drivers show their driving skills how different our lives are. I saw a few who looked to be about my age and wondered how much of their lives had been centered in raising and training horses with the days filling up and the years slipping by. I am glad we are all different.

Then it was on to kettle corn, a large bag to be shared as we wondered through buildings and stopped to vote for the best Grange display. We always do that, study each display to determine which one we individually want to vote for. What a lot of work goes in to each one! I never get tired of seeing how creatively an abundance of fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, and canned items can be displayed.

At 3:00 it was time to meet up with our youngest daughter, her husband and their eight-month old baby. I wonder when he’ll get tired of hearing how cute he is and getting lots of kisses. Now on to another tradition—the consumption of ice cream cones. Yum! Then it was on to more demonstrations of mops that will clean your floors, windows, or mirrors, pots and pans that can cook your vegetables with no water and cost only $400 at The Fair, Vita Mix that can pulverize your fruits and vegetables, seeds and all, and shammies of orange and blue that will suck a gallon of coca cola out of your carpet. We usually buy something.

To get revitalized we went back to the family band concert at 5:00. Of course, we were starving by the time the show was over so we hunted out something good to eat. Most of us settled on hamburgers with Walla Walla sweet onions and curly fries but two opted for teriyaki. After all of us were satisfied, we were ready for more demonstrations (and a few small purchases) before our finale—The Extreme Scream. This ride shoots you up 20 stories at 3 Gs and drops you at a negative 1 G. Wow! Pip and I went on The Big Sling a couple of years ago. This year we were able to talk our husbands into joining us. What a thrill and a perfect conclusion to our day at The Fair. And the bonus--Phil had not gotten lost (we have spent hours in previous years trying to find him).

Here is Phil's response to the concert.

And here is Clark's.