judiang, as some of my friends list knows, is a City Gurl through & through. Her first time at the Lake, she wouldn’t get within 6 feet of the campfire. (Now she builds ’em.) She couldn’t tell horses from cows. (Well, OK, so we were driving by quickly and she just saw critters.) She couldn’t distinguish between types of manure. (Well, we’re still working on that – she now can identify skunk, at least.) So what was next on the “countrification” of Judi? The County Fair, of course.

I was delighted when I discovered that Judi’s latest visit would coincide with the Miami County Fair. I’ve attended the county fair since I was a kid, and I must admit, it hasn’t aged well. (It’s probably the same as when I was a kid, but as I was a kid then, my expectations were low already.) I went a couple of years ago and enjoyed the Fair food (my weakness), so it was time to go again.

The flag raising ceremony didn’t start until noon, so Judi and I had a leisure morning. I made us egg, ham & bagel sandwiches, as I mentioned in my last post, and eventually, we headed off to Troy for the fair. One of the first folks we met was a fellow running for sheriff who was dressed in some outlandish outfit to draw attention to himself. Judi, of course, had to get a photo. (Which I hope she’ll post in her entry.) She now thinks that politicians in Ohio dress up in period costume to get elected. I don’t wish to disavow her of that image, but, well, that just ain’t so. 😉

We checked out the horticulture building to see the ginormous (now a dictionary word, folks!) vegetables that folks in the county had grown. I have a couple of the biggies to show in my photos later. I then had to have a Fair taco and a lemon shake up to start off my experience. We then checked out other buildings – vendors, critters, etc. I won some canes (3 – and only wasted $4 doing it.) And I had to have some Fair fries. And then we checked out the art building where I discovered my little cousins got first place on the ceramics they’d painted for the Fair. Well done girls! (They’re young – one’s going into 2nd grade, the other into 6th!) Finally, I finished the food fest with an Elephant Ear and some sugar waffles (the waffles to go). And we had to return to the Vendors booth. Why? Well…

You see, elsaf‘s birthday is just around the corner. And Judi and I have been chatting about what to get her. And at the Vendor’s building, there was a very nice lady selling paintings. Only they weren’t paintings. They were embroidery. Really, really neat embroidery. We hemmed & hawed the first time there, but we really liked what we’d seen. And as we discussed it, we decided we wanted to buy one of the framed pieces for Elsa. After we were done at the fair, we returned to do just that. We found one that we thought would be perfect for her house, then managed to gather enough cash for the job. The lady remembered us and was thrilled that we’d returned. Her business is World Threads and is from New Carlisle, OH.

On our way home from the Lake, we stopped at Walmart for some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, then returned to the lake. Supper was leftover pizza for me and hot dogs for Judi (who’d eaten her leftover pizza the night before). A very pleasant day for both of us.

So here are some photos from Judi’s first county fair.

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Judi’s standing next to the third place entry. I couldn’t get the first place entry and her in the same shot.

The best of the best produce in Miami County.

Awwww, sheeps in love!

I still have today’s adventures (well, now yesterday’s adventures) to post about, but after today’s adventures, I’m too exhausted to post about them. So I’ll do it tomorrow.