Day Five, August 31st 2010

I worked a long day, but decided to head to the fair anyway.  Fair=Air  I think I need both at the end of August to breathe!

I joined Mom at the bandshell to see Rosanne Cash.  I got there around 7:30 and the concert didn't start until 8:30 so I had time to run and find some food!  On my quest for food I ran through half of the Merchandise mart, but saw nothing I couldn't live without.  I will have to cruise the other side another day!

I decided to try the London Broil Steak Sandwich on the recommendation of a friend.  I walked down to the grandstand to find it.  It was good, not as good as my favorite Maverick's roast beef.  It was a nice big sandwich for the price and with a little BBQ and Horseradish, I enjoyed it!    I got Mom some Danielson's onion rings, and she shared one or two :)  Just before the concert started Mom said " I want chocolate!"  We weren't sure where to find chocolate at the fair and then I remembered the Minnesota Wine growers booth in the Ag/Hort booth!  This year they have Izzy's chocolate ice cream infused with raspberry wine!  YUM!  After our food, we sat back and enjoyed the concert!

I love the fair :)

Not sure when my next adventure will take place! Stay tuned!

Day Five Stats:
Walked ....have no idea, forgot the pedometer.
Food Consumed: London Broil, chocolate ice cream!
Baby cow report: none
Free stuff, tonight I got nuthin! 
Stuff I still need to see: Half the merchandise mart, Fine Art, 4H show, Pet Center and a BABY COW!

Day Four August 29th 2010

Both Stella and I were a bit tired from our adventures so we slept in and decided to head to the fair later in the day and then plan to stay for the fireworks!

Stella wanted to have a friend along this time, so she invited Gabe a friend from school.  We had a blast all afternoon and evening!  Stella and Gabe have been friends since they were much younger and they had so much fun being silly that Stella forgot to be a teenager!

We walked into the Fair  and went by the U of MN booth. We had not been in it yet and I asked if the kids wanted to check it out. (I was secretly hoping they had backpacks)  Gabe asked what  we could see there.  Stella said "I got to touch human hearts one year"  Knowing it was unlikely the cardiac guys were there, but hoping for freebies we entered only to find there were no human hearts,..but human BRAINS! ( and cat and pig and rat)  the kids loved it.  I didn't see any backpacks but the U of MN cheerleaders were there playing a U of MN  Monopoly game and you rolled big foam dice to play.  Gabe won a backpack!  YEAH!  and Stella got a button we will give to grandma!


We turned the corner to establish our "safe place" at the Ball Park.  I told the kids if we got separated just ask how to get to the Ball Park cafe and we would meet at the big baseball.  Always good with the intermittent cell service!
 

We then ran down the hill to the Giant Slide.  Always a winner! I got a great pic of Gabe, but the worker got in front of me for Stella.  There will be more opportunities for me to get her though!

Gabe was ready to try anything so we went straight for the fried alligator...tastes like really salty chewy chicken!  Even Stella tried it!

After the alligator had settled we headed to the butter heads! The sign says that each Princess gets to to take her butter head home and the kids were asking what they do with it and I assumed that the would host a pancake breakfast or corn feed and use the butter.  Gabe said all he wanted was the nose!  (maybe it is like the ears on a chocolate bunny!)





 The kids were willing to stick their heads in one and only one wooden cut out for me!  It had to be the turkeys!  LOL 








We then wandered back over to the AG/Hort building where we got to see all the best vegetables and get a shot of the biggest pumpkin!  Gabe wasn't sure they were real!  There was the grumpiest lady running the Wheel for the Farmer's Market Booth.  The kids had to identify vegetables.  I did not fare well with the turnip but the kids knew their Brussels sprouts and sweet potato! Yeah honey sticks! 

Had to see the crop art again ans this time it was less crowed and Stella found this one that is Calvin and Hobbes (her favorite cartoon!)

My friend Scott was in the talent show so I decided to put the kids on a round trip sky ride and then they could shop in the bazaar while I watched the show with Mom. His group was "Mel's Plumbers" They did a funny dance all dressed in jeans and flannel, holding plungers to the music of "Taking Care of Business"  It was a riot and the crowd loved them  I don't know who won, but I thought they were in the top two!!!

Well the sky ride took all of 10 minutes, but the good news was, they got into one of the themed sky ride vehicles!  Stella always tries, but it is the luck of the draw. They got into the cow!

