My most favorite time of the year ~ Day 4!

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m exhausted. And almost full. And I’ve noticed my ankles are a little puffy. And I learned a few things today:

• I might be getting too old to go to the fair four days in a row. I’ll probably know for sure when I go again tomorrow for Day #5.


• Drinking water really is helpful after all. No more dehydration hangovers. Note to self for next year: the Burger Buggy has the best prices on water (1 liter bottle for $2) and there are water fountains for refills in the pavilion and near the Llama Greenway. Just look for the lines of other tightwads doing the same thing.


• The purse lady recognized me from last year’s fair. That scares me since, well, I'm really not much of a purse person.


• There’s lots of lingo to bee keeping and honey making. Relatedly, when a person lives several years deep in the bush in Alaska, one runs the risk of forgetting the social nuances and cues that go with carrying on a conversation with a stranger who happens to pause ever so briefly at your honey display.


• Pick-up trucks are a lot more sturdy and accident-resistant than I thought. We watched two heats of a truck demolition derby. In both cases, the event was a lot longer than with cars and the cab areas were relatively untouched. If I could find a truck that I could easily get in and out of and that rode like a squishy sedan, I would seriously consider joining the masses in my rural town and buy myself a rig.


• Deep fat fried raspberry cheesecake canolli is heavenly and best enjoyed with a two-Tums chaser when devoured after 10pm.

And on that note, here is today’s Fair Food Picture Parade:







Lunch: Beef brisket sandwich.















Followed closely by my daily corn on the cob. And, finally, a free sample of frozen pink lemonade. I've been waiting all week for them to finally put out the samples!

















A little afternoon Demolition Derby snack: grape and lime Hawaiian shaved ice.


















SO excited that Zeke found Nerd Rope at a different candy cart!!



















Time for a snack: Chicken tenders and ranch dressing. Wow...I never allow myself to have ranch dressing. All the food rules are being broken!















Time for the exhibition hall and lots of free samples! First up, beef jerky.



















Next, some loganberry freezer jam.





















Not that excited about the Greek or the guacamole dipping sauces.
















The basil and garlic oil was pretty tasty.




















How cool!! I ran into a friend and she offered to share some of her Gumi bears she brought from home. Free samples everywhere I turn!

















A hot day calls for at least two Hawaiian shaved ices. This one was lemon and blue raspberry. Yellow and blue make green!














Dinner while saving our back-friendlier seats for the evening's Demolition Derby show: Pad Thai with chicken and lots of yummy rooster sauce.














Post-Derby nightcap: Deep fried raspberry cheesecake canolli. Oh, my.













Rob shared one of his freshly made deep fried Oreo cookies. So yummy -- like a chocolate brownie inside!