All the World's a Fair

Several weeks ago, Mark and I went to the Maryland State Fair. Because I am lazy, I am blogging about it now. Well, I also have a second fair-type event that we went to much more recently (aka yesterday), so I'm just combining the two events into One blog post. I mean, the similarities: both about 1 hour away, both with educational and fun activities, both had food, both had lots of people we didn't know....Clearly, they're basically identical.

It is quite possible we enjoyed the second fair more (it was a Pioneer Day celebration, which in Mormon culture refers to the people who traveled from the eastern United States to Salt Lake City in the 1840s-ish), because it wasn't as hot, and it was free. I also get to brag that I got a "nothing-but-air" bean bag toss in the hole, and I have witnesses. Unfortunately, I couldn't repeat it (I'm inconsistent with my sport skills), but still, it was cool. On top of that, I challenged Mark to a hoop roll race--like in the old days before television, when for fun kids would get the metal hoops that normally hold a barrel together and, with a stick, roll them along. I ran into Mark's hoop twice, so I'm pretty sure I lost.

Technically speaking, the State Fair was also free, because a random person gave us two entrance tickets (worth $10 apiece), but we had to pay for parking and food. It was much hotter than was comfortable (it was in a big parking lot, so the sun heated the pavement and made it worse), so we spent a whole lot more time looking at vegetables than we otherwise would have if they had not been indoors. My favorite vegetables were the odd-looking ones.

conjoined squash twins!

I'm not sure which were Mark's favorite, but he did spend a whole lotta time in that building.

piglet

We also spent time in the Maryland State Parks building, because not only did it have a/c, it also had water. I even participated in a little quiz thing and won a free spork-with-knife-in-handle [it's so awesome. I keep it at work so I have all of the necessary eating utensils]. Interestingly, the Parks people also had a display on "Guess who's poop this is!" which is how Mark and I found out that we had passed some bear scat on a recent hike through Rock Creek Park. I was hoping it was an elk, but the Parks lady said Maryland didn't have any elk.

One of the last covered places we hung out in was the Birthing Center for livestock. I got to pet a baby chick and a baby piglet, and looked at the recent births of foals and calves--I'm talking very recent, like the afterbirth was still in the picture. Kinda bloody.

Just outside that building, we sat in the shade and ate ice cream while watching cows get milked with a machine. Mostly I think we did that for the shade, but it was good to learn the milk collection process.

Especially if we decide to get a dairy cow of our own to combat rising milk prices.

That's not going to happen because we don't have room, and I worry about my ability to keep the cow alive.

Oh, and public service announcement from a discussion with the Miss Bee of the State Fair: if the honey jar says U.S. Grade A honey, it probably has additives besides honey in there. Sue Bee brand--as well as anything from a beekeeper--is going to be real, high-quality honey and nothing else.