After the quick trip they headed off on their own little adventure on the trolley up to the Hall of Technology and back.  We had plans to meet at the bench (so glad we found it!) and then we shopped through the bazaar trying to convince Gabe that most of the stuff there is pretty cheap and not the best as far as souvenirs go.

While unsupervised, Stella took Gabe to her favorite place on the fair grounds...the fudge puppy booth.  She justified it by saying she hadn't tried the new turtle one with caramel.  of course, sounds logical to me. I couldn't argue.

 Dusk was starting to settle in on us so we walked down to the Midway.

We walked by the Gelato booth where Stella taught Gabe how to score your free samples.  It was not busy enough to go back for more but they got a big scoop from the first girl!

Stella owed Gabe a giant pickle since he bought the fudge puppy, so we went to the new pickle stand across from the Sky ride by the Midway.  The procedure is you purchase a preferred pickle poker chip designating the type of pickle you want, and the present said preferred pickle poker chip to the kid and get your pickle. (say that three times fast!)  Gabe is a poker chip collector, so he went back and asked if he could just buy a poker chip and was told he could not. :(   I asked Gabe how much he was willing to spend on the poker chip, explaining that if he went up and just paid the $2 for the giant pickle and they would give him the chip.  He could then walk away with the chip and not trade it in for a pickle!  His eyes lit up!  I told him we should come back later and try it with a new shift of kids who didn't know he had asked for the chip already!


I told Gabe about the deep fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick and he was all for it!  They were amazing!  Served with your choice of sides ( sour cream chive, honey mustard, BBQ sauce, ranch, ketchup).  It is the first thing, fried on a stick, I have eaten at the fair in over 20 years.  I will have them again. 

Since we opened the barn door on rides, it's a little hard to close it again so the ride-a-palooza began at the Midway!   I did purchase a bunch of ride sheets in advance, but only brought one along that night thinking I could keep them to one ride each. I did however have the coupon book along with the discounted ride sheets (my ace in the hole).  I know Stella loves hanging with Mom, however it is way more fun to go on rides with a friend and I am perfectly happy to sit and "people watch" in the Midway. The kids rode 5 or 6 rides, the Windstorm the new roller coaster this year, the Crazy Mouse, the Starship 3000, the high flying swings, and the Magnum. They enjoyed each one more than the other!

After the Midway I was still carrying the leftover sides from the mashed taters and decided that it sure would be good on the Fresh French Fries!   So...we got some. ( when the kids were willing to stick their heads in wooden cut outs I also got them pose with the french fry guy...just this once)

As we left the Midway we went back to the pickle booth.  Gabe had his $2 ready and handed Stella his backpack and said "hold this, things could get dicey"  I was laughing so hard!  As he was waiting in the long line, all of a sudden  the big burly manager showed up to help the girls working the booth.  There was a moment of hesitation, but then he went for it!  We were waiting in the shadows for him to return victorious!  He held that pickle poker chip proudly and I said " Now that is a fantastic souvenir, because not only was it cheap, but there is a great story to go with it!"   Major score!










We had time to kill since the Brandi Carlisle concert was going long,  so we wandered over the adventure park.  The allure of the human hamster balls (actually called the Eurobobbles) was too great, so the kids decided to spend the last of their money on tickets.  TOO FUNNY!  They get zipped up into these humid plastic balls and then they are pumped with air and sealed. They are then pushed out into three foot pool of water to roll and fall.  I said to the kids we have told them their whole lives to avoid being enclosed in plastic and here we are paying to do it!  Stella was a bit too tall for the bubble and could not stand up but had fun rolling and somersaulting! Gabe could stand and run just like a hamster!  I was unable to get any good pictures since the lights were awkward and the bubble surfaces were shiny and constantly moving!  I pumped mounds of hand sanitizer into their hands once they were out.  They were a bit sweaty but beaming from ear to ear!











We found a table in Carousel park to hang out and wait for the fireworks.  I broke down and let the kids go get a bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies.  ( Randy asked for a treat again, so I justified it that way! :)  We sat, ate cookies and listened to the end of the concert and were finally rewarded with the short but sweet fireworks show.

