Today we just walked around, hung out with some llamas, watched a friend compete in some horse competitions, and nosed around for information about tomorrow's Demolition Derby. It was so relaxing. So I was pretty impressed when my pedometer read 4.48 miles when we got back to our car. That's gotta be worth at least a deep fried Twinkie, right?
It pays to look like a soccer mom. Dedicated Woodhaven Ramblings readers might remember how ridiculously awful last year's Demolition Derby was. I mean, a Geo Metro won. A Geo Metro! Come on!!
So all week I have been poking around trying to find out if things will be new and improved for tomorrow's Demolition Derby. It's amazing where you can go and who will talk to you when you look like a benign middle-aged woman with a sno-cone. I heard about contracts and meetings and last year's troubles and insider industry stuff just because I asked a few questions, listened carefully, and looked utterly harmless. Cool!!
Bottom line from all my sleuthing, snooping, and eavesdropping: tomorrow's Demolition Derby should be better than last year but I'm not convinced it will be as good as prior years. Call me cautiously optimistic.
I was told to expect three times as many cars, a bigger track, and some professional drivers. YAY! I was also told that the same promoter as last year is in charge of this year's derby. Not so yay. I found the collection of cars in a nearby parking lot. They are all painted the same again, by that painting company from last year, suggesting most if not all of the cars are owned by the promoter. I'm not entirely sure what the impact of that is, but it feels less exciting, less competitive, and more orchestrated to me.
We will be dutifully in the Grandstands for both shows tomorrow, hoping with great intensity that I will get my Demolition Derby back. Or at least a version that isn't as pathetic as last year's was. Stay tuned!
Two worlds collide The second half of the Fair started yesterday, which means some 4-H stuff is done and some competitions and animals are now in the Open Class category. What this really means, most importantly, is that Rojo and his buddies are now at the Fair. YAY!
As part of our helping-out-the-llama-group duties today, Rob expertly manned the award-winning Llama and Alpaca exhibit in the oft-ignored Grange Barn. Meanwhile, I got to join Lori in walking Rojo and Smokey around the fairgrounds a bit. It was a blast!
We did what we normally do on outings. We introduced people to the llamas, encouraged them to pet them, answered questions, generated excitement, took pictures, and generally made people really happy. What made it extra special for me was that I got to do all that at my beloved Fair. It was a perfect moment of sheer joy and peace and everything being exactly right in the world to be standing with Rojo, watching people fall in love with him, with the Dairy Women's Milkshake Barn and the Church Ladies Pie booth in the background. Life is such an amazing ride.
It's probably a lot harder than it looks to show a goat, too. We spent a good chunk of the day in and out of the horse arena. We have a 14-year-old friend who was competing in some Horse Games. I eventually understood this to mean riding a horse through poles, around poles, and around barrels. Much more exciting than the horse game I used to play with a basketball.
Our friend is in the Intermediate group, but we also had a chance to watch the beginners (Juniors) and the more experienced riders (Seniors). Unless we know someone, we typically show up for animal competitions among the more experienced kids. It always seemed more exciting to watch kids who really know what they are doing.
Today I realized that I was totally missing out on something. The mature, experienced kids make everything look easy. They have done their activity hundreds of times, their animal is well trained, and they know how to deal with the nerves of competition. It wasn't until I was watching the Junior and Intermediate horse games today that I realized how difficult it actually is to get a horse to slalom around poles.
Before today, I really thought there was a good chance I could direct a horse to do that with some basic instruction and a lot of medication (for me, not the horse). Now I have even more respect for the kids who work so hard in all of the animal programs featured in our Fair. I knew they worked hard; I just didn't really get how hard hard was. A true testament to how hard they work is how easy they make it look.
My baseball hat is off to you, 4-H/FFA/Open Class kids!
Fair Food Feast Parade!
Today's general wandering around and eating yielded a respectable 4.48 miles on my pedometer and a suitable buffet of Fair Food delights. Thanks to a bean burrito, today's Tums count is 1. No new zits today and I haven't popped a Pepto in days!
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| Yakisoba Noodles and Kalua Pork from Patrick's Hawaiian Cafe. I still like the noodles but the pork was just ok. Their teriyaki chicken from a few days ago rocks. |
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| Really bad sweet tea from Big E's BBQ. It was bitter and made my mouth feel fuzzy. I added more sugar but that didn't help. |
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| Underdone fries from the Philly Cheesesteak place. Rob and I shared these but we should have gotten some onion rings. So yeah, something of a disappointing beginning today. |
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| Soft serve swirl from the Dairy Women's Milkshake Barn. YUM! I think I prefer the Church Ladies Pie booth's soft serve, though. You get more for your money. |
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| MUCH better Sweet Tea from a booth outside the food court just to the west of Patrick's Hawaiian Cafe. The owners of the booth are from Texas, complete with an accent and real knowledge of how to make a proper sweet tea. |
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| The Texas Sweet Tea booth also sells the chocolate cover frozen bananas. They are becoming my go-to "I'm a tiny bit hungy" treat. |
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| Beef, bean, and cheese burrito from Chewy's in the horse arena. It tasted fine but it was really boring. It didn't help that they rolled it such that the first two-thirds of it was beans and the beef didn't show up until the last third. I also realized that in real life I avoid refried beans not because they are unhealthy but because I don't really like them. Good to know! |
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| Free sample of frozen pink lemonade from the Young Life booth. Hit the spot! |
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| Cooling off in the horse arena with a lime and coconut Hawaiian Shaved Ice. It was not bad but I don't think I'll order the coconut again. It was a little overpowering. Also, they let me sample the vanilla flavor. Yikes! Avoid that one. WAAAAY too strong. Love the lime, though! |
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| Deef fried Twinkie. That is all. Best way to eat a Twinkie. |
1 comment:
I am anxiously awaiting your comments about the Demo Derby (one of my two favorite fair shows - the other being the amateur Tuff Trucks.) It was so dreadful last year that I can't believe they are using the same company this year...ugh! Good luck & hope it's fun!
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