Everyone who has waited, came to the fair today. I’m guessing tomorrow will be much the same. Traffic levels driving over, the number of people slowly cruising the neighborhood and very few people with parking signs out, told the story. Streets were full, yards were full, I surmised the fairgrounds was too.

For many years past, I avoided the fair on the weekends. I would volunteer, then catch a talent show with Mom and head out. I signed up to volunteer earlier than I usually do this weekend so I could see the talent show finals and connect with family.

Once in the Forest I was streetside, welcoming and giving out crowns again. The Forest is always busier at this time of day, but still pretty quiet for a Saturday. This was my view.

It was a beautiful fair day and I got to see the parade march past. This was the most units I’d seen marching to date. The Roller Girls, Winter Carnival Royalty, a few bands, art cars, Vulcan Krewe and Mr. Peanut & his peanut mobile again.

After my shift I decided to head home. I hadn’t seen any talent shows this year, so I wasn’t really invested in the outcome. Especially if I was watching the show alone. I heard from Michael that he & Kathleen would love to come over. With just my one parking space this year, we try to carpool when possible. I needed a little time off my feet and out of the sun, so I headed home and I’d pick them up at 5:00. It’s really nice to have this section of Midway Parkway closed to traffic so I can walk freely and far away from others. As you can tell, it’s such a nice day that very few people are actually leaving. It’s gonna get crazy tonight.

We got back to the fair in time for dinner. The place was crowded. Not record breaking, but felt like a typical busy fair weekday. I just knew it was more people than I wanted to rub elbows with. There a couple roads less traveled, discussed in the blog, that I used to get from East to West every day. Here is a picture of one. It’s not pretty, lined with dumpsters and storage sheds, but it’s also empty of people. Nothing to see here, but it saves walking down Judson, the Fresh French Fry street or Carnes (aka “food alley”) where you have to navigate between Dino’s, Sweet Martha’s, French Meadow and Mancini’s. At the end of this hill, there is cold water at the KareBarn!

We all have the fair foods we love to eat. Michael is no exception. This stand has brats. It’s all they do, and they do it well! Michael is a fan of the booths that are open snd you can see your food being prepared. He misses the days when Juanita’s Fajitas used to have that grill up front with all the sizzling meat, and when the onions got tossed on, there was an instant line, caused simply by olfactory overload! I’m sure that food can’t be prepared up front like that anymore for sanitary reasons, but here at the 4’ X 6’ bratwurst stand, you can see them just fine!

Looking back towards the Giant Slide, the street has filled in quite a bit more!

With food on board, it was time for beverages. Back to our beverage spot at Cafe Caribe. We coordinated via text to meet these two here also.

Sara & Mike Q are usually out here a few times, but this might only be the second trip. They came for the Doobies on Tuesday and food tonight!

There is one of the newer large bathroom buildings right here, but as I went to the back to use the facility, lo and behold, I find my first line of the fair. Kathleen followed shortly after me and the line had tripled.

Ready to wander, find some good music and less people, we decided to head north. I suggested taking the sky glider up, but that line was also long!

Instead, we climbed the grandstand knoll, and walked through the fencing to take this less trodden path under the sky glider. Again nothing to see here but dumpsters and sheds, but also no people. The aerial view as you emerge out onto the road is kinda spectacular though!

I told them how Northern Tool is only a tiny tent this year, without it’s usual bin after bin of gadgets we think we really need, but tend to just glitter drawers. I do miss the batteries and the ponchos though!

Michael had a “dad moment” as he talked generators with the bored sales guy out front. Not sure why he thinks he needs a generator, but as storms rage around the country, one can’t be caught unprepared!

I’d eaten real food for dinner when I left the grounds earlier, and as we hiked north I remembered there were blueberry mini donuts to be found up here! It’s part of a huge concession complex with every fair food you can imaging across from the Home Depot. Everyone working in the booth had some kind of accent. I guessed they might have been Australian, but didn’t ask. Mike suggested we ask for no added sugar, and he was right. They were sweet enough with the berries, and pretty delicious!

We also could watch them bake… um, er…fry.

We found an outdoor patio table at the Hangar, thinking we could stay for a while, but the music started up and it was reminiscent of a Saturday Night Live sketch with Ana Gasteyer and Will Ferrell playing the Culps. Dare I say “musicians” who are middle school music teachers doing operatic versions of pop songs. Nope. I couldn’t stay.

The next stop would be the County Fair Talent Show finals in Baldwin Park. We stayed to see a couple acts and were happy to see these friends in attendance. They too had not seen the shows leading up to tonight.

The sun was starting to set and yet again in search of good music and a place to rest our feet, we walked back down the hill. Taking the back roads again on our way to get beverages, we noticed the same guy that gave Mike the calendar was in the KAREBarn. We sent Kathleen in this time to see if she could get one autographed by Belinda! We peered around the corner, into the empty booth, as she was brought to the secret room too and scored the prize!

The last time, we asked for one, he replied with a question that I interrupted; “Did you want the wall calendar or…”. Or what? We’ll never know, as Kathleen was asked the same question, but also jumped in with “wall calendar”. Sadly, This one was not autographed at all.

We cut through the DNR park to the back side of Cafe Caribe to refill our beverages. I got two this time, not sure if we’d be back this way! It would be easier if I wasn’t allergic to beer. There are limited options out here.

As we left, Michael suggested we take a spin through the Midway. Kathleen and I looked aghast and at the same time said “No!” It’s amateur night at the fair, and we consider ourselves professionals. Plus there was a certain electricity and vibe emanating from that direction. We made a big circle around the area, passing under the grandstand bridge and over to see if we could find good music at the West End.

We found an open table, grabbed some bull bites & bang bang to nosh as we listened, but this music was not what we had in mind either.

We started to walk up Dan Patch to take the cut through over to the bazaar, when the running started. Too many kids running in the same direction, away from the Midway. I thought something was going down behind us. As we looked to the right, towards the Frontier & Andy’s, the whole street seemed to running together. I thought they were running from something, but Kathleen noted they all had phones out in front of them, running ~towards~ something.

Glad we decided to go around that area earlier, we now picked up the pace and veered left, back up Dan Patch.

O’Gara’s was our last hope! We found a table outside and the Michael Handler Project was playing inside. Decent music, and we were out of the fracas over on the other side of the grounds.

I searched social media for a clue as to what shenanigans were going on down the street, but found only one report of a gun, a melee and cops apprehending someone on Twitter. Unsure if any of it is true.

While we enjoyed the music and beautiful weather, we were “entertained” by a conga line, loud screeching youths at the next table over and a very intoxicated man who showed exemplary coordination! Mike is thrilled here by the dance line crushing through.

The coordination was witnessed when we watched in awe as this guy dropped his napkin and using Mikes empty seat, was able to somehow balance his full drink on the edge, get the napkin, wipe his hands (?yuk?) and pick the beverage up without spilling. As he walked away another guy set his beverage on the empty seat too… and looked at us both, laughing, and said “just kidding”. He’d seen us staring at his buddy and made an hysterical follow thorough!

We waited for the fireworks and most of the grandstand crowd to exit, then made our way home. We finished up our drinks before we got to the gate, but joked about pulling a “Carol Jo” and tucking our drinks in our jackets and walking out the gate with them. It’s the memories that only surface when we’re back at the fair that makes it so special!

I better sleep fast, no time to blog, as I’m due back at the Forest at 11:45!