And You Can Take Me to the Fair............

Summertime where I live is defined by two events that happen (literally) in my backyard.  One is the San Diego County Fair and the other is the racing season at the Del Mar Race Track.  They follow each other every year, and the traffic, and odd couples that show up in our community disrupt the harmonic convergence that is laid back So. Cal.  What I'm saying is that I hate this time of year!  Not hate, actually, but it's not fun.
Tuesdays are $3 days at the fair and last week the traffic was off the charts crazy.
We've lived here for 24 years and in that time I've been to the Fair twice, and vowed never to go again; my mother, of course, who was always right always said, "never say never."
There is nothing that interests me less than a parade of processed food, deep fried into oblivion and watching people eat it!  And the gadget guys and guys who demo the sledge-0-matics...............oh well, they do have to make a living.  When a friend asked if I'd go and look through the garden exhibits, the art (her nephew, a great artist was exhibiting his work) and the home arts, I said yes because I love Robert and his work, but only if we didn't have to eat any food.  The trouble with fair food, is that it smells better than it actually tastes, and I'll get to that in a minute.
So the day began at the parking lot where we bought our tickets and got on a bus for the 10 minute drive to the fair grounds---I can see the fair grounds from my house, but this is a lot better than paying for $10 parking when you are only staying for 90 minutes.

Right as we walked through the gates, we are assaulted with the food booths............this one looked pretty good......

Look at those legs!

I should note that a lot of these vendors travel the country to different fairs --- I once taught a class in Pennsylvania and one of the students told me she and her family come to Del Mar for the fair every year.  

Hey let's get a corn dog!

this young lady had taken two bites of this cinnamon roll and told me it tasted like it wasn't quite cooked--kind of like cookie dough.

I find the animals are fun to watch and totally support the 4-H'ers.  These two goats were so cute!

Get a load of this behemoth!  Must be eating Wheaties!

Shave and a haircut!

I'm fascinated by the number of booths with food---they are everywhere!

This is what I think about when I think of a county fair, pony rides for the kids.

The midway---I think--hard to tell where it began and ended.

The theme this year is "race to the fair" and there are a lot of classic (and not so classic) cars here. 

Finally, the garden exhibits!

We are all concerned with water conservation here, and this is a great way to utilize an old fountain....plant succulents!

How cute is this?? My HOA wouldn't like me growing petunias out of a Fiat Cinquecento!

Succulents on the wall.

More food, grilled corn--looks great, right??

 Wrong!  Burned to a crisp---and one fellow bought an ear, I watched as he ate half and tossed the rest....as I said the aromas are seductive, the reality is something else.

Not bad.........

I've always loved the uniforms on the girls at Hot Dog on a stick--look at those hats--haven't changed in 100 years---i bet they wore them at the Chicago World's Fair!

This is my daughter's favorite at the fair.

Plastic facsimiles of the food, if this doesn't send you away nothing will!

Yes indeed, this says it all!

This poor zucchini never had a chance

Sushi master was busy making an octopus out of a butternut squash.

finally got to the home arts, and found the "collections"---these are all Christmas tree pins---duh.

Loved the holy rollers!

Robert Roulettes' painting..........awesome!

More food shots.............I can't help myself!

Deep fried heaven...........Kool Aid????

And the big daddy of deep fried heaven, Garlic butter bacon fries, fried in oil and bacon fat (what about the trans fat ban?) or you can have chocolate covered bacon.............it's all there at the fair!

 Not on your life!!!  Have a great day!