2006 State Fair

Yesterday, Pooteewheet, Eryn, Kyle, Grandpa John and I all went to the 2006 State Fair together. While disappointed that it was raining, we were sort of hoping that the moisture would drive off other fair goers. Based on the lines at the Kidway when I was there, it was working, though not so well that I didn't bump into my ex-cube neighbor (there's starting to be a lot of those, so maybe that's not so strange), Brian. But as soon as the rain disappeared, the lines expanded exponentially and, as you can see in this picture, there was no shortage of people.


Before I get started, if you want to see lots of Fair pictures, MNSpeak has links to a dozen dumps, including this instant classic about a cow with a problem.

Pooteewheet doesn't own a rain jacket (and I wouldn't give her mine), so she bought a three dollar "Got Milk?" poncho at extortionist prices. I joked to Kyle that we should buy a black marker and cross out her K and replace it with an F, just to be seriously juvenile. Not that her outfit wasn't already ludicrous. With a couple of eye holes she'd have looked like a female klansman. The joke about reselling it a garage sale for two-fitty was met with disapproval, particularly after she'd poked a whole in the chest with her glasses.


A note for Kyle concerning our discussion in the dairy area about how fun it would be to have a butter head in your fridge just so you could make guests go to the fridge and get their butter off the head, apparently at least one Princess Kay has taken her butter head home with her, "Stephanie Dickey of Leonard, the 1985 Princess Kay, took her statue home with her. It went on display in the cheese store in the mall in Bemidji where Stephanie works." (from a really long article about butter sculpturing by the MN historical society).

Eryn was old enough to take pictures this year. This is one of her masterpieces, taken by the JackFM booth where we take her picture every year. I can't tell if the cutout actually hangs the same way I normally do. If not, I hope it doesn't ruin the realism.


The big slide was closed the first time we walked by, due to the rain. But after throwing teenagers against it until it was dry, and then following up with a guy who seemed to be sporting a small block of wax, it was reopened so Grandpa and Eryn could take a ride. We were going to make a second run, but everyone had figured out it was open again, so the line was just too daunting. Eryn had a great time, especially as she'd spent her last nine Kidway tickets riding a shorter version of the same damn ride. Eryn says, looking at this picture, "We were yelling all the way down it. We had to, because it's a really big slide."


There are some cutouts you can stick your head through next to the slide. This is Eryn wondering what it would be like to have breasts. It frightens me.


But not as much as Grandpa with breasts....


Cookie Queen didn't tell us she was at the fair. Neither did her husband, Dan'l. Perhaps that's because he was a bit embarrassed that his wife was spreading lotion on every Tom, Dick, and Kyle who came through the U of MN area. Apparently this was an experiment to show just how unclean most hands still were even after washing. CQ, as you can see below, was anything but embarrassed.


Kyle's hands, shown here, are proof of the problems with washing. Who the hell knows what he was doing before he got his hands near CQ. I shudder to think we could have ended up sharing a bag of Tiny Tim donuts. Eryn's not so lucky, she ate one out of his bag. However, after one bite, she tried to hand it back, so whatever that is on the back of his hands must taste bad. Of course, Pooteewheet ate the rest of Eryn's donut. Kyle's joke about the water being dirty was lost on CQ's booth partner who tried to justify the amount of water each participant was allowed.

Eryn wants to co-blog here, she says, "Why was he picking his nose?"


Fortunately for Kyle, I don't think what's on your hands matters too much if you're having the hotdish on a stick. Nasty. I thought it would be hotdish just mashed onto a stick and fried, but Kyle assured me that they took some care to layer the ingredients, tater tots closer to the bottom.


Apparently, as revealed in close up, the creamy mushroom sauce makes all the difference.


Kyle and Grandpa John were fascinated by the no-electricity animal fountains. I think they were primarily bored waiting for the bathroom visits to finish, but still, they spent a lot of time checking them all out.


Finally, who is this? I see her statue near the back side of the fair each year, but I'm not sure who she is. Famous Minnesota suffragette? First blue ribbon in tomato sauce? Patron of the Fair? First woman to die riding the skyway? Anyone know?