A Day At the Fair

We went to the Iowa State Fair on Saturday.  We got an early start and were there by 8 a.m.  We got great parking (which we REALLY appreciate at the end of the day when we are exhausted) and it was nice to be able to move around the fair before the huge crowd arrived. 

We usually don't get there early enough to have breakfast, but this time we did.  We headed to the Dinner Bell for breakfast.  It is open 24 hours a day.  Where else would you eat under a tent with saw dust spread on the grass but at the fair?  Michael had the breakfast special (a full meal of eggs, toast, hash browns, and sausage) and I had some hash browns.  The Dinner Bell is always busy so we offered to share our table with a woman from Urbandale.  We had a nice visit with her while waiting for breakfast.

Then it was off to the Walnut Center.  For me, this is the mecca of shopping at the Iowa State Fair!  Who goes to the fair to shop?  Me!  It is a smaller building but has vendors with handmade items:  pottery, ceramics, jewelry, all things girly, wood carvings, soaps, etc.  I have gotten pottery/ceramics from two different vendors the last few years - first a baking dish and dip dish, and last year a canister set, both beautiful.

We also buy a new state fair ornament every year from another vendor.  In the past we bought one for Belle with her name and her date of adoption.  This year we bought a similar one for Willow.  The vendor put Willow's name on it and the month and year we adopted her.  

  

Michael also picked up this glass Christmas ornament.  With his love for state fair corn dogs it was the perfect one to get!  

From there we headed to the Elwell Family Food Center and watched some food judging.   We made our way back to the middle of the fairgrounds for a drink:  Michael had a Lemonade Shake-Up and I had a slush.  Something about a cherry slush takes me back to my childhood!

A new thing on our to-do list was Ye Olde Mill.  It is the state fair version of the Tunnel of Love and is the oldest permanent amusement ride at the state fair.  

Next was one of my favorite spots - the Knapp Learning Center.  I love seeing the animals in this building.  Since we are townies rather than  country people, this is a great place for us to see animals in one place as the big barns are a bit overwhelming for us. 

First  we visited the ducks.  This little one was so cute.  If there is such a thing as a bad hair day in duck world, this guy was having one!

We also saw the lambs and I petted one that was just a few days old.  With the long ears, it was like petting a basset hound!  Last year we got to see a lamb being born.  This year we were too late to see any animals being born, but this "little" calf was just 1 hour old!  He weighed in at 93 pounds (ugh!).  A woman walking by said, "Boy, I'm glad I didn't have to give birth to him!"  

We headed to the Kids' Zone with corn dogs in hand, to watch the lumberjack demonstration.  It was fun to see them climb trees, throw axes, carve with chain saws, and do log rolling.  That was pretty amazing to see, but I was just as amazed to see them in flannel shirts in the hot August sun.    

Our next destination was the Agricultural Building.  Michael loves the free hard boiled eggs.  Me  - no thank you.  Instead I bought us some mini apple cider doughnuts to share.  Any other day I would consider this collection of food choices horrible, but for a day at the fair it was actually pretty good!  

We got in line to see the butter cow.  In addition there was a butter Abraham Lincoln and a butter tribute to the Lincoln Highway.   And who could resist the T-shirts that came out this year?  

Obviously not me!

A trip to the cultural building to view the photography exhibit rounded out our day.  After 7 hours at the fair we were exhausted, had eaten some of our favorite fair foods,  and headed for home.  


This year was unique as we didn't go to the Varied Industries Building, eat at Steer & Stein, or go in the marketplace under the grandstands.

It was fun to do new things.  It is amazing that each year as we drive away from the fair, we are already making our to-do list for the next year!

In Michael's case, this always begins with:  Have a corn dog.