Dollar Day

A slow start to the day.  Stella decided to stay home to rest her bruises and blisters from yesterday.  Sad to miss her cousins, she would have been in pain, and none of us would have enjoyed the day.  I needed to finish ALL my coffee before I walked over today.  I realized that part of the peter out problem yesterday was a result of too much sun and not enough water.  With sunscreen on and water bottle in hand I walked over with Linda & Margit.  I was hooking up with Becky, Kathy and the kids and Linda & Margit needed food so we split off at the main gate.

The day was already warm so I found some shade to connect with the Ebbighausen Clan.  What did we do before we had cell phones?  My hair stylist told me her family always met at the ranger tower if they got separated. Last year they all had bad cell service and lo and behold they all migrated to the tower and reconnected.  What was your family gathering place?  We always knew we could find Mom at the bandshell! 

I failed to complete the U of Mn Health Quest app game on day one, so I had to get busy!  I needed pictures of the Health Sciences booth, cotton candy, milk and a helmet. I walked into the U of MN booth and it was Duluth Day. I found the Health Science booth, and there was my friend Jim!  

They were unaware of the game, (another person had asked) so I filled them in, chatted, snapped a quick photo and made my way to the Kare11 Health Fair in search of a helmet. North Memorial used to give them away when Stella was a kid, but this year all I could get was a picture of a poster of a helmet!  

Hope it will do!  I was in search of milk when I got the message the Ebbighausen Clan had made their way south in search of bags. 

I walked by the QuitPlan booth and signed my name to the I Quit board.  It will be 6 years on September 1st!

Becky & family had already accomplished a lot!  Home Depot boat building, Little Hands Farm, Lego Road Trip exhibit...by the time I connected with them at the Education Building @ 11:30, they had full arms and no bags! No bags at St. Thomas so Kathy's next stop was the U of MN for backpacks. 

I decided I don't want to wait in lines for anything this year.  If there is a line, I will make another choice.    Kathy will wait!  She and Becky got in line and I kept the kids occupied.  They jumped on stage when a call went out for volunteers for a recycling game. 

 Sort and toss as many objects as you can in a minute.  Cans, paper, trash.  

The kids did great and Eli took the top prize, an aluminum water bottle!  I took him to Culligan to break the rules and fill it up.....using one cup at a time.

We returned too quickly and needed more entertainment, since the guy in the QuitPlan Minnesota booth was getting tired of Eli playing with poker chips and voting over and over again, skewing the results of his straw poll on the new smoking restrictions on the fairgrounds!  He was very nice about it, but I told him to just move the poker chip bowl until the line started moving.  QuitPlan started giving away water bottles, so that bought us some time until we headed into the building to get our backpacks.  

We unloaded Kathy, loaded the backpacks and told the kids, from this point on, if you collect it....you carry it!  The kids saw the Duluth Bulldog, so we had to get a picture!

The kids were promised mini donuts, so we headed for the Doughnut booth near the Grandstand.  On the way, we made a quick stop at the bench!  The ladies on either end would not move, so I told the kids to squeeze in the middle!  The kids are saying "we found the bench!"

Becky had ride tickets to use before 1pm to get the most bang for her buck, so we walked up to the Kidway and the kids polished them off!  Elephants, Ferris Wheels and Pirate Climbing house. 

We adults required some lunch and I read there is a new Gyro place on the grounds near the Kidway (and I saw it as I dangled over the grounds on the Sky Glider yesterday)  But Becky knew the Dimitri's Veggie Gyros are the best and decided it was best to head that way!   We cut through the AFL-CIO and the kids joined the union....

I stopped by Juanitas to buy a chicken salad fajita. I am a huge fan!  Danny was there and hooked me up!  It was as delicious as the first one I tried!  It has a nice kick, but the honey smoothes it out!

As Kathy & Becky went to get food

I took the kids into the Centerpoint Energy House.  Coolest spot on the grounds!  A/C, cold water fountain, benches.  My little oasis.  I should probably stop telling people about it!  The kids tested their Natural gas knowledge and before we knew it we had quite a collection of yard sticks!

 I told the kids if they became swords...they became mine. They did pretty well indoors, but I wasn't gonna chance it once we were out in the crowds.  As we left the building I was the proud owner of seven yard sticks!

Katie & kids hooked up with us for a respite and then we parted for a bit as they needed food and we were headed for Fire Safety activities!

The kids practice called 911, learned about fire escape plans, household fire hazards and spun a few wheels for prizes!

We made our way down to Dan Patch for the big rigs and ladder units, the grease fire display I posted on you tube a couple years ago, (same as this year) as I was recording the video I felt a human vice grip attach itself to my leg.  I looked down to find Eli stuck to me!  He must have jumped three feet when the flames erupted!   We collected fire hats, bags and potholders.

Lots of stuff for the kids, and one item for the Moms.  This is Mr. January, in the Firefighter Calendar!  Too bad he had his shirt ON today.

The kids wanted to see the animals and I needed a few punches on my Historical Walking tour punch card, so we split up and I made my way to the Horse barn punch only to find the punch missing.  I took a picture so I had proof I was there.

I knew the Budweiser Clydesdale's were staying in the Ag-Star Arena, so as I walked around the entire  thing, I finally found them at the end closest to the Midway.

 A long way to go for nothing.  I think the best way to see them is walking in the parade.  They are beautiful animals. I did make my way back through the Horse Barns and got too see many more beautiful working horses.  Awesome animals.

I connected with Mom and we met in the Ag-Hort Building to see the Dr.Seuss floral displays.  They are all so cute.  I liked the Grinch and the 500 hats of Bartholomew Cubbins the best I think.

I was thirsty and hungry, so I ate my melted protein bar and purchased a cider freeze from the apple growers.  Oh. So. Refreshing.  I hooked up with Mom and we checked out the cactus & houseplant displays,

looked for scarecrows made by friends and viewed the crop art.

We both were ready to sit for a bit, so we walked over to the Bandshell to get seats for the talent show and enjoyed the music of Dale Watson.

Linda, Margit, Michael & Kathleen joined us for the show.

Mom & I made our way up to the County Fair talent show and watched to the end of that.  We needed more water so I ran up to the Eco Building and filled up at the awesome water bottle filling stations.  So far I have only seen them in Eco and the Coliseum.  I know they are not in the Fine Art Bldg, but otherwise be on the lookout!

There was some discussion about staying for the laser show at 9:15, but discretion was the better part of valor and we decided to walk home.  I was tired.  There is a new booth that caters to Eldercare and Aging Wellness in the south end of the 4H building.  You can find it by looking for the rows of white rocking chairs out front!  Mom & I were curious, so we entered the booth and found a fun quiz and entered to win an iPad.

I picked up another bag (four for the day now, plus a backpack) and we made our way home via the Education Building and Creative Activities.

We were back to Mom's by 9:15, just as the Laser show would have been starting.  I was glad to be back at my car.

It was another great day, and I think a record for me...Ten hours at the fair and I spent a total of $1.00   (not including admission of course).

I borrowed Dad's pedometer, which I forgot to leave behind, forgetting also to pick up all my electronics chargers (forcing me to return early in the morning..oops)  My step count for the day stopped at 11777.  Not too bad. but they were slower moving steps than the day before!