There’s only one Tuesday at the fair. It’s usually the least attended, but this year could be different. The attendance numbers are 40% lower so far and the weather was forecast to be beautiful again. I knew it could be a long day on the grounds. My feet are hanging in there but today I suited up for lots of walking.

I had a few people to connect with today, the first being Morgan & Matt! They knew that my first stop would be pie, and they found me in the food building!

I ate the pie so fast, I didn’t get a picture of it! Luckily I got to see Sarah and she captured me & my Pie! 💙

Matt was beyond breakfast by 10:00 am and got the Bahn Minn Bun, consensus was good but too much bun.

We walked up north and stopped at one of the many Paddle North booths this year. The kids live in Colorado now, and everybody is into “SUP”. We had to check out the Stand Up Paddle (sup) boards. They are inflatable and portable. I think it would be funny to try and get the girls on the paddle ship at the cabin!

As we walked north, we got to see the military appreciation day fly over.

We walked past the new vendor spot, now that they’re all open for business. The reviews of Baba’s hummus have all been rave. “Super creamy & delicious”

The Spinning Wylde cotton candy offers a million flavors, but no artificial colors. They have a wall of flavor crystal sugars! I like their saying “pink is a color, not a flavor”

Next stop, we decided to check out the pet pavillion. We didn’t go in the merchandise tent, but the usual crowds of people, 10 deep, waiting to pet dogs was non-existent this year.

Still lots of cute dogs! Remember this is not the space to discuss your mutt! You’ll face a bit of judgement from the purebred folks up here!

We took a quick pass through the limited shops at the North End Market. The Boundary Waters booth, Good Things, and a couple other vendors make up the group. We got out camping silverware set!

I laugh at this t-shirt. I always said that Randy will always know our anniversary years, because it’s the last time the Twins won a World Series. (It’s 30 this October!) I’m not wrong!

Morgan & I are both O- blood type and we briefly thought about donating blood, but the previous breakfast beer consumption precluded Morgan & Matt and there was a wait at the time, they were full. I might look into it another time.

They had a friend to connect with down at another gate so we decided to take the scenic Sky Glider trip back to the other end. If you don’t know this trick, but a round trip ticket. It’s actually two tickets that can be used any time, or one trip for two people. You save $2 on two rides. $5 for one, $8 for two.

As we began our ascent I shouted out a big “hello” to local, much loved celeb, Jason Matheson. He graciously waved back!

It was a glorious, blue sky, day and Matt went ahead while Morgan & I rode together and laughed our way to the end.

The roof of the Little Hands Farm is light on dropped merchandise this year, but besides the standard bras, underwear, food and prizes, we spied masks and Sasquatch for the first time!

Just like the quiet Alphabet Forest, the aerial view of the Little Hands Farm, usually with a steady stream of children playing, is a visual reminder that so many families are making the choice to keep kids safely at home this year.

We took a high flying selfie on this sunny day!

We parted ways after a fun morning stroll catching up a little more and I was ready to grab a bite eat.

The chicken salad fajita has always been a favorite of mine and had it not been for the strange year where vendors had some restrictions on menu changes, this item would no longer be offered at Juanita’s! Get it this year if you want to try it, because it might disappear.

I got to say hi to this hard working lady too, who looks fresh as daisy on day seven!

My friend Dan was also on the grounds and we were making halfhearted attempts to connect, since we were with others, but I checked in after eating and he was sitting at the Hangar (where we last departed from). I had a second Sky Glider ticket so I sailed right back up! The photo ops from this direction are a little better!

The Kidway is still relatively empty on this beautiful day. I have yet to see it crowded.

Also empty we’re many of the Glider chairs and the streets below!

I found Dan and a few of his realtor partners hanging outside so I joined the table and I met some fun people.

Dan & I just started to wander around what used to be Machinery Hill, which still has machinery, only much smaller and useful for the urban farmer! I could use a lawn roomba…”iMow”. They run about $2000.00. Dan commented that it might be worth it if the power source were a solar panel that charged as it mowed!

We found the super tiny Northern Tool tent. I’m sure they abbreviated the set up due to Covid and uncertainty this year. No batteries or wall to wall gadgets. I’ll get pictures another day.

Dan wanted to find the sheep and handlers that he knew so we made our way to the sheep barns. They were wearing blaze orange so were not hard to spot! I realize this is the only picture I got of Dan today!

I was looking at some sheep and saw the “AA” on the rear end of this one and was really expecting the letter “B” to appear. Sadly, I was super disappointed! It must be the sheep farm initials. “BAA” would have been ~way~ better!

Something in the straw was biting my ankles so we promptly exited and headed back towards Dan Patch. The entrance to the Midway looks this empty most days, but more populated at night. I have avoided the night scene this far.

I stopped to check the art progress and show Dan around. There were lots of busy artists today!

Geno Okok was happy to pose for this progress shot!

Jack didn’t want to miss the chance to see his cousin Morgan after almost two years, so he hopped in a Lyft and we connected near the Grandstand. Dan went on his way and I convinced Jack to partake in a couple photo ops!

It was getting close to 2:00, parade start time. I had a plan to enjoy the view from Grammie’s bench. It’s located at the terminal end of the parade route, so we had extra of time to get in place. It was all ours for a while.

We spotted friends, Rhonda snd Kathleen again! They stopped to chat, but didn’t have time to stay. We ended up sharing the bench and the later arrivals somehow got the shady end of the bench! I remembered to pack my own sunscreen today and applied another layer!

These were great parade seats!

There were a few marching bands, but no horses this year. The zoo wagon and horse expo participants are all absent.

