The Fair

If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty.'~~Jeff Foxworthy


We attended the fair Friday night. Since we recently visited Disney World, we decided to forego the additional expense of the rides. Instead, we enjoyed the variety of free entertainment that came with the admission price and our daughters enjoyed viewing and petting the animals.

The first event that we attended at the fair was the circus. I have never really been a big fan of the circus. And, this was the first circus that we have brought our children to. Some of the entertainment acts were performed by families; including their young children.

Jeff and I discussed the lifestyle of these children after the circus was over. Our initial thoughts were that it couldn’t be a great lifestyle. Then, I thought a little more and said, “they get to travel all over the country as a family making a living doing what they love. How can that be bad?” I’m sure some people look at how we live and question if it’s good for our children too. I’m not ready to join the circus (nor do we have the talent to do so) but it would be interesting to peek into their lives to see what daily life is like.

We always enjoy visiting the livestock area since they give free milk to the fair patrons. We watched a presentation on how cows are milked and we all learned a few facts about cows. We visited a few additional livestock areas and the girls got to pet some of the animals.

Then we decided it was time to shorten our life spans….we had dinner. What is it about fair food that always smells so good? And, we all know it’s a heart attack wrapped in dough but I guess it’s alright to sin a few times a year. For dessert, we splurged and got a funnel cake. One of my coworkers recommended that we try the fried candy bars. I did later in the evening.

After dinner, we decided to check out more of the entertainment venues. The Beach Boys were playing Friday night but it required separate advance tickets for that. I wish we had bought some. I’ll bet that was a good show. Instead, we enjoyed the other musical talent. The group we watched was called Vocal Trash. While their name doesn’t sound very appealing, I have to admit they were awesome.

After that, we attended a magic show. Rachel and Anna were called up on stage during the show. They still think coins can be pulled from their ears.

We walked around a bit more after the magic show and the girls found the pony rides. They always love the pony rides. While Anna and Rachel were riding, we heard the owner of the ponies talking to another person about how Fridays are always slow because of the local high school foot ball games. We were wondering why the crowds were less than what we usually experienced. I guess we know what night of the week that we’ll be attending future fairs.

It was after the pony rides that we decided to call it a night. We had a pleasant visit. The weather was perfect. It dropped to the low 40’s later that night….the coolest temperature this fall for this area of the country. On the way out, we bought some cotton candy and a fried candy bar. Just when I think I’ve seen all fried food, I find out that I haven’t. I’ve tried fried pickles (quite tasty if you like dill pickles), fried tomatoes, and other typical fried foods but I had never tried a fried candy bar. It was tasty….something worthy of trying once. But, in the future, I’d rather save the calories for some yummy peach cobbler.

Totally off topic but I wanted to mention Suede while she was on my mind. Some of you may recall my “Vanguard” post in September where I introduced Suede so I wanted to provide an update.

We have received several post cards from her since she left. The most recent stating,

Hi. Hoping this finds you more certain of your excellent decision to live in that beautiful RV you bought. Geez….this is such a beautiful and wonderful country! Tall ships in Delaware and home made ice cream at a couple’s home with 26 cats, fresh out-of-the-marsh steamed blueshell crabs one night with another couple on the eastern shore of Maryland, a chance to preach one Sunday at a UMC in Ridgely, MO; walking along the towpath of the old C&O canal; sleeping in the yard of a man named “Snake” and tonight writing this under a halogen parking lot light at a liquor store run by a fellow with only one tooth in his mouth. I love this country! Always—Suede.

Even though she has been gone over a month, we continue to meet people who have crossed paths with her. One morning we had breakfast at Burger King locally and I ran into a guy that I used to work with. When I told him about what we were doing, he asked me if I “knew Suede?” I told him “yes.” He met her previously in his Tai Chi class. What hasn't she done?

On Saturday night, we were speaking to a couple camping next to us who live in Florida. When we were discussing simplifying our lives, I mentioned Suede. As it turns out, they had met her at a different campground in Florida last year. Small world…..

Suede has made her rounds. I suppose we’ll continue to meet people whose life she has touched as we continue our travels into the future.