Record day...for heat.

I spent the morning indoors and got to thinking about my parents withering in the heat.  I hauled our spare  A/C unit out of the garage to take over to Mom's only to discover it was too wide for any window in their house.  I went shopping.  Dad & I dripped all over the new unit as we got it in the window.....and turned it on.  Sweet, cool comfort. Hopefully it will take the edge off and help them survive this next week of 90 degree plus temps.  

Stella and I walked over to the fair around 5 pm.  Hoping it was a bit cooler than earlier.  Nope. The good news about the heat and humidity is there are no lines for anything.  I got my picture taken with the Obama and Hillary.

We had some hints as to the location of Grammie's Bench, so we sought it out.  The kids resting on it were kid to let us take a picture.  I hated to ask anyone to move today!

I had finished the walking history tour yesterday, but we were too tired to cash in and get our prize.  We checked in at the Bailey House to get our reward for hiking all over and finding punches. (do you know that for as little as $25, you can be a donor to the fair foundation and stop in the air conditioned Bailey House any time you want?) 

 This year I am a winner on day three and do not have to carry it around until day 12!  Yay me!

 Sweet "I'm a winner" button and vintage State Fair postcards.  

Did anyone else realize the post office is not open on the grounds anymore.  You used to be able to get a stamped envelope and if you mailed your letter from the fair, it got a special State Fair stamp on it.  I heard someone say it was due to budget cuts and traffic issues. 

Stopped to check out hot tub upgrade prices versus repairing the shell and cover of our current one.  The new ones are pretty and the outer shells are all recycled plastic now, not wood, like ours (that paper wasps enjoy building nests in).  

Misting fans are the place to be at the fair this year.  Stella stopped by the one in the monument booth near CalSpas and the ones outside the Fresh French Fries booth on our way to the KARE11 Barn to see if we could be on the news  

We walked right up to the MPR booth to spin the wheel and win fabulous prizes.  Note the lovely rag around my neck.  Started out in a bag of ice and we kept them wet and cold and it helped cool us down!

Usually the barn is packed, not even SRO within a half hour of the newscast.  We walked up at 5:55 pm and found a seat!!  Quickly texting Mom and Randy to tell them to watch the news, they did catch a glimpse of us.  The best part of catching a newscast these days, is they have become the place to score free food samples! All the new food vendors bring samples to showcase their wares.  This time was no exception! We got to try one type of the new cicchetti, a bread cone filled with meatballs and marinara.   Yum!

GREAT NEWS!  We attended the fair on a record breaking day!  Heat record that is.  As we were sitting in the barn at 6 pm, the temp was 97° with a heat index of 107°  Here is Belinda sharing that wonderful news with us!  

KARE Barn has nice Kinetico cold filter water, so we filled up the water bottle...again.

After the news,  we walked over to see the newly designed fish tanks in the DNR.  They are beautiful!  Even too hot for the fish to swim.  They are designed to be more like the fish's natural habitat.   The painted turtle was swimming so fast I could hardly take a picture. 

We walked through the DNR path to find our family bricks.  I do not remember a time when I could get a picture of the brick without waiting for people to move, let alone when the place was EMPTY!

Out in the DNR algae pond, the ducks didn't even want to swim. Poor ducks..."hey guys, you have wings.  I am sure there is better water elsewhere!"

We then headed to the Birth Barn.  Tote Board is heavy.  Sure enough missed twin bulls being born this afternoon.  The cow seemed to be stressed quite a bit, but could you imagine giving birth to twins in 100 degree heat?  no thanks.

Took some cute baby pictures and moved along.  

We cruised through the empty Coliseum, because I heard there was A/C in there.  Well there is, but only in the first deck of the seating ring, not in the outer vendor ring.  Still, with no people and the huge fans, it was tolerable.  We filled up our water bottles, bought my "Simply Nuts" toffee roasted peanuts and found a guy who creates art using recycled tin cans.

 Stella has a star ornament collection and I love angel ornaments and we look for one set at the fair every year.  These are awesome!

I am always attracted to brightly colored arrays of art, toys, paint, etc.  I would not buy this sort of stuff but I liked the way the booth looked!

After the Coliseum we checked out the DNR camping cabin where we will be staying this fall whenwe visit Shetek State Park.  Looks like camping in the lap of luxury to me!  

Sadly, the Ranger Tower was closed for the day, will have to try back tomorrow.  

On our way up to find food we found Ethan!  Hard working guy keeping people hydrated at the fair today!  Not a bad gig but a little too close quarters for this chick.

These two boys were so cute with their new bubble gun! 

We have not stopped to eat (or drink) at the Ball Park Cafe yet, so we headed there for the best burger & fries on the grounds.  Fresh soft buns, nice sized hamburger and awesome fries.  

We did not get the garlic ones this time since it was just the two of us and they are meant to share with a crowd.  It was too hot to even have a beer. Water was all my body required today!  I did learn that if you want to try the Mini Donut beer, you need to get in line early for the noon keg tap and they can run out within 45 minutes!  Ball Park Owner, Colleen , shared a funny story with me about a person on Saturday, lined up for the beer asked for a free sample.  Colleen told her they were not giving out samples and that she could buy one, or not.  The lady said "well, I'm not going to buy one if I can't try it" and Colleen apologized, the entire time thinking to herself "not a problem lady, the other three hundred people standing in line will...move it along"  LOL 

The hot sun set over us while resting at the Ball Park.  

It was a beautiful night.  

We made our way all the way up to the Kemps booth to try our luck at a cow, only to find they had closed up shop. With the world still hot and nothing really on our agenda, we decided to find a bench and wait for the Laser Light show.  Sadly, it was pretty much the same show as last year.  A couple different clips and some new music.  If you have not ever seen it, it is worth the wait.  We learned that a front row seat is NOT the best viewing spot.  Much of the laser show happens in the smoke machine clouds back down on Cosgrove.  Sit near the foot long hot dog booth and you can see it all!.  We slowly walked back down the hill and turned around to catch the end.  

There is a new food booth on Cosgrove across from the Educations Building.  The kind of food my State Fair nightmares are made of!  Thick, layered,food dipped in batter and not quite cooked.  *shudder*

My dear daughter likes order in her world, much like her mother. This manhole cover out of alignment has bothered her every time we have walked by it on our way out of the fair.  Maybe somebody from maintenance can get on this.  

We got back to Mom & Dad's house and the neighbors were a bit worried because they had not seen my parents all day....I told them about the new A/C.   Hopefully they sleep OK tonight.  I know I will not be as worried about them!