Today was the day that my llamas buddies and their humans arrived at the Fair! Finally!! YAY Open Class!! Seeing Rojo and Smokey and Lori and Dave and Shannon and Reese made the Llama Greenway finally feel like home. And home it shall be for the rest of the Fair, as I seem to naturally gravitate there when I’m not hungry.
It was another hot day and way more humid than people in the Pacific Northwest can tolerate without comment. As a result, I felt like I was covered in a Fair Lasagna of dirt and sweat by the time we finally got home at about 11pm. Freshly showered and laundry whirring away, here’s a recap of today.
Llovely llamas meeting friends
Today was a special llama day (as is every day involving llamas). Not only because my favorite llamas arrived, but because the nice Fair People invited us to venture off of the Llama Greenway and set up camp along the Main Midway.
Today was “Prime of Your Life Day” dedicated to folks in their 60s and above. Since Rojo and Smokey spend a lot of their everyday life visiting senior facilities and retirement homes, it seemed a natural fit to allow the two fuzzy wuzzy pros to do their thing and spread llama llove beyond just their Fair pen.
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| Struttin' down the Midway. Rojo, too. |
Rob and I were excited to wear our new hats (they say “I’m with the llama” on the back so people know they can ask us questions and we really aren’t being creepy by telling their child to kiss a llama). We helped out on two of the three 2-hour shifts. We had a blast telling people about llamas and animal-assisted therapy and encouraging people to muster the courage to at least pose with the llamas if not get real cozy with them. I also lloved that so many friends dropped by to finally meet and snuggle with the llamas I just can’t seem to stop talking about.
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| Hi, Drew and Trey and Dawson! |
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| Pretty cool, right Maddie and Pam? |
I kept thinking they were fans in costumes; turns out they are paid actors
I’m still trying to figure out the Superhero Adventure thing in one of the barns. Last year it was a super fun exhibit about toys, and the year before it was about music (remember the 8-track Captain and Tennille album it inspired me to find on ebay?). This year the theme is about superheroes but six days in I remain confused.
I am the first to admit I do not have much of a superhero interest beyond the ‘70s classic cartoon series Superfriends (“Wonder Twins Power activate!!"). So maybe I’m not trying hard enough.
As far as I can tell, the Adventure is a bunch of wooden props made to look like a city, a couple (maybe 3?) interactive Q&A exhibits, and an area with an old green car where you can pay $5 to pose with young adults dressed up as Wonder Woman, the Joker, Poison Ivy, etc.
I keep waiting for something to happen in the city but every time I wander through there, it is a whole lotta nothing. Well, except earlier today when a young girl was screaming at the top of her little 7-year-old lungs that she was scared and wanted to leave. It is a bit dark in there. And the emptiness is sort of ominous, making you wonder if a superhero or villain might suddenly bound in from stage left. Still waiting.
In an effort to squeeze some sort of entertainment out of the Adventure, I convinced Rob we needed to pay $3 each to go through the Laser Tag game. First, though, thoroughly embracing Senior Day, I grilled the guy running it about it being safe for my knee and back. I can’t run or squat or dash behind barriers. I didn’t even really want to sweat any more than I already was. I was envisioning something along the lines of paintball with laser guns.
The nice man assured me I and my achy body parts would be safe. So $6 later, Rob and I were getting laser guns strapped to our arms and receiving instruction how to shoot at the 15 targets hidden throughout the maze.
We could work as a team or as individuals, but either way we only had about 2 minutes to disable the targets before we became targets ourselves. It was starting to sound fun and a little like the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters at Disneyland, where you ride around in a little spaceship and shoot at targets with a cool blaster thingy and have no choice but to concede your husband is MUCH better at video games than you are.
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| Please note: This is not at the Fair. |
OMG. What a bust.
Only about half of the targets -- none of which I would describe as "hidden" -- worked as described. The rest of them never seemed to activate (where are the Wonder Twins when you need them?).
