Today is the day that Boston Scientific offers employees a bargain rate for tickets and t-shirts to have a presence out at the fair! You will notice in all the photos of me, my lovely orange bumper car shirt. If you saw thousands of them out there today, then it worked!
I didn't get to the fair until 1:00 to connect with my Uof MN gal pals, Sarah, Rebecca and Jen! (I found out later a calf was born at 12:37....of course)As I was waiting for them to finish working in their booth, there was an opportunity to get a bag if you played "Ask the Doctor". I am always up for a free bag, so I showed him my arm, with the strange rash (seen by two prior doctors) I have had for some time. He had no idea, gave me a bag and told me to go sit down at the next table and there was a Dermatologist via skype! I had my arm up on the big screen...(awkward!) But he told me the name of an OTC lotion I could try, or get another biopsy. Same story I have been told, but this time it was FREE! Love the free stuff at the fair!
We began with a Tejas treat of Guacamole and chips..YUM! and Rebecca had a coupon for a chicken something, that she was not a fan of.
Then a corn dog was in order so I led them to Randy's new find last year, PONCHO Dog! (still only $3.00!) There was agreement that it was indeed a fine corn dog.
We headed to the Blue Moon, where I thought we might try the sweet corn ice cream. Well the line was twenty-five minutes long out into the street, so I asked for a photo op, explaining about the blog. I got a funny look, but a nod of assent...after all it is the Minnesota thing to do... oh ya sure, you betcha! Most people seemed to think it was pretty good, so maybe I will try it another day. I will skip the caramelized bacon topping though!As we stood and watched the ejector seat launch, Rebecca said, "I would cry, scream and puke all at the same time" I explained they would have a nice picture of that for her when she got off!
...I soon realized what I was hungry for! My bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick. I got them (no line!) and my first bite I wasn't sure they were as good as last year, but my companions said they were great! Maybe I just built them up so much in my head over that past 362 days that nothing could compare!
Off to see horses again. Love those horses. This Percheron stood in his stall with an unseen fan blowing his hair like a romance novel cover, and Jen said "looks like he is on vacation!"
After horse barns, we headed to the Gopher Dairy Bar which I believe to have best soft serve ice cream on the grounds...I like it better than the Dairy Building...**ducking now** We all got cones, some twist some chocolate, but all yummy! Rebecca said" Do you know what I love about ice cream? It is the only treat where the tongue can really shine!" lol |
| Yippee a TWIST! |
I told the girls that I must pop into the CHS and see the calf status and that is when I realized that a calf had been born a mere two hours earlier. *sigh* I took a picture of the tote board, and there were two born yesterday 2am and 5:30pm, when I was chillin at mom's house. I need to make wiser choices with my time. Maybe tomorrow, I bring the laptop and just sit there and write what I see walking by! |
| Grid Lock |
Rebecca and Jen took their leave at that point and it was a good time to get out! Sarah and I walked up the hill toward the Ag/Hort building and this is the sea of people that were before us. As we reached the crest of the hill near the Wozniak's French Fry stand, the crowd began slowing and there was no retreat and no surrender. Moving became a group effort. If one person stopped we would have been stuck in a ball for hours. It took us over ten minutes to work our way out about 100 feet farther past the KDWB booth into the street across from Ag/Hort. I remembered why I usually go early and come back late on Saturdays!Seriously I have never experienced grid lock like that! A friend told me later that her husband Dick could not even get close to get his french fries. Now that is a very sad tale indeed. I hope he knew he could get them by the Midway too, but it could have been just as bad down there! Lines were incredible everywhere!
