On Sunday August 27th Kelly and I went to the Maryland State Fair. I am pretty sure I have never been to a true state fair before, at least that I remember. I have been to county fairs, but they are more carnivals than this was. Kelly really wanted to go to see all the animals.
The day started out a little less than ideal. We first went to the light rail at about 10:15 and bought round trip tickets. The only problem was the light rail doesn't start running until 11 AM. There were a few others who had made the same mistake as well. We decided to drive to the fair grounds instead.
As we were driving away I for some reason looked for my headphones. I couldn't find them and then tried to remember where they were. I realized I might have left them in my shorts and washed them. This soured my mood immediately and to an extent for the rest of the day. I am not sure why I let it get to me but I did. As an aside I did wash the headphones and they did survive, more on that some other time.
When we got the fairgrounds traffic was a bit of a mess and confusing. We couldn't quite figure out where to park and I was being grumpy. We finally figured out where to park and paid the boy scouts working the lot. We got into the fair at about 11 AM.
We started with the craft pavilion. It was a giant display area with all sorts of items. We started with the sewing/knitting/needlecraft/quilting section. While browsing this section my favorite quote of the day occurred between Kelly and I:
Kelly - "You don't have to act so bored"
Me - "Who said I was acting"
The next section was photography that had interesting pieces from digital and regular film. After that was the baking/cooking section, which Kelly did not enter this year with her wonderful pies. The last section was an array of children's entries and 4-H sponsored items. Before we left we voted for our favorite quilts, I think I chose the one that looked like a Q-Bert board.
Next we began the odyssey of livestock. The first animals we saw were bunny rabbits and chickens. Which of course Kelly had to pet, even with the threat of losing a finger. The next animals we saw were actually wild animals that had been rescued. There were various birds and reptiles brought by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
After the first round of animals we went into another pavilion with various booths. Everything ranging from pinball machines to military recruiters. Kelly wanted a caramel apple and the best were apparently found there. We then headed over to the horse stalls. We walked around and looked at all the horses. Kelly pet many of them, even the ones that said "don't pet I bite."
My memory of the remainder of the livestock gets hazy on order. I think the next think we went to look at was milk cows. In the same area was the animal birthing center. We got to watch piglets being born, Kelly more than I. We then headed over to one of the many judging areas. My second favorite quote of the day was used over and over by the judge "I like the mamories on that one."
We got lunch next. There were various levels of food at the state fair. The lowest being true carney food. We went to the food pavilion that was a notch higher and had more selection in one area than the carney food. The only downside for me is I couldn't get a corndog, I never seem to get them at anything other than carney fairs. One of my other problems with events like this was prevalent at this venue, too many people combined with not enough food booths and not enough seating. Just a mass of humanity not thrilled to be there.
After lunch we went back to looking at various livestock. We watched the judging of some sheep and rams. This time it was primarily kids showing the animals, less than 13-14. We walked around and looked at the various sheep, goat and pigs afterward. Just an amazing array of animals. Next we headed back to the cattle. This time we saw the beef and hybrid cattle. Kelly found some calfs that should could pet and play with. She also did it to a certain extent with full size cattle. I on the other hand don't really like hanging with the livestock. We headed back over to the birthing area to see more piglets being born, not sure if it was the same mother.
On our way out we got some ice cream. While we ate we saw the milking of cows via a machine. We left the fair about 4 PM.
I could go without ever seeing livestock again, however I have feeling I won't have that luxury. The rest of the fair was a normal traveling carney with rides and games. We didn't partake in that. The other part was horse racing on the track at the fairgrounds.
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