There was no challenge, no drama, no difficulty in finding the targets. Even the creepy faceless alien creature skulking around seemed sort of bored. If the alien had had a mouth, I would have asked for assistance. Or at least commiserated about the best vendor for elephant ears.
Finished, confused, and $6 poorer, we took off the laser guns to discover big splotches of silver paint on our arms. Classy. And blessedly water-soluble.
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| Please note: This is at the Fair. Sigh. |
Going out on a purple, sparkly limb
As the half-way point in the Fair, today was also the day that the six contestants for next year’s Fair Court arrived and began their competition. Let the stalking begin!
The whole thing culminates on Sunday, the last day of the Fair. Until then, the six royal hopefuls travel in a pack around the Fairgrounds, interacting with folks, introducing themselves at Grandstand events, selling raffle tickets as something of a popularity contest, etc.
I first saw The Royal Pack about mid-day as they were gathered and awaiting instruction. I then listened intently as they introduced themselves at the Mutton Bustin' event.
With just those two observations, I am ready to call it right now. Yep, that’s right. With only body language, observed group dynamics, and raw comfort with a microphone, I am already set to predict who will be our next Equestrian Fair Court Queen.
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| The one without the hat is the Honey Queen visiting from Iowa. She was lively and buzzed around the Fairgrounds every day until yesterday. |
Ready?
Contestant #3 -- Serenity G. (Yes, that’s her first name. Maybe I like her cuz she’s calming…)
Of course, I have no idea what I am talking about. I don’t really know what all goes into selecting the Fair Court Queen. I know horses are involved…and I haven’t seen any of the girls anywhere near a horse yet. And I know good hair is key….and they all have that.
So really, I am just blowing purple smoke here. But I thought it would be fun to put my rather baseless prediction out there right away so we can all giggle at my naiveté or gasp at my psychic superpowers come Sunday night when the Queen is crowned.
Fair Day Data
- Total walking logged on my pedometer: 3.48 miles
- Time at which we saw today’s first set of Magic Brooms being carried around: 2:15pm
- Re-entry hand stamp: sheep
Fair Food Feast Parade!
It was hot and humid today. Did I already mention that? I have found my appetite gets suppressed in the heat. Please bear that in mind as you tour today's Parade.
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| Soft Taco Supreme from the place next to the milkshake barn. LOVE that the meat tastes like Taco Bell. And look -- sour cream is tucked in there!! It is a messy disaster but a favorite. |
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| Nerd Rope!! I LOVE NERD ROPE! Some senior ladies asked me what I was eating. One said, "It smells so fruity." The other said, "Oh, I like nerds!" Not entirely sure she was talking about the candy. |
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| Strawberry Banana Orange smoothie from the vendor next to the Grandstands. Pretty good and very refreshing. My only gripe is that it tasted like maybe the banana wasn't entirely ripe. Yes, I eat crap but I am discerning about it. |
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| Almost heaven! Hawaiian Shave Ice in the Llama Greenway. Today's combo: Lime and Guava. Pretty good! The guava tasted like POG. I like POG. (Pineapple Orange Guava juice) |
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| Discovered this fantastic milkshake combo last year when someone else ordered it: Strawberry Cookies n Cream. Mmmm!! Try it and thank me. |
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| The best burger at the Fair, if not in the county: The Ms. Burger from the Burger Buggy Greasy beef patty with a thick slice of ham. It was so good, I didn't put any condiments on it. If you know me, you know that is insanity right there. |
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| Yes, that is a weird shade of blue. It is a blue raspberry lemonade because it's the Fair. It was odd and tasted like the white part of those red-white-and-blue popsicles. Not bad, just odd. And blessedly cold. I wore a lot of the condensation on my neck. Did I mention it was hot and humid today? |
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| Red Rope because it's time to watch bull riding (they use ropes, get it? Har har) |
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| Homemade gluten-free cookie dough very kindly offered from my nice friend John at the Mt Hood info booth. It was very tasty but maybe a touch too healthy for the Fair. I shall turn it into cookies next week when I am back on the wagon. Thanks, John! |
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