On our way out we hung by the corn on the cob booth and just when I was about to say "let's go" ...it happened!  CORN DANCE!  Every night after the grandstand show lets out, the kids at the corn booth put wooden boards over the roasting grills and DANCE!  Here is a video link.  If you are there late, you gotta see it!

CORN DANCE!

We headed home with full stomachs and full hearts!  It was a great day at the Great Minnesota Get Together!

Day Four Stats:
Walked 6 miles
Baby Cow report: none
Food Consumed: Alligator, Fudge puppies, Sweet Martha's Cookies, Gelato, Honey sticks, Deep fried  bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick! Huge pickles and french fries!
Stuff I still have to see: Merchandise Mart, Fine Art and the 4H show, the Purina Dog Center and a baby cow.

Day Three August 28th 2010

Stella was in bed as I left for my day at the Fair. I decided to spend the day taking pictures of all the stuff we did Thursday so I could fill in the blog, since we forgot the camera! Also Priority ONE was finding the bench! 

I had to get a pic of Mom and I in our pink get ups, I always told her she looked like a Dixie chick in her hot pink with her black and rhinestone crusted Elvis belt!

Dad had to get his walking tour punch card filled so he offered to join me in the quest. We hiked over together, leaving mom to fill the yard with cars. Dad and I decided to start at the Bailey House and inquire, and I was correct as to perimeter of possible bench locations!  The staff of the Bailey house assured us the bench was out there somewhere in it's zone and every night they ride a golf cart and do an accounting of each bench!  WOW that's dedication!  She said if we did not find it she would do a thorough search that night!  Very nice lady!

We began our search heading toward the animal barns for the start of my photo retake session and as we rounded the corner of Judson Avenue.there it was!!!!    It was sitting against the outer wall of the International Bazaar just on the west side of the main entrance!   We were so relieved to find and decided to NOT disturb the people sitting there for a picture, we would have other chances.  We were just glad to know where it was!

Dad called in the "bench report" to the house to alert the rest of the family coming out that day of the exact location!  We then entered the Ag/ Hort building to get a photo of the award winning crop art that was made by a friend!

Dad and I decided that a half a foot long for breakfast was a good idea, so we found a suitable alternate location to purchase said dog on the corner of Nelson and Carnes outside the DNR.  This is the booth  whose history includes the story of "Speedy", the hot dog vendor who sold hot dogs for over 50 years and celebrated his 90th birthday at the fair last year.   It was a good dog, and I spilled a whole GOB of ketchup down the front of me! 

We ran through the DNR garden to get a picture of the beaver and the to the animal barns to get dad's walking tour punch card filled.  He told me the story of the ring tailed twink and the french foreign legion and other great stories of State Fair lore, which I will have to get him to dictate and fill in here completely later!  , We got pics of cows and horses, got to see a ferrier working on a Belgian.  The ferriers  head came up to the horses shoulder!  Magestic Animals!

As we came out of the horse barns I found the deep fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes, the only new food which might make me rethink my aversion to deep fried things on a stick at the fair!  They come as four little balls of possible nirvana on a stick served with a side of a sour cream type sauce.  I really should only have ONE so I will have to go with someone else who wants to try it and eat the other three!  They can be found at the Potato Man & Sweety booth on Liggett St, just outside the Horse barn.

We wandered through the adventure park and got a picture of the human hamster balls on water( which Stella wants to try)  There is NO way you would catch me zipped up inside a plastic ball of my own volition!

Past the Grandstand and on up the street to the Hamline Dining hall to get another punch which happens to be next to the Bremer bank where we scored  another of the super blue bags with zipper pocket and water bottle holder!  It was about 10:00am and we hiked quickly up the road to the Little Hands Farm for the next punch, suprisingly we were still moving at a pretty good pace, but the grounds were filling up quickly.  I'm sure another record setting day in the making!  We returned by way of the Eco Hall of Tech to see if we could find a friend of dad's working, no luck, so we hiked back down the street to get the last punch at the Creative Activities building.

