YAY FAIR!! ~ Day 1

Oh my goodness, I'm full. Can you believe I said that? Yes, I did the first day of The Fair proud and am still waiting for my Tums to kick in. I may need to revisit my stash again before bedtime as I am still burping deep fried goodness. More than you needed to know?  Anyway, wow, FUN DAY!

We got into the parking lot with about 30 minutes to spare, meaning that for the first time in three years I wasn't running through the lot to get in the gate before the free passes from Fred Meyer expired. It was downright leisurely, our stroll to the Yellow Gate. That extra hour Freddies gave us today was much appreciated!

As we were parking, we saw some friends and then another called as my bag was being inspected. We saw more familiar faces in the Food Court, on the Midway, near the goats, near the llamas, near the milkshakes, all day long. And that's what I love about Opening Day of the Fair -- it brings out so many people that we always see friends wandering about.

And today brought out a LOT of people. More than I think I've ever seen on Opening Day. At 11:30am, we parked in an area of the lot I didn't know existed, it was so far out there. Once inside the Fair, every food vendor had long lines and at one point, all the ATM machines had lines of at least 25 people. I'm betting the Fair Management is ecstatic!

Introducing some friends to the wonders of a Deluxe Elephant Ear.  Scooby was a fan, too.

We spent the day strolling here and there, pacing ourselves, resting at times, and noting some of the new stuff. And of course, eating. My pedometer says I walked 4.47 miles. My feet believe it.

Today's highlights:

Grand Champion Goat We have some good friends who are very accomplished goat 4-H'ers. We were alerted by Mom that brother and sister would be competing in the Goat Ring against each other for the first time ever. Both teens have numerous awards for their showmanship, so we were eager to see them in action at the same time.

I know very little about Goat Showmanship. But I know enough to know that the focus of the competition is on the handler, not the goat. So I watched each handler carefully. Me, with all my years of professional goat judging.

I noticed right away how important posture is. The kids (human, not goat) who were standing straight with their shoulders back and heads up just oozed confidence and maturity. Everything they did looked just a little more polished and professional. The ones who stood more typically for their age looked less engaged and less certain of themselves. All this just from standing up straight or not. Interesting notion for life outside the Goat Ring, too.

The judge lined up the handlers in his ranked order. As more evaluations were done, he modified his ranking. Brother started off in first place and sister was in third. Then the judge had them switch. Then the judge made another switch that put brother in fourth place. That was how stayed, with sister winning Grand Champion for Pygmy Goat Showmanship and brother watching stoically from fourth place. Brother was highly commended by the judge for having the best prepped goat in the competition, though, which I found very impressive. I mean, it truly was a beautiful goat. Nevertheless, I don't envy Mom and Dad tonight.

Isn't Kyle's goat awesome?

Wow, Natalie!!  Congratulations!

Pick on someone your own size? The Fair has a new activity this year that includes an area for people to play a card game called Magic. I will admit, I know nothing about Magic. However, from a distance it sort of reminds me of how Dungeons and Dragons looked from a distance when I was in junior high. Basically lots of cards and lots of rules and lots of characters and lots of intensity if you are really into it.

We wandered into the gaming area which was in a darkened barn. Tables were set up in rows such that it almost looked like they were playing Bingo. No daubers in sight, though. There were 15-20 people playing, mostly in pairs. One pair in particular caught my attention.

Facing me was a large bearded man in his mid-20s. He looked a little rough-and-tumble and his body language was very animated. He seemed to be a bit annoyed by his opponent about something, in a way that seemed a little defensive. Like maybe he was losing and wasn't used to it. His opponent sat motionless and yet didn't seem terribly fazed. Almost like he was a parent watching a toddler have a tantrum. The interaction was fascinating, showcasing how invested people can get in this card game. Oh, and the opponent? My guess is that he was about 9 years old. And very possibly winning.

I waited over an hour for one song The Fair brought back free concerts in the Grandstands this year -- yay! Power to the people who spoke up! Tonight's concert was a band I had heard of because I have one song of theirs on my iPod. One song. So I told Rob I wanted to hang out at the concert until they played that song. Well, apparently it is one of their bigger hits because it was the second-to-last song they played. Sigh.

The concert leading up to My One Song was interesting. The band was Kutless which is a Christian rock band. I had never attended a Christian concert before so I wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out to be a little bit rock concert and a little bit church service.

People were waving their hands in the air like at rock concerts, but they were pointing their hands towards the sky instead of the stage. Subtle yet important difference. People were lively, jumping around and singing and clapping just like at rock concerts. But they were also yelling "Amen!" and praising Jesus. The lead singer told some personal stories and lead the audience in prayer and then invited any non-believers to open their hearts to a new way of life. I don't remember this ever happening at a Thompson Twins concert in the '80s.

I go to church nearly every Sunday, so some of this wasn't entirely foreign to me. I had just never experienced it while sitting on metal bleachers with a Ferris Wheel and a Beer Garden in the near distance. As for that one song? Yeah, it was pretty awesome to hear it live.

Oh, and a side note for Unclear on the Concept:  There were four teenage boys sitting near us that seemed to enjoy the more rock-styled songs.  They banged their heads, played air drums, and pumped their arms in the air using... the devil horns hand gesture.  Really miffed none of my pictures turned out.

Fair Food Feast Parade!

OK, so with that, here's the part that makes my mom astounded that I used to only eat hot dogs and green beans when I was a picky little kid. Yes, this year's first entry in The Fair Food Feast Parade! Not pictured: two Tums...so far.

Corn on the Cob!  Mmmmm.  And no butter stains today!

Corn dog from the booth across from Lions.  They were having issues with their fryer.  This was the least charred one available.  First day bumps...

A new vendor is selling Apple Fries.  They are deep fried apple wedges drizzled in...this case...caramel.  Verdict:  skip it.  The apples were mushy and not very apple-y.  And for $6, I can find better fried happiness elsewhere.

First Deluxe Elephant Ear.  I've waited a year for this.  HEAVEN!

My trusty Lime Hawaiian Ice with Black Cherry on the other side.  Pretty good!

Chicken wings from the Young Life booth.  They changed their sauces a bit this year.  I liked both the Mild Buffalo and the Bourbon Chipotle sauces.  But the Chipotle was better.

Notes from last year said this thing called a Nanaimo bar was good.  Yay for notes!  This is the peanut butter one.  Very good!  Sort of peanut buttery fudge with a hint of coconut.

Deep Fried Red Velvet Cake.  YES!  So excited to discover there was also cream cheese frosting inside!  Can't wait to try more fried fun from the Sweet Cheeks booth!