Fair 2016 – Day 7

Today was a nice slow easy day at the Fair. Nothing was on the schedule that we “had” to see and we decided we really weren’t that psyched to see the motorcycles flying through the air in the grandstands. Without planning it, we spent the afternoon watching shows.

We saw pigs racing around hay tracks and dogs jumping into big pools of water. We watched a ventriloquist, a couple of clowns, and cow girl. We were going to watch the magician but my knee was getting a little sore and I know I have three more action-packed days to go. We’ll catch Adam the Great another day.

We checked out the huge 4-H pigs, who all looked really sleepy. We hung out in the Llama Greenway where I eagerly demonstrated to several people how huggable Rojo is, mostly so I could get in some llama llove myself.

And we took our first ride on the only ride I can and will go on in the carnival – the Really Big Ferris Wheel. We timed it for sunset and then called it a night. Ahhhh.

My Happy Place

She really didn’t move her lips
We had seen the ventriloquist and her wide-mouthed dummies walking around the Fair for several days. We decided it was time to finally see her show. The fact that it was 90 degrees and her show was in a shady spot with a glorious breeze was purely coincidental.

There wasn’t much of an audience when Vicky started but eventually she had a dozen or so kids utterly mesmerized by her buy-the-kit magic show and goofy puppets. Her show and humor were definitely aimed at kids without much thrown in for the attending parents and grandparents. It was honestly a little painful at times. Did I mention the breeze?

Just when we thought the show was over, Vicky would bring out another dummy. Polar bear, dragon, parrot, dog, iguana…they just kept appearing out of her clown car of a puppet bag. It was one of the seemingly longest shows we've ever seen at the Fair.  But the kids -- who were her real audience -- were laughing themselves silly.  And that's why she was there.

The breeze sure was nice, though.

I can't remember his name but he was all
about eating kids.  The audience was oddly
sparse at this point.

I am trying really hard to be objective
We wandered out to the horse barns to study the exhibits put together by the five Equestrian Fair Court contestants. In past years the exhibits have mostly been head shots. This year they were posters of photos the girls assembled, presumably to allow us a glimpse into the Life and Times of our Fair Court Princess Wanna Be’s.

As I have done in the past, I gave each contestant’s entry careful consideration. I am ready to give my early prediction on who the three Princesses will be on Sunday night.

Ready?

Contestants 3, 4 and 5. Otherwise known as Laura, Maddie (!!), and Shaylee.

My expert opinion is based purely on what pictures the contestants chose to include, my assessed level of preparation and time spent on each, attention to detail, and how “grown up” or mature the poster was.

I sound like I know what I'm doing, right?  When oh when will they ask me to be The Mystery Judge??

#3 savvily worked the purple (the Fair Court's color).
#4 had a great array of photos from different aspects of her life;
not just all horses all the time
#5 spent some time and had it professionally printed

We are apparently loud laughers
The absolutely funniest part of the day – and perhaps even the entire Fair – was the 6:00pm show by the Cowgirl. Her name is Karen Quest and she is quirky and a touch snarky and sarcastic and fall-off-the-bleachers funny when she is exhausted and punchy. I think I want her to be my new best friend.

We had never seen her show before even though Karen has been at the Fair for several years. I’m not sure why we waited so long cuz we were totally missing out.

But I have to say, I’m not entirely sure we really saw Karen’s show tonight. It went sideways so many times. And she noted with some frequency that it was one of the most unintentionally ridiculous shows she has ever done. Because she was tired and the crowd was lethargic from the heat and it was the last show of the day.  It was a perfect storm.

Karen was quite adept at spinning lassos around and cracking whips and jumping through moving loops of rope. She got a full aerobic workout while we ate snacks and watched.

A number of her jokes were definitely for adults; not because they were PG or R rated but just because they were a bit more sophisticated than what your average 10 year old would understand.

Karen’s quips and side comments kept making me and Rob giggle. Well, giggle and then laugh out loud…really loud.

