Wednesday, October 22, 2008

our state fair is a great state fair

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Fried dough! Deep-fried pecan pie on a stick! Grown men carrying giant stuffed Tweety-birds! These are the unmistakable signs of the State Fair, which happens every October whether you're ready or not.

I find the noise and the crowds at the fair a bit overwhelming, so most years we don't go, but this year we had a friend visiting from out of town, and being a farm-boy-turned-big-city guy, he needed a trip to the North Carolina State Fair.

Here's a list of all the things we ate, between the three of us:
corn dogs
french fries
hot chocolate
cotton candy
pizza
ice cream
apple fritters
hot apple cider
hot pretzels

...and then we came home and ate dinner. I'm not sure how. I still feel a bit queasy thinking about it.

My favorite part, as always, was the livestock barn. Especially the cute baby animals.

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this little guy stole my heart

We saw the Grand Champion Steer, the Grand Champion Hog, and the Grand Champion Turkey (who didn't look well at all). The Grand Champion Wool Sheep and the Grant Champion Meat Goat were still to be crowned. There was a giant, giant sow suckling about a dozen little piglets, who all seemed to think that she was both a food source and a trampoline. HWWLLB was taken with the rabbit barn, and kept pointing out which breeds he thought would make particularly good pets for us.

There were oodles of families mobbing the animal barns and ogling the livestock. I always wonder about what parents tell their little kids who ask questions about the cute baby animals. It didn't seem like most people were talking about the fact that these guys were destined to become hamburger. Actually, most of the livestock really didn't look very appetizing at all. Except for that Grand Champion Steer... he did kind of look like a walking prime rib platter. And that's coming from a vegetarian.

Our one mission for the trip was never fulfilled. HWWLLB desperately wanted to try a deep-fried Snickers bar on a stick, and passed up many other deep-fried desserts in a single-minded pursuit of his conquest. Alas, he never found it, and went home having hardly eaten anything deep-fried at all.

On the bright side, we did get some heavenly goat's milk soap from Three Waters Farm, which isn't the same as a deep-fried dessert, but is really good in a different way.

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6 comments:

  1. the words "deep fried pecan pie on a stick" made my soul stir.

    sounds like heaven. deep fried heaven.

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  2. Those animals are too cute to exist...

    I love your blog! Cool stuff!

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  3. Mmmmmm. Deep-fried chocolate nougat caramel..... Now I have to go get me one.

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  4. There is such a thing as deep fried pecan pie on a stick?!?! Why was I never made aware of this before? I have a new life mission to find this item, LOL!!! That donkey is super cute! Sounds like you had a great time.

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  5. Wow, that's all you ate? That's just 2 things per person! The drinks don't count. You need them to wash down all the heart attacks.

    ;)

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  6. this move up north has left me with sadly little deep-friend food in my diet. a state fair visit is SO in order! e used to go to the ny state fair every year when he was a kid and he recommends it highly :)
    xo

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