Spur of the Moment- The Fair

So, on the spur of the moment when I found out it was both $1 to get into the York Fair tonight - and $1 to ride all the rides (both the kiddie rides and the fast rides...all of them), I decided I'd wake up Cason early from his nap and take him. I'm so glad I did.

Btw, a side note about the York Fair... It is huge and actually really awesome. It's not like any other fair I've been too- which admittedly most other fairs I've been to seem very much like large carnivals. Actually the York Fair is supposed to be America's oldest (first) fair (the words "oldest" and "first" are both trademarked by this fair (this "history" page about the fair is actually fairly interesting and goes into the history of the fair during the civil war, amongst other things http://www.yorkfair.org/history.htm) - (although apparently the claim to being the first and oldest fair is being contested by a fair in Fredericksburg, VA- http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_24032329/york-fair-americas-oldest-fair-63-maybe-not)......

In any case, the reasons I'm so glad I decided to take Cason is because first of all, today was a beautiful, lovely day. Temps.- well, you know how bank thermometers are never right- one of them said it was 66 degrees and then about a mile away another said it was 76 degrees... so who knows... maybe it was about 70 degrees out and sunny with a nice, little breeze. Very nice. Honestly, my fav. type of weather.. around this time of year I get to be really happy being outside- even just the way things look (possibly because of the lack of humidity) just, to me, makes everything seem like it is "just right"-that vibe I get lasts from about this time in Sept. til the end of Oct.- so, lovely, wonderful, beautiful day
And Case had been to the fair before but, although he had an okay enough time before, he was too young to get really into it... this year he was having a great time.

We saw all the giant (some decorated) pumpkins... the huge watermelons and other huge pieces of fruit...which are kinda interesting. For some reason.

We made some free kid's crafts.

Looked at all the farm animals.

Went into the petting zoo... just a standard one... with goats, pigs, llamas, kittens, guinea pigs and rabbits. Case got to hold a bunch of kittens, guinea pigs and bunnies. Which he loved.

Also we saw the racing pigs.... which is always fun. (you get to bet- not for money- but for silly stuff like t-shirts- on which pig you think is going to win)... I've liked watching that ever since I was a kid.

We rode the giant Ferris wheel.

And, we went into this new exhibit- called the African something or another but it was various exotic, African animals...free to get into it but you could pay $2 to get various types of food to feed them. Including a large cup of carrot sticks to feed to the giraffes. So, this was Case's first time seeing a giraffe and it was the sweetest thing ever watching Case feed this silly giraffe carrots, for, it must have been ten mins. In that exhibit there were also yaks, zebras, and various other animals.... various cows and stuff that aren't like any cow I've ever seen before- including one with the biggest freaking horns I've ever seen on any animal in my life... and there were HUGE goats as well. And camels.

Speaking of camels, there were camel rides and Cason got to ride a camel. I was pretty surprised he wanted to do that. He loved it.

There were horse and pony rides too but we just watched other kids do that.

And then there is the food... French fries, ice cream, frozen lattes (for me, not Cason.. I don't really go anywhere without getting a latte)...

Didn't stay really super long or even get to see everything there so will be going back two Sundays from now- right before we leave for our beach trip- (a day where it's free to get in)---

And then, I don't know if it was because of the gorgeous weather, but what really topped my day off was how I had so many random conversations with friendly people. The weird thing is, idle chit chat with strangers isn't usually exactly my thing- although I'm friendly enough and all... I'm just really not usually that into it. But today there must have been at least 5 separate occasions where a simple sentence was exchanged between me and someone else and that turned into 5 min. conversations where me and the person I was talking to were just conversing easily and smiling and laughing and words just seemed to flow. I felt nicer than usual myself and other people just seemed nicer and friendlier themselves... maybe there is something good in the water.

Alright, so, that was my nice day.

Anyone else do anything that you enjoyed today? What? Anyone else just love this time of year and if so, why?

