county fair

Nothing screams dog days of summer like a trip to the county fair. Growing up in a small rural community, paying an annual visit to the county fair was the ultimate family outing. An evening at the fair meant breaking in your new pair of back-to-school jeans. It meant hanging out with your friends again after being away at camp or the lake all summer. It meant freebies, face painting and marginal Country music. It meant savoring the last few slices of summertime by the light of the ferris wheel. True story: I even spent a few summers at the farm helping my cousin get ready to show her pigs + rabbits at the fair, then serving up coffee + apple pie in the 4-H food stand during fair week. If that wasn't a character building experience in my life, I don't know what is. This summer, it was time to tote G through the mud, gravel, and cow pies to teach him what the fair is all about. The boy is such a city slicker--he has airplanes and sirens nailed, but is still a little weak in the barnyard sound department. We hoped the petting zoo would change that. He went nuts-o for all of the animals, bouncing from pen to pen barking and waving. Good times.

We even sprang for the slippery slide. Best 4 bucks we've burned all year. Why are carnival attractions so darn expensive? For $1, I bet they'd have 10x the kiddie customers. I'm no marketing whiz, just sayin'.
But of course the best part of any fair, anywhere is the food. The boys shared a raspberry milkshake with Grandma. The real deal of a milkshake. It makes my belly ache just thinking about it. I had my traditional bowl of Queen Apples: topped with homemade caramel, nuts, whipped cream, and candy cherries. Mmm...Hoping we will find time to make it to the Minnesota State Fair next week to have all this again and more...On a stick.