Sarah needed water so I took her to the oasis and we relaxed on a lovely bench, drinking cold water. We got caught up with everyone electronically, and Sarah found some cousins were currently located at a table in the original beer garden near the Chicago Dogs. On our way to find them, we located the brick! We traded one seat for another and hung out and chatted for quite a while! It was nice meeting them! I helped them get their bearings and gave them info on what to do, and what to see and how best to do it, as I am wont to do.... more family joined in and as we were all headed down to see their family bench, I lost them in the crowd as I ran into more friends! |
| Tim & Paula Kennedy and me in blaze orange! |
After three days of looking for him, I finally ran into Dave Theisen, owner of the Ball Park Cafe, and I found out that he has not been around much, sadly because Colleen's dad passed away today. Our Condolences, prayers and good thoughts go out to the whole Theisen family!
Mom was home trying to park that one more car, so I had some time to kill and I wandered through the Creative Activities. I only made it about halfway through before mom called to say she had seats, but in that time I found a tinker toy carnival, a selection of State Fair Shakespeare Quilt squares on a stick, that are not to be missed..."Wherefore art thou Ale on a stick?" "What is in a name, that which we call butter..." , and then as I was perusing the back wall of pies, cakes and cookies, I noticed a Sweepstakes winner blueberry pie, by a woman named Violet Lyford.
As I was staring at the name Lyford, wondering if it was any relation, up walks a woman and her family and says, "look girls that is your grandma's prize winning pie!" I turned and told her that I didn't want to come across as a creepy stalker, but did she know if she was related to the Charles Lyford Chamberlains, Randy's relative who used to own and live on part of the fairgrounds. She really didn't know, they live in Coon Rapids, with other Lyfords. She did remember a grandparent named Randall, which really made me think there was a connection, She gave me her contact information (I must not have come across too strange) and I told her that maybe she was a descendant of "Old State Fair stock", we would look into and let her know! It is the Great Minnesota Get Together after all!
I met mom at the bandshell and she took the opportunity to go get Danielson's onion rings, and we watched most of the talent show, leaving a bit early to get up to the county fair. I was finally hungry again, so we got some pizza at Green Mill in Baldwin Park and found seats for the county fair show. We needed something sweet and I told mom we could share an apple dumpling, but she thought she needed her own! I can't believe I finished a whole one!We both had instructions from home to not leave the fair without certain things, Mom needed Sweet Martha's for the church pot luck outdoor worship in the morning and I was told not to come home without mini donuts. My friend Lisa really needed a foot long, so off we went to check off the list!
As we walked away from Baldwin Park, we noticed a strange attraction. I learned why Mr. Bubble was in the parade! Turns out there is a "Bubble Bash" up by the KidWay, and your kids can jump in and get covered in bubbles. They do this as birthday parties! Was this on "Extreme Birthday Parties"? I remember birthdays as a kid were good if we got a cake and maybe a new toy!
Got Tom Thumbs without a line near the Kidway, then on to the best Foot Long stand next to the AFLCIO. I told them I had a funny request and asked, since I had to take it home, could I have the bun and dog separate. He shouted "To-Go" and they had that baby wrapped up and into bags for me in no time at all! I looked at him with astonishment and he said, "This is not the first time Ma'am!" LOL
The cookie line was a bit crazy, but we accomplished our list and walked s~l~o~w~l~y home. We were both a little tired. No Ricky Skaggs for us!Day three STATS
Distance: only about 6 miles. 13K steps
Food Consumed: Guac & Chips, Poncho dogs (3), Mashed potatoes on a stick, Ice cream comes (4), pizza (2), Onion rings, Apple Dumplings (2),
Free Stuff: U of MN bag and dermatology consult! St Thomas bag,
Calf Count: Fair: 5 me:0
NEW STAT:
Times I have almost fallen or crashed into someone because I can't see out of my left eye...still : 3
*note: I tell my fair going companions that I need someone on the left at all times! Yesterday I almost killed an old woman in a wheelchair who snuck up on my left and rammed into the back of my knee causing me to fall...not good. Somehow it was my fault, but I have learned to take better precautions!
Glad you had fun the rest of the day. I was glad to get home and take a nap. See you Monday!
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