After the parade, we had no agenda and decided to share a burrito from El Sol, the taco place right behind the bench. They’re just OK, nothing fancy. Jack wasn’t a fan of the cilantro. We said goodbye to Grammie and went to find something sweet. On the way, I found more artists at work.

Today, as I spend parts of the day with different people, I find myself retracing my steps often! This was the first stop at Fluffy’s…today.

Jack got the jumbo this time, and we agree that they’re don’t taste like they were fresh baked, but it didn’t stop me from finishing mine. Jack couldn’t eat the entire big one.

We were killing time until we’d meet up with Morgan, so I suggested another ride on the Glider. It’s a favorite thing to do, and Jack wasn’t 100% sure he’d make it back out here. I bought another round trip ticket to split and we hopped on at the grandstand end. I’m adjusting to the smaller crowds, and enjoying the space, but a completely empty street at 3pm is quite a sight to see. Usually there are traveling pop up vendors along here, but nothing this year.

We disembarked without falling over and the ride kept moving. Once back on the ground, I was checking out all the backyard fire & grill equipment vendors. Jack was not all that amused or interested in the big egg grill or S’more fishing rods.

He obliged though and joined me in the cow photo booth. When I was last there, I didn’t see that the masked cow was an option!

We did one with and one without!

We needed to fill water bottles, so we went back into the Eco Building. Very few people inside makes it easy to check everything out. This was the first time I noticed the huge melting ice blocks in the center. Last time I was too focused on the scavenger hunt.

I’ve been seriously thinking about getting an eBike with pedal assist. They have one you can try!

You can get a free roll of eco friendly toilet paper here too! That’s a first for me!

Jack wanted to see a little of the education building, so we cruised through and this time we got a nice bag from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux. It feels like canvas, but it’s all recycled materials.

We got a demonstration on how to save a life with narcan.

Jack found a display with an AR sandbox. It was super cool to manipulate, but I’m not a fan of sand. (Or sticky, or glitter…) After playing for a minute, Jack had some sandy granule covered hand regret.

We voted at Dunwoody and our pick, French fries, were trailing the favorite cheese curds.

It’s a quick trip through the building when there are no lines. Since we were already inside, I was curious what vendors returned this year into the Annex. There are only about eight spaces. The soup sample and wine slushie people are back, along with the syrup and the Swiss peeler guy. I decided to not partake in communal food this year as no we moved through quickly. As we approached the back side of Creative Activities, a dad was dragging his young son though (I’m not sure where they thought they were headed) but I overheard the kid say, “Dad, what is this place?” The dad replied “it’s a senior citizen museum”. I laughed out loud at that one!

I do so love the quilt squares on a stick, so I took a moment to photograph a few. You can see the theme was bees. Next year it’s “The Loon, Minnesota bird of fashion”. Can’t wait to see quilted, costumed loons on a stick!

We quickly made our way back out, our eyes catching a few things along the way.

Jack & I knew Matt & Morgan were running out of time to connect with us, so we were sure not to miss them, we planted ourselves at a table right near the main gate. It wasn’t long before they found us and we just hung out and the cousins had a great reunion.

Jack was tiring, but I wasn’t ready to leave. So we remained at the table for a bit and rested while we waited for Mike & Kathleen, who were on their way over for the Doobie Brothers concert in the Grandstand. We were again in search of some food (protein, not sugar) so we all walked back down to the West End to eat Lulu’s Cajun bites and bang bang chicken. Kathleen wanted some new sunglasses Mike picked out the perfect pair for only $10! The dangling nose tag was removed after purchase!

They went on to the concert and as Jack was choosing his new hat at “i like you”, Steve & Karla popped up and surprised us. With some protein ingested, we couldn’t pass up a nordic waffle. S’more seems to be theme for me today!

When we passed by Juanita’s, (backtracking again) who should we see but the elusive man behind the scenes, Dan! He’d been cooking earlier and I missed it!

I took Karla & Steve to see the Sleep Number photo board and they jumped right up and spooned!

Due to a change in line up and Doobie Brothers member Michael MacDonald backing out (he was being tested for a breakthrough Covid case), the Grandstand concert would be starting and ending earlier tonight. I thought it would be a good night to stay and see fireworks and a possible corn dance. Our small group decided to return to see the Eagles Tribute Band once again and pulled up a bench outside the bazaar.

Jack & his new hat were spent. He took the keys and went back to rest in the car until I decided I was done.

Mike texted that the Doobies were playing the last encore, so we walked back…again….to the grandstand. The fireworks shot off as Mike & Kathleen found us.

There was indeed a corn dance and the kids have changed, but the playlist and dance routine remains the same. Or so we thought! I stopped recording the dance and a minute later they started a new dance to a new song. I will have to return to record the new addition! Here is a snippet of the old standard.

We all made our way back up Dan Patch to head home, but Mike was hungry so I stopped at Que Viet for a quick egg roll to share. It was not quick! Mike gave up waiting and moved on to find nachos at OofDa Tacos, but I stayed to wait. It turns out they’d turned off the fryers at 9:30 as they’ve done all the previous slow nights and sold the food remaining. Tonight, however, the Grandstand show let out so early, they experienced a concert rush! The kids were unprepared and did their best! I prepaid and waited with my empty boat for about 20 minutes. The fryers heated back up and the restless crowd got egg rolls & wontons, but I’m pretty sure they’ll keep the fryers hot a bit longer from here on out!

I left half an egg roll, Mike & Kathleen, a bucket of nachos and a couple beers sitting at O’Gara’s, to return to car and get my tired kid (still recovering from surgery) back home. Despite all the riding and resting, I did enough backtracking through the fair today to tally 20k steps, my biggest count this far. I hope I don’t regret it!