Well another satisfying visit to the State Fair under our belts. (Warning: I'm about to repeat some of the pictures that I just posted.) First of all, let me just say that Alaskan summers are my ideal. This morning dawned overcast but bright, and by the time we pulled into Palmer (about an hour's drive north of Anchorage), it was sunny and a perfect 70 degrees. So the fair doesn't open its gates until noon so our first quest was to find food. Like most fairs, this one had a lot of variety available, but I'd had gumbo on my mind since looking at the food guide. I have to say it wasn't the best I've ever had – too red and overly spicy – but it hit the spot. We were in a bit of rush though so I can't say that I would have had time to enjoy it even if it were good: we wanted to see the pig races.
Afterwards, we wandered the grounds. We saw the flower exhibit; woodworking, quilting and knitting pavilion; shared a tasty "elephant ear" (reminds me of a doughy, flat sopapilla – you can't go wrong with deep fried goodness); saw goats getting judged (like Westminster Kennel Club); looked at giant heads of cabbage (sadly, no giant pumpkins this year); and checked out the farm animals. This year I didn't even once entertain any ideas of letting G go in to the petting zoo. After we got a free balloon from the forestry service people, we headed home. (Last year they had Smoky the Bear, i.e. some guy in costume, and I remember he freaked G out to the point of crying so it's funny that they chose to go with balloons this year.)
Well another satisfying visit to the State Fair under our belts. (Warning: I'm about to repeat some of the pictures that I just posted.) First of all, let me just say that Alaskan summers are my ideal. This morning dawned overcast but bright, and by the time we pulled into Palmer (about an hour's drive north of Anchorage), it was sunny and a perfect 70 degrees. So the fair doesn't open its gates until noon so our first quest was to find food. Like most fairs, this one had a lot of variety available, but I'd had gumbo on my mind since looking at the food guide. I have to say it wasn't the best I've ever had – too red and overly spicy – but it hit the spot. We were in a bit of rush though so I can't say that I would have had time to enjoy it even if it were good: we wanted to see the pig races.
Afterwards, we wandered the grounds. We saw the flower exhibit; woodworking, quilting and knitting pavilion; shared a tasty "elephant ear" (reminds me of a doughy, flat sopapilla – you can't go wrong with deep fried goodness); saw goats getting judged (like Westminster Kennel Club); looked at giant heads of cabbage (sadly, no giant pumpkins this year); and checked out the farm animals. This year I didn't even once entertain any ideas of letting G go in to the petting zoo. After we got a free balloon from the forestry service people, we headed home. (Last year they had Smoky the Bear, i.e. some guy in costume, and I remember he freaked G out to the point of crying so it's funny that they chose to go with balloons this year.)