 

It made the end of my day really nice to be able to read about yours.

Nothing more fun than watching kids at a fair. It is magical. Think how big that giraffe looks to a child. That is awesome that he fed it.

It helps as you said when it is not too warm as otherwise it gets miserable and seems to be exhausting.

I noticed here that people are being a little less testy as well and I have a feeling it has to do with the humidity not being so high so people are able to open up and get fresh air in their homes and are sleeping better. Well that is my theory.

Glad you had a great day!!

 

Thanks, Heather.

Are you doing anything nice this weekend? I don't know what we'll do for the rest of the weekend, other than what I always try to do...and that is just to be outside as much as possible. Maybe head to a couple farmer's markets or something.

Anyways, yeah.. I remember being at the fair in some previous years when it was just SO damn hot and yea, it gets kinda miserable walking around there after a while.

Oh...and yeah! The giraffe must have looked really HUGE to Case. LOL... he was still talking about that silly giraffe when I got him to bed at 9:30. And as soon as he saw his daddy when we got home he was like "daddy- went to fair and saw a giraffe!" -(it sounded like "Jeff" when he said "giraffe" so I had to whisper "giraffe" to D, but yea, adorable)...

:sunny:

 

My mom's church has their fall supper on Saturday and the kids are all helping with serving and cleaning tables, so I will go have dinner with them. It is a great turkey dinner with all the fixings and the women of the church all bake the sweets. They do it every year and it is always great.

Other than that I am planning on working in my garden and I bought a bushel of beets that I am going to pickle.

 

That sounds awesome. I miss pumpkin patches with tunnels and hay everywhere from growing up in the north. Down here the 'fairs' are not much more than a conglomerate of like hardcore rednecks and country folk. I went to one and ate a corn dog that was like 3 feet long and went on some shitty haunted house ride. And saw a bunch of livestock.

 

Aww, that just really sounds totally awesome.
That's pretty much about the perfect sounding type of weekend to me anymore.
One of them... but yeah, stuff that just sounds... nice, like that.

Haha....
Did you ever hear of the fair I mentioned when you lived up north?
I ask because it's about an hour and 20 mins from D.C. and some of my friends from Bmore and Death City have been to it...

 

What fair? Even the fairfax fair was like funnle cakes and country music. I mean wtf?

Your fair sounds legit :cheers2:

 

The York Fair. Haha.

and yea, it's pretty fun. and big.

 

Never been to a fair before

 

You should go to one, they are a lot of fun.

 

Realllly?
You should come to the York Fair sometime... it's really one of the best ones there is in the country.

Yep.
Even the small ones can be fun too... I mean, if you like to eat and you can break some of the health rules every once in a while... haha then there ya go, lots of food.

 

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?

 

Dunno ---is that the one in MD? For some reason I was thinking that but then I looked it up to see when it was and all I am getting is something in Texas.... so now I'm utterly confused. The only Renaissance Faire I've ever been to before was the Pennsylvania Ren. Faire and that was three years ago (I was suspended from school when my class in h.s. went to the PA Ren. Faire, so I wasn't allowed to go). I wasn't sure before going what I'd think of it but I really liked it. Some pretty neat rides and had some food that was pretty decent. If it is actually around here somewhere I'd like to try to go....

 

No... it's from a Simon and Garfunkel song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVzdNGX8syo"]Simon & Garfunkel - Scarborough Fair/Canticle - YouTube

 

Ohh... haha.

Yea, I was sitting here pondering- "there's no way he's asking me if I'm going to some fair in Texas...that would be kinda insane".. lol

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0"]Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds of Silence (Audio) - YouTube

 

I love that song.

 

That song reminds me of my mother. Which is a long and convoluted story in and of itself, but it brings back memories of troubled times that seem really special in retrospect.

 

This will always be my favorite S&G song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3LFML_pxlY"]Simon & Garfunkel - The Boxer (Audio) - YouTube

 

Another great song.