MN State Fair

So, Saturday morning I was up at 4:30 a.m. OMG I never am up at that time! It was so dark! And, although I had set my coffee pot the night before to have the coffee already brewed, there was only about an inch of hot coffee in the pot. Hmmm. Investigation revealed that there wasn't any water still in the tank, nor were the grounds wet. Aha! I never filled the tank with water the night before! What was in the pot was Friday's leftover coffee! Apparently, I am not ever meant to be up at that time of day.

Why was I up, anyway? Yesterday was the annual outing to the MN State Fair! This year was a bit different -- my mom was coming with! So I needed to be out the door by 5:30 to pick her up in EC and be to Chris' mom's (Ger) by 9. I left my house at 5:20!

It was kind of gloomy and rainy all morning until we got to Hudson. Then the sun came out a bit. It was still a little cloudy, but it looked like it would be a great day for the fair. We made it to Ger's by 8:30. Fantastic! Chris pulled in right behind us and after a quick potty break, the five of us (Chris' nephew, Nicholas, came too) were off! The bus stop for free rides to the fair is about 3 blocks from Ger's house, so it works out perfectly!

Once we got to the fair, the first stop was the Dairy booth. Nothing like a big shake early in the morning to set the tone for the day! I had strawberry-rhubarb this year -- a brand new flavor. Then we watched one of the princesses have her head carved in butter. Oh, to be a princess for the MN State Fair! I was disappointed that the milk booth seemed to have disappeared. That's where I buy a stress cow for my classroom pass each year. No cow for me.

Then we headed to the animal barns. No surprise, Jan was on the hunt for llamas. We didn't find any. But we did see lots of cows (some were HUGE!) and sheep and goats and pigs (saw the largest boar in MN -- 1,300 lbs!) and horses. The first horses we saw were Belgians -- almost as big as Clydesdales! Their hooves were kind of odd, too, and they had funky ribbons in their manes and their tails pulled up into floral arrangements. I'm not sure they were cool with that...

Next on the food agenda was beer (it was almost 11 a.m. by this point) and Pronto Pups. Unsurprisingly, they go very well together! We went through Heritage Square, and then we ate Big Fat Bacon (1/4 - 1/3 lb. of bacon on a stick, deep fried, of course) and mini-donuts.

Off to the grandstand! Lots of stuff to look at, but it's almost the same every year. Then we age funnel cake. Chris & Nicholas had powdered sugar, and Ger, Jan & I split one with powdered sugar, chocolate, and vanilla cream (like a Boston Creme Pie). Nummy!

Then we watched the parade (they have one every day). Tons of bands! Freedom, WI (boo) and Cashton bands were there, even! No candy, though. Next we headed through the Eco building. Jan got lots of info about wind power. We had some coffee at the Swedish Lutheran booth. The sun was hiding, and coffee hit the spot.

The Art Building was next. Some people just throw crap on a canvas and apparently it's art. Who knew? Then we hit the Education building, and stopped at the CSB/SJU booth, of course. Got a new pen. :)

Finally it was time for cheese curds. They are so fantastic! Hand dipped and golden brown... even though I just ate them yesterday, I'm drooling thinking of them. We were going to get a deep fried Snickers, too, but the line was too long!

We hit the Horticulture building (gladiolas were the featured flower) and we all registered to win a rain barrel. Apparently these are all the rage, and if I win, I'm giving mine to Jan. Then we headed for the International Bazaar and more beer while we looked at all the shops.

What a day! Lots of laughs, good food, and fun times. Jan and I got back to EC about 8:45, and I was in bed by 9:15. Tired! But a great way to have fun before heading back to school.