We wanted to make sure we let the wonderful bench assistant know that we found the bench so she didn't need make a special trip for us. Since we were right back where we started we decided to go and oust whoever may be on the bench and get a picture for evidence! We walked right up to three people eating fries and dad asked them to move so he could get a picture of me sitting on it, they were very gracious and agreed and as dad was taking the picture, all of a sudden two people walked straight up to the bench and said "do you want to make it a family picture? " and Dad, thinking the person speaking meant to have him sit down too and be in the pic said, :no thanks I just want to take it of her"  and quickly realized it was Linda!  It turns out Linda and Sophie had been standing in the near distance patiently waiting for the people to leave so they could do what we just waltzed up and asked directly!  They had been there for 15 minutes and we must have walked right past them not seeing!  So then the gracious french fry eating people who had to stand and witness this whole thing graciously offered to take a picture of us all!  LOL  Then we gave them back their bench !

All day I was attempting to connect with two groups of people, my friend Dawn and her family and a friend from work.  The phone service at the fair is terrible due to the "air traffic" the systems are so slow that every now and then you get a string of texts all at once that had been sent over the last hour,  I learned that it is best to text things like "food bldg at 2" so you tell people where you WILL be not where you ARE so there is a chance of hooking up!  The other family I realized were not even coming out until after 2:00!  oops!

I was getting hungry again around 12:30 and I knew I had to stay through the parade to get the last of my retake series so I decided to return for Gyro #2.  I took my gryo and found a shaded bench near the Bailey House and I just sat there and people watched for over an hour!  Too many girls in flip flops skipping in and then I'd see other girls in flip flops shuffling out  with sore feet LOL    As I sat there I witnessed my first "Flash Mob"  it was a group of kids between the Admin building and the band shell that suddenly gathered and did an "impromptu" well rehearsed street dance. I don't know that I would call it a "mob" maybe 100 kids, but it was entertaining!

The parade came and I took photos of an ENTIRE parade. If anyone has never seen one, go next time!  I realized as I was trying to upload all these pics I could have just done a video.  (I am so technologically challenged!) so here are the floats that Stella and sometime I have ridden!

Stella used to always ride in these until her legs got too long!

climbed over the side of this wagon Thursday!

Always a chance to ride in this one if you know where to be!

It is a pretty good sized parade each day at 2:00!   This was the first parade this year I got to sit and watch!  There were marching bands from Edina, Irondale and The Minnesota State Pipe band, who doesn't love Bagpipes!  The Winona State Cheerleaders were there and Ronald McDonald, who always does the same joke.."want a free shake?"  and he shakes his whole body! Sparky the fire dog, the Go Girl car, Haunted House truck, all the Pro Mascots (Twins, Wild, and Timberwolves) The decorated cars, some crazy chicken and flamingo bikers, the wacky wheeler and Princess Kay of The Milky Way!

We rode this one with Camden & Riley one day last year!

It was hot, windy and getting very crowded so I decided to call it a day.  Even though I had plans to play cards with the girls later I still got my hand stamped " just in case"  (genetic trait!) I stopped on my way home and picked up mini donuts for my cynical friend "unicorns and glitter" and Randy, who has been asking for them every night so far!

I got home and sat on the couch and tipped over for an hour and never did return!

Day Three stats:
Walked 5.7 miles
A little wind burned!
Food Consumed: half a foot long and Gyro #2
Bench: FOUND!
Free Stuff: another Bremer bag
Baby cow report: none
Stuff I still want to see!: Butterheads, Merchandise Mart, Fine Art, Creative Activites, FIREWORKS!

Day Two August 27th 2010

Governor's Fire Prevention day!   My favorite day at the fair did not let me down!

Stella did not want to get up this morning blaming it on the new pillows we purchased yesterday.  Yes they are nice pillows, but it was more about being 13.  We didn't get moving until almost 9:00 :(  and only with the promise of Fudge Puppies again.

We started by walking throught the Kare11 Health Fair (to get our bags) with the ultimate destination being the Fudge Puppy booth directly on the other side.  The irony was not even lost on Stella! In the Health Fair, Stella practiced the new compression only CPR techniques and we battled the Germs and impressed the volunteers with our comprehensive hand washing! 






Why do you quickly run through the Food Building? 

To get to the other side!

  BREAKFAST!

Then down to the DNR to let Stella try her hand at Archery and the shooting Range.  She was a crack shot at both!  25/25 on the Clay targets and 4/5 arrows on target!  That's my girl!  It was suggested to me by a Female Highway Patrolwoman to look into a Mom/Daughters outdoors program that the DNR runs.

To the Fire Trucks!

