FAIR 2024 - DAY 3!

Sleep is a glorious thing! We finally didn’t have to set an alarm and accordingly managed to get about 10 hours of blissful rest last night!! WHOO HOO!!  We only had a few interruptions from our cat who is quite annoyed that we are mostly only present for sleeping hours at the moment. You'll survive, Sarah.

It was another warm day at the Fair yesterday. At one point my arms were sweating – not a typical source of overheating for me. Thank goodness for the Big Air-Conditioned Building where we found refuge on our favorite bench!

The location of Our Bench this year is
weird. It's in the Baking Area such that
it looks like it is for the Baking Staff only.
We asked if we could sit there, but from
now on we might just waltz in since we
haven't seen anyone else sitting on it.
Great for us! But not super helpful
for other weary Fairgoers.

With the first weekend of Fairing officially completed, I can now proclaim it a muted start. It seems a consensus among the regulars that for some reason, the first 3 days of our Fair were slower, less crowded, and yet oddly tiring. We were all dragging around at the end of Day 3, collectively nervous that we still have a week left and wondering if we will have the energy to Fair well.

But, it has also been sort of hot and humid. Well, humid by Pacific Northwest standards. We really only do humidity in the form of 9 months of rain and drizzle here. Moist air with nothing squeezing out of it is not how we roll. Hopefully the coming warm days will be the drier heat we prefer to grumble about.

LOVE my new shirt! And I got lots of
smiles and compliments around the 
Fairgrounds! That makes me happy cuz it
feels like a communal experience that way. 
I shall be doing laundry so I can wear my shirt
again later in the Fair! Because it will speak
even more truth by then.

Rob and I had another 5-hour shift in the Passport to Fun Gazebo. We had just enough time after church to grab some lunch and Smashers before fielding questions and offering prizes. Despite a smaller crowd that allowed for the occasional respite on a folding chair, Rob and I are both looking forward to giving our voices a rest. We did a lot of talking!

We had three particularly unique questions in the Gazebo.

Question #1: Where is that embroidery lady that’s always here?

Answer: We wish we knew. We’ve been looking for her, too. Hopefully she is just taking the year off and we will see her again next year. Because we have some hat ideas…

Question #2: Where are the Master Gardeners?

Answer: They aren’t in their normal spot near the cats?? Yes, we have cats here! 4-H cats. They are here until the dogs show up. Ooh, yes, that transition WOULD be a super fun event if left unsupervised!

Photo from Day 1. I also got to pet a 
Siamese Munchkin kitty on Day 2, but
there is no photographic proof. I was so enthralled,
Rob had to gently tell me that I had a line of kids 
waiting their turn behind me. OOPS! Sorry, 
junior cat lovers!!

Question #3: Is this where we get the passports? Can we get Ukraine passports?

Answer: Uhhhh… We have these paper fans that we stamp…

 

We managed to catch a performance by Adam the Great – our favorite magician and Howie Mandel doppelganger. We have seen his show many times over the years, groaning at the puns and laughing at the one-liners slid in for the adults. Although he travels all over the West Coast, Adam (we’re Fair Friends and follow each other on social media, so I get to call him Adam instead of Mr. The Great) is a local guy. While he was doing a card trick, Adam casually mentioned the queen of clubs and then pulled out a couple one-liners about Tonya Harding (Ms. Harding – sadly, we aren't friends – is also a local). If you know me and my quirky fascination with the storied ice-skater-turned-boxer-turned-car-racer-turned-dancer-with-the-stars, you know I was laughing hard enough that I missed the next trick Adam did with the cards. Great stuff, Adam!

The thing that really impressed me with Adam’s show yesterday, though, was how well he rolled with some things that went sideways. An adult decided to be “funny” and kept the card he was supposed to put back in the deck while Adam turned his back. And then a gust of wind blew a bunch of cards off the table and onto the stage. Both surprises could have killed the show – or at least distracted most magicians to the point of losing the audience. But Adam handled both interruptions like the pro that he is, getting the tricks back on track and not thwacking the "funny" adult upside the head even though he had totally earned it.

Benevolently unthwacked Fairgoer and
Magic Trick Participant

The concerts in the Grandstands are finally over. WHOO HOO! Some years have been amazing – Pat Benatar comes immediately to mind. But this year? Ho hum. I had never heard of two of the guys (Billy Currington? Chris Janson? Nope?). And while I knew Sublime from the ‘90s, I prefer my ska music to be from the ‘80s. So I am super jazzed that the music is over and the Dirt Sports are ON! We have bull riding, rodeo, demolition derby, Tuff Trucks, Monster Trucks… ALL the fun in the dirt that just screams FAIR and ‘MERICA! I can’t wait!!

 

FAIR FOOD FEAST COLLAGE – DAY 3!

• Started off the day with a new discovery that was delicious! The raclette booth near the Church Ladies Pies has Smashed Potatoes with various ingredient choices. I tried the Italian Smashed Potato Racelette with mushrooms. It was made while I watched and was a warm, gooey, tasty mess of salami, ham, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and cheese all sitting on top of some freshly grilled and smashed Yukon Gold potatoes. It was super fresh and filling and actually worth the $15 compared to other stuff at the Fair. If they had a kids' portion, I'd be even more stoked since I wasn't quite able to finish the full serving. HIGHLY recommended!
  
  

  

  Close-up of the Italian Smashed Potatoes
  before I inhaled them. SO GOOD!

  
  
• Four Berry Smasher! Enjoyed in front of a super big and breezy fan! A sweet and slightly tangy blend of blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. Very refreshing but a little too sweet for me compared to my favorite Smasher flavors.
  
  
• Cherry Chocolate milkshake! Not as thick as yesterday's milkshake and not quite enough cherry -- but still a wonderful mid-Gazebo-shift snack!
  
  
• SO thirsty today! Trotted over to get another Smasher as soon as our Gazebo shift was over. Decided on the Mango this time. More tangy than the Four Berry but I still prefer it mixed with Strawberry.
  
  
• Yakisoba Noodles from the previously avoided green booth in the Food Court. Rob tried the yakisoba from the red booth yesterday and wasn't a fan. The green booth had folks working that we didn't recognize and we didn't see the Mean Lady we have avoided in the past. Verdict: better noodles than the red booth, pretty flavorful for Fair Fare, and the gal working the booth called me "Love." At least for this year, we're going for Green instead of Red for all our yakisoba needs!