Fairly Done
I finally did it. I went to the Minnesota State Fair.
I didn't go alone, of course. I went with the hub and kid, and we brought a native guide. Our friend Rachel is a State Fair fanatic. As we drove to the fairgrounds she bubbled on about all the things we just had to see- the Butter Sculptures, the Propane Exhibit, the Dairy Exhibition, she had a whole list. "We have to eat the cheese curds, and the french fries, and the roasted corn and the chocolate chip cookies and the corn dogs and the..."
I thought, no way. But then I saw how much we had to pay just to get onto the fairgrounds. After that I was determined to get my money's worth.
So. we did the Fair. Saw a calf being born -- this we had to watch on a video screen since we couldn't get close enough to the pen, but still. Saw cows and pigs and chicks and turkeys. Did the Butterfly House and the Giant Slide (actually Rachel did those, but I think she enjoyed herself). Saw the Ironjack Show and the "Imperial Knights," a cheesy jousting competition, but it was followed by a real horse show so it was okay. Ate some really disgraceful food. Got to much sun and a whopping headache..
Telling moment: Richard and I were sitting on a bench exchanges views on the extravaganza. Man sitting next to us: "So, you folks from Back East?"
But we did it. We went native. We stuck out like a sore thumb but we gave it the old Long Island try.
And we are proud.
I didn't go alone, of course. I went with the hub and kid, and we brought a native guide. Our friend Rachel is a State Fair fanatic. As we drove to the fairgrounds she bubbled on about all the things we just had to see- the Butter Sculptures, the Propane Exhibit, the Dairy Exhibition, she had a whole list. "We have to eat the cheese curds, and the french fries, and the roasted corn and the chocolate chip cookies and the corn dogs and the..."
I thought, no way. But then I saw how much we had to pay just to get onto the fairgrounds. After that I was determined to get my money's worth.
So. we did the Fair. Saw a calf being born -- this we had to watch on a video screen since we couldn't get close enough to the pen, but still. Saw cows and pigs and chicks and turkeys. Did the Butterfly House and the Giant Slide (actually Rachel did those, but I think she enjoyed herself). Saw the Ironjack Show and the "Imperial Knights," a cheesy jousting competition, but it was followed by a real horse show so it was okay. Ate some really disgraceful food. Got to much sun and a whopping headache..
Telling moment: Richard and I were sitting on a bench exchanges views on the extravaganza. Man sitting next to us: "So, you folks from Back East?"
But we did it. We went native. We stuck out like a sore thumb but we gave it the old Long Island try.
And we are proud.
Good for you. I think it's the kind of thing you can do once (or maybe once every ten years) and then forget about it. I actually worked there selling tickets one summer. Standing on the pavement with that stupid metal box around my waist, peddling tickets as motorists drove into the fairgrounds. Man, did I get a funky-ass reverse-farmer tan on my uncovered legs.
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