Ricky Sk"eggs"

Got to Mom's mid afternoon with minor shin splints and sore feet!  I had plans to meet Liz and the Ag/Hort at 5:00 and was deciding if I should head over early to see if there were any calves...just as mom brought out wine slushies and served them to all the denizens of Simpson Street relaxing in lawn chairs half-heartedly parking cars.  It didn't require much effort, a wave of the hand and price quote and they were in.
I got to the grounds about an hour early and wandered through Ag/Hort until Liz got off work.  The gladiolas were spectacular, and one spectator in particular caught my eye.






Wandered through the crop art and found a scarecrow...is that made by the Cindy K. I know?  Love it, Gnomeo and Juliet!
 



I went to see all the veggies, and all the crops seemed a bit unimpressive this year, maybe it was a bad growing season for everything.  The pumpkins were still good sized though!


I wandered over to the Bee exhibit and I noticed they were actively doing the bee demonstration so I snuck back out since I am allergic, I didn't want to tempt fate! I stopped at the honey candy booth to get my traditional green apple honey hard candy only to be told they no longer sold it separately, I had to purchase and "assorted" bag.  I looked and there were maybe three or four of my faves.  No way...broke my heart.  No purchase made there....and went to the apple booth to score my apple cider freeze pop, still only a buck!  Ahh, started to feel better.

Once she was done with her shift at the Horticulture Society booth, Liz and I both needed to eat some protein. Liz has a great list of the "healthy" food options, and I wondered why Axel's Bull Bites were not on the list and Liz said they were fried!  I didn't believe it, but decided to do some research later!
Ball Park Cafe's chicken is on the list so on we went and  I got a burger and fries and she got the broasted chicken dinner!  YUM!

We decided to explore Heritage Square and started looking at some of the booths, we saw the guy who makes the cool frames with names and sayings and I think it is where Mom got the "Five generations" frame for Kyle and Rachel to celebrate when Grandma was 100 and Harper was just born!

"You could put Randy in there!"

We found Meg's Apron lady friend and she was grateful for the plug at church that morning!
There was a booth that sold some different woodworking things and could not determine a purpose for these strange boxes...Liz suggested maybe ashes??

We then took a stroll through the Fair History Center.  found a picture of Randy's relative Eugene Wilson Randall, a State Fair Manager in 1925, and they had a fair archive book with a picture of  John J. Randall. We found an old advertisement that was donated by a Carol Brekken....can it be the one I think it is?

Outside I found this plaque, and I think it sums up the fair for me!

I told Liz the story of my Mother walking through the century farmhouse and having a strange feeling she had been in the house before, and sure enough it was donated to the grounds by the Lunstter Family of Gatzke and mom had played with some of the ten Lunsetter children who grew up in it!  Take a walk through and imagine being one of ten kids sleeping, and living in that house! There is "school sled" too, also from gatzke...and I wonder grandma ever rode in one?




As we left Heritage Square, it was the tail end of the Wild West Doggie Show. I had heard good things, and we just caught the last act of the one of the doggies climbing and jumping off a ladder.  Not sure if I will return to see the rest! 



Liz and I returned to complete the rounds of Creative Activities that neither of had really finished!  We decided that maybe next year we would download the 75 page competition manual and try our hand at bars, or jam, or cookies!  We decided it can't be that hard.  I am sure we will be proved wrong!

I took a few pics of the Shakespeare quilt squares on a stick for those who can't get there to see them! Liz commented that Lisa Strochein's mom had entered in some category and we decided to not look through the books and find it.  I turned and saw a beautiful table runner with pansies all over it and I told Liz how it would be something my Grammie Kelsey would have loved...and sure enough...it was a sweepstakes winner made by Beverly Strochein...a little uncanny!



Next stop was the Fine Art building.  Every year there is usually one piece of art that really makes me think or I really like.  This year nothing struck me.  Lots of digital prints!  One in particular stuck out.  A photograph of a young woman...that's it a young woman taken at a strange angle and the price tag was $3300.  ?????

Liz needed some coffee, it had been a long day, and I told her that Salem Lutheran was purported to have Scandinavian egg coffee, so she got a cup....about a 6 oz cup for $1.50.  she was allowed refills, but could not wander far!.  While there she also got a piece of pumpkin pie which we shared!

After a quick coffee refill we got word that mom and my brother Michael were saving seats at the band shell.  We got there fifteen minutes before showtime and i decided to go do the bull bite research from earlier! As I ordered some, I asked if they were fried or grilled and she said...well they are pan fried.  Hmmm how different is that really from deep frying?  Well either way, they were tasty!

Returning to my seat, I got there just as Michael arrived with beer-garitas and nachos! we got comfortable for the concert, unwittingly seated in front of the Ricky Skaggs Super fan!  The announcer introduced the concert and welcomed Ricky to the fair, and once out on stage Ricky said..."Ya'll think I have an accent???, there is no "e" on that sign is there? Ya'll say "Sk-eggs" .  The super fan whooped and hollered at that one, as did most of the crowd.  Partway through the show as I was losing the hearing in my right ear due to the super fan, I turned to Liz and David (referring to said super fan) said..."I think we should maybe get him another beer!"  The concert started with a bunch of great bluegrass and amazing mandolin and banjo playing! As the concert wore on...we did too and once he began the 1980's playlist, and the super fan left to get more beer, we decided to make our get-away. 

Home and too tired to blog, I went right to bed!~
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Day Four STATS:
Distance: 4.2 miles. I realized that I have walked a marathon in four days. Slowly mind you, but that's a long way!
Food Consumed: (Slushies) Ball Park burger, fries, winner winner chicken dinner!, pumpkin pie, nachos, onion rings, bull bites and Beer-garitas
Funny Hats: the red white and blue guy, or is that considered a wig?

Free Stuff: New St Thomas bag, since the one last night was used to hold the cookies and had chocolate inside!
Left side collisions..zero today, doing better!