The banner and Sparky the Fire Dog welcomed us to Emergency Vehicle Row where we saw truck upon truck lined up to offer us tons of freebies and the opportunity to learn!  We got tote bags, and pencils, punch balloons, hot pads, sunscreen and more pencils, fire fighter hats and ashtrays ( even tho I don't smoke anymore....they were FREE!)

We stopped at the local St Paul Firefighter booth and they had a stove set up with information on what NOT to do in the case of a grease fire.  The guy asked Stella what she would do and her response was to put water on it.  ( I guess I have failed....)  He instructed us to continue down the road to the Grease Fire DEMONSTRATION!  No bread making, knitting or clogging demonstration could beat this one!  Here is the Video:

Burning Oil and Water DON'T MIX!

After all the excitement we went under the Grandstand bridge to see the Window Escape, the Red Cross dollhouse and the Regions Burn Unit.  Sadly the burnt dummy was not in attendance this year.  Usually a source of great curiosity for Stella.

Off to the Ball Park for cheeseburger and fries for lunch at a lovely table in the shade of the big screen TV's :)

We got a great tote bag with water bottle holder and zipper pocket at the Bremer Bank, and walked up to the Peace Pavilion. Not quite what we thought it was, simply a place to purchase any "peace sign" related merchandise you ever wanted to find! Oh and they have a GROOVY Van! Cutting across the North end of the Kidway we found  a few more wheels to spin.  ( we LOVE to spin wheels!)

 

Stopped and had our pics taken at the Bicycle Card traveling show. (again NOT what I thought it might be, there were no free cards, just these silly pics.)

Then on to the Sensodyne traveling show to get our free toothpaste!  Since the Alphabet people were having trouble getting their uploads to work here is the "retake" I made Stella take part in today!  She would not do hers this time, but let me make mine!

Stella had her stomach set on a malt from the Kiwanis booth so she got that and then we strolled the Hall of Technology.  Didn't see too much new this year, so it was a quick trip!

Home for Stella to work and weren't sure if we were heading back, but Stella just got home and wants to meet up with cousins!  Here we go!

Upon our return we hooked up with the cousins at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell for the tail end of the talent show.   We were thrilled to see the kid who won the finals in the junior level last year with I'll be There, sing Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah.  I have a short video clip of it.  The song was a bit high for his range, but wow can that kid sing! We'll see how far he goes if he is there next Sunday! 
Talent Show

Then there was the wardrobe malfunction.  A kid came out and danced with his pants completely torn open.  Not sure if it was intentional or not, but just made for sort of an uncomfortable silence around the area!

Stella and I met up with some friends at the Ball Park ...again, and had my first beer at the fair.  Ahhh cold beer and fun catching up with friends.

Texting out at the fair had a bout a half hour delay tonight, so every now and then I would get 8-10 messages of where I should have been before and answers to questions long ago asked.  It was rather comical so we gave up and went old school and just called each other...that worked!

We later caught up with Grandma and Keira down by the Grandstand and we went to the....drumroll please..... MIDWAY,

 For those of you who don't know, I hatched this plan when Stella was younger that we did not set foot in the Midway until Labor Day when we came with Daddy, and otherwise there was only ride a day in the Kidway. As she was tall enough for Midway rides since she was 7, this rule has saved us a fortune over the years! It also kept her from begging for rides every time we went on the grounds. This was a great rule when we came almost every day!  Well, now that she is too tall for any Kidway ride but the Ferris Wheel, and she is packing her own well earned money, the rules can be bent a bit.  I have to say it was a blast walking through tonight with my Mom :)  I realized my exclusion of her also excluded my Midway wanderings!  Since Randy only likes to come early on Labor Day for part of the day, we never really went at night.  I forgot how great it all is!

Stella was too tired to walk home, so she, Grandma and Kory caught a pedal cart back to the house.  She is already sound asleep as I type this.

I don't think I can get Stella to go tomorrow, but I am going to head out for a bit and see some of the stuff she'd rather skip!  (Fine Arts, Creative Activities,etc)

Stats for Day Two:
Walked only 8 miles today
No sunburn, reapplied at noon!
Food Consumed: Burger, some fries and a slice of pizza.  oh and a beer :)
Grammie's Bench: still AWOL
Free Bags: 4 (Fire Fighters, Bremer, St Thomas, Health Fair)
Baby cow report: none