Well, as much as we were chagrined about being reminded that we now qualify to be lumped into the "Senior" category, we said "sure" and off we went.
"Did you read in the paper about all the food they're having? I can't WAIT to try the Greek food!" There was something in Jeanne's enthusiasm that was utterly engaging and as much as we were a little suspect of "carny" food, we were certainly game.
At the fairgrounds, Ted parked the car, and we all passed through the turnstile with a flash of our ID's (couldn't they even PRETEND that we look younger than we are?), and after winding through the vendor's pavilion (so much CRAZY gadgetry and lovely cheap bling), we headed over to the flower pavilion where they were celebrating "The Garden Time Forgot".
Wow. The place was PACKED with botanical wonders. Dino-themed exhibits like "Raptors Revenge" and "Pteradon Pterrace" were like Disneyland gone pre-historic, complete with red "lava" waterfalls and giant Every-saurus creatures clawing their way through faux jungles. Pretty awesome, but we were getting really HUNGRY, so it was time to check out the food.
"The Sleek Greek! The Sleek Greek!" Jeanne said. "That's where I want to go!" She'd brought the cut out newspaper article with her and emphatically pointed to it as she spoke. Turning the fairgrounds map this way and that, we finally figured out where "The Sleek Greek" was, and while Jeanne and I scoped out a picnic table, Ted went to get us Greek Gyros.
All around us folks were enjoying every form of white, pink and tan food you can imagine. Spaghetti, french fries, hot dogs, potato salad, barbeque, pizza, cotton candy, and lots of unidentifiable things fried on sticks. A band played Cajun-style, while folks (mostly seniors mind you) two-stepped, sashayed, and do-se-doed every which way on the dance floor. Ted brought over our Gyros and yep, Jeanne was right ... they were GOOD.
Wiping garlic sauce from our lips, we wandered over to the livestock area. I just love livestock. Cows, pigs, goats, chickens ... the fertile smell of animal hide, feed and yes, even poop, makes me feel like part of the whole cycle of life. Watching little kids, plastered with contest ribbons, parading huge cows in front of equally huge judges ... I dunno, there's just something reaffirming about it all. I suppose it's the spirit of community communicated through farming, that touches me ... humans have been doing this kind of thing forever.
this goat doesn't have any ears!
On to the Midway. Holy moly, rock-n-rolly! Carny at it's glitzy, cacophonous best! Hoping all the kids kept their fingers and toes in tact (slightly paranoid about the safety of those rides), it was fun to watch their screaming little faces as they struggled to keep their lunches down while being tossed and turned, and wildly spun into outer space.
Well, we were spent (seniors after all), and Jeanne was way ready to go home too. So until the Harvest Fair rolls around again in the Fall, adios Sonoma County Fair!
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