We were sitting in the back and we were laughing so hard – and often alone – that Karen actually called out Rob and told the audience to use him as a litmus test. If he was laughing, her stuff was funny and they should be laughing, too. That made us laugh.

And we kept laughing.

Karen had kids who couldn’t remember how old they were or what town they lived in. She had a boy who could not follow directions to save his life or tie a knot.

And she had Braxton…a 4-year-old boy who was not invited to be on the stage but kept appearing on it anyway. He would wander on stage as she was interacting with another kid or trying to do a rope trick. He would sit, spin, run, leap like a frog. All while totally oblivious to the fact Karen was in the middle of her act.

We couldn't stop laughing.

Braxton on the left.  He was squatting and jumping for no
discernable reason so Karen stopped her show and suggested it was time
for everyone to pretend they were frogs.

Karen tried to ignore Braxton. She tried to include him. She tried to get his dad to wrangle him.

Nothing really worked and it was hysterical. To the point I think even Karen found it amusing that her show was totally hijacked by a toddler. When we chatted with her afterwards, she admitted that she really wished someone had broken the rules and videotaped the show so she could relive the wacky ride over and over.

We told her we plan to see her show again within the next few days to find out what it was supposed to be. I fear it won’t be nearly as entertaining.

I wouldn't be surprised if she asked Rob and his laugh
to be a part of her show.  How awesome would that be??
Traveling audience laughter plants!

STATS:

Walked: 8,112 steps or 3.4 miles. I’m wanting to stay around 3.0 so I guess I’m heading in the right direction?

Re-entry animal: Squirrel again. It seems odd they are already repeating animal life…

Tums: 2 seems to be the magic number

Knee Scar Band-Aid:

Earrings: A friend asked me to include my earring choice as a Fair Stat. She knows I have a few special pairs that are strictly Fair Wear. Here’s a picture of today’s danglies.

Snowcones!  The girl working the Hawaiian Shave Ice
hut appreciated them a great deal.

FAIR FOOD FEAST PARADE:

Today felt more like a typical day of eating at the Fair, minus something deep fried. I have to admit, as much as I wanted to join Rob in his “going home” milkshake, I was just too full and popped two Tums instead. Now several hours later, I’m wishing I had brought home a milkshake and put in the freezer for blogging refreshment. Why do I think of these things too late??

Half a pastrami sandwich from the Church Ladies Pie Booth
with MAYONNAISE!!  It is always a favorite and
always a treat because of the MAYONNAISE!

Potato chips and Fritos in the same week?!?  Yes, Fair Week...
and salt...I love you.

Homemade strawberry rhurbarb pie from the
Church Ladies Pie Booth.  I never get it
a la mode because I don't want anything
to distract from the awesomeness of that pie.
The booth guy offered two forks.  He
laughed mightily when I said I wasn't sharing.

Frozen pink lemonade to watch Dock Dogs with.
Usually they offer generous free samples but not so
far this year.  Drat.

Sweet and Sour Teriyaki Chicken Sticks from the
same place that gave me the tiny taco.  First
time trying this.  It was blah.  Dry, chewy like beef jerky,
there was nothing sour about it, and the teriyaki
was weak.  I ended up dousing it with extra teriyaki
and Tabasco sauce.  Because Tabasco makes everything better.

My real opinion of those chicken sticks.  I ordered 2
and I was still hungry.

So Rob shared some of his quesadilla from the same booth.
It tasted a lot like the quesadillas I used to make in
college, except this one wasn't burned.
Overall, eh.  I think we're done with this booth.

Fried chicken strips fron the Lion's booth dipped in a
ranch dressing/Sriracha sauce blend that I make myself.
YUM!!
It's not as easy procuring Sriracha sauce from unpatronized
booths as you might think, even when you ask permission.

Decided to show my Seahawk Spirit with this Green Apple-
Blue Hawaiian blend.  The Blue Hawaiian is new on
the menu.  It was OK but I don't think I will circle it
on my list.  